By Anna Pitman
For more than a decade, I have worked with leaders across technical industries. Engineers, scientists, project managers, technical specialists and executives all tell me some version of the same story. They are busy.
Not productive. Not impactful. Busy.
They are manually updating spreadsheets. Writing reports. Attending back-to-back meetings. Preparing board papers. Responding to endless emails. Searching through information and trying to make sense of it all. When I ask about leadership activities such as coaching team members, conducting meaningful one-on-one conversations or investing time in developing people, the response is often predictable; "I just don't have time."
Many leaders genuinely want to spend more time with their people. They know that regular conversations improve engagement, performance and retention. Yet these conversations are often the first thing sacrificed when workloads increase.
For years, we have accepted this tension as an unavoidable reality of modern work.
Now, artificial intelligence is challenging that assumption. The conversation around AI is often dominated by fear. Which jobs will disappear? Which skills will become obsolete? How quickly do employees need to adapt? These are important questions. However, there is another question that deserves equal attention.
What happens if AI actually gives leaders their time back? And perhaps more importantly: Are they ready for what comes next?
Much of the excitement surrounding AI comes from its ability to automate routine cognitive tasks. Meeting notes can be generated automatically. Reports can be drafted in minutes. Large volumes of information can be synthesised and summarised. Administrative processes can be streamlined. First drafts of presentations, proposals and communications can be created almost instantly. Many of these activities are necessary. But few people would describe them as the most meaningful part of their work.
For years, organisations have searched for ways to reduce administrative burden and increase productivity. AI offers perhaps the most significant opportunity yet to achieve this. The promise is compelling; less time processing information, less time documenting work, less time completing repetitive tasks. And more time for higher-value activities. But this is where the conversation becomes interesting.
Because creating capacity is not the same as knowing how to use it.
Throughout my work with leaders, there has been a notable trend. Most leaders do not avoid coaching and development conversations because they do not care about people. They avoid them because they do not feel equipped to have them.
Technical expertise often provides a clear sense of competence and confidence. People know how to solve engineering problems, analyse data, manage projects or provide specialist advice. Human conversations are different. What do you do when an employee becomes emotional? How do you help someone who feels stuck? How do you challenge poor performance without damaging trust? How do you navigate resistance to change? How do you support someone who lacks confidence? How do you help people think for themselves instead of constantly solving problems for them? Many leaders have never been formally taught these skills.
As a result, they default to what feels familiar: giving advice, fixing problems and providing solutions.
Yet the future of leadership may require something very different.
For decades, organisations have largely rewarded leaders for having answers. The leader was expected to be the expert. The person with the solution. The one who could diagnose problems and tell others what to do. In an AI-enabled world, that model becomes less relevant. Information is increasingly available to everyone. Technical answers can often be generated, researched or validated faster than ever before. The value of leadership shifts from having answers to unlocking the thinking of others. This is where coaching becomes critical.
Coaching is often misunderstood as a specialised activity reserved for executive coaches or human resources professionals.
But in reality, coaching is a fundamental leadership capability. At its core, coaching involves listening deeply, asking thoughtful questions, encouraging reflection and helping people develop their own solutions.
Rather than creating dependence, coaching creates capability. Rather than solving today's problem, it helps people build the confidence and thinking skills required to solve tomorrow's problem. As organisations navigate increasing complexity and uncertainty, these capabilities become increasingly valuable.
As AI assumes more routine and administrative work, the capabilities that remain uniquely human become more important. These include:
Listening - Not listening to respond, fix or advise. Listening to understand.
Curiosity - The ability to explore multiple perspectives, challenge assumptions and remain open to new possibilities
Presence - Giving someone your full attention in a world filled with distractions.
Emotional intelligence - Recognising emotions in ourselves and others and responding appropriately.
Courageous conversations - Addressing difficult issues directly while maintaining trust and respect.
Judgement - Applying context, ethics and wisdom when navigating complex situations.
These capabilities are not new. What is changing is their relative value. For many years they were often labelled "soft skills", implying they were somehow secondary to technical expertise. The emerging reality suggests the opposite. As technology becomes increasingly capable, human capability becomes increasingly important.
There is a danger that organisations view AI solely through the lens of efficiency. If AI saves employees five hours per week, the temptation is to simply fill those hours with more work. More meetings, more reporting, more output, more activity. This approach risks missing the broader opportunity.
The real potential of AI is not simply helping us do more. It is helping us focus on what matters most.
For leaders, that means investing more time in people; building capability, developing future leaders, strengthening relationships, creating psychological safety, supporting innovation and helping teams navigate change. These activities are often the first casualties of busyness, despite being among the highest-value contributions a leader can make.
When learning and development professionals discuss reskilling, the conversation often centres on technical capabilities such as AI literacy, digital skills, data capability, technology adoption. And don’t get me wrong, these skills are important. But they may only represent part of the challenge.
The deeper reskilling agenda may involve helping leaders develop the capabilities that technology cannot easily replicate. Teaching leaders how to listen, how to coach, how to challenge constructively, how to navigate emotion, how to create trust, how to develop independent thinkers rather than dependent followers. In many ways, the future may require us to return to some of the most fundamental aspects of leadership. Not because technology has failed.
But because technology has finally created the space for leadership to become more human.
The question facing organisations is not simply: "How do we train people to use AI?" A more powerful question may be: "If AI can take care of the busy work, how do we help people rediscover the work that truly matters?"
If AI fulfils even part of its promise, many leaders will have more capacity than they do today. The challenge is ensuring they are prepared to use that capacity wisely. Prepared to invest more time in developing people. Prepared to have the conversations they have always said they were too busy to have. Prepared to coach, listen, challenge and create the conditions for others to thrive.
Because when AI gives leaders their time back, the organisations that thrive will not necessarily be those with the most advanced technology. They will be those with leaders capable of using that time to unlock the potential of the people around them. At its best, AI is not about replacing human contribution. It is about elevating it.
For decades, many professionals have spent a significant portion of their working lives consumed by administration, reporting, information processing and other tasks that, while necessary, rarely provide a deep sense of meaning or fulfilment.
Perhaps the greatest opportunity presented by AI is not greater productivity, but greater purpose. The opportunity to spend less time doing the work that keeps organisations moving, and more time doing the work that helps people grow, connect, create and contribute. Because if every individual has a fundamental right to meaningful work, then the real promise of AI may be that it finally gives us more time to do work that matters.
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Anna Pitman is an executive coach, facilitator and leadership development specialist with more than a decade of experience supporting leaders across mining, engineering, infrastructure, utilities, finance and government. Over the past 10 years, she has worked with more than 5,000 leaders and professionals across Australia, Canada, South America, the Philippines and South Africa. She specialises in helping technical experts strengthen their leadership capability, influence and emotional intelligence as they transition into broader people and enterprise leadership roles. Anna is the Founder and Director of ACP Consulting Group and serves as Chair of the Meridian Global Foundation. Anna holds more than 10 professional qualifications and accreditations spanning leadership, coaching, psychology and wellbeing. Her key credentials include a Bachelor of Science (Health Science), an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential with the International Coaching Federation, and a Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing.