Saber Coaching

Succession planning has come up in almost every C-level conversation I have had.

Senior leaders tell me the next level is not quite ready.

Then I talk to that next level, and they want to grow. They want to improve. They just do not have the time nor the recipe for how to get there.

They are longing for the investment.

So I ask what is being done about it currently, and there is usually a pause before anyone answers.

What sits inside that pause is the whole problem.

Who on your team is being measured against a standard nobody has said out loud? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments 👇

There's a structure for feedback.

Situation, behavior, impact.

But deliver it in an agitated state, and it comes out as "you suck at this."

Same model.

Nowhere near a centered place.

Leading in the world of AI is easy.

If you learn the basic blocking and tackling of delegating, you are going to be great with AI.

If you don't know how to delegate, if you don't know how to build a precise prompt, if you don't know how to build context, you are going to struggle.

If you don't know how to give feedback, if you don't know how to help someone improve from version one to version two, you are going to struggle.

So if you learn the basic blocking and tackling of leadership, especially around delegation, feedback, and accountability, you can be a good prompt generator.

It is the same muscle. The teammate is just different.

I feel like we live in a world where two things can be true. We can be utterly human and we can embrace AI.

I see AI more like the internet than VR. It is going to change things in a dramatic way.

But there are tells. On LinkedIn, you can often tell when something is AI-generated. There are a lot of different ways people identify it.

So we need to bring out our humanity and then also leverage the tools wherever we can.

I do see real issues with an overreliance on AI, where you lose the depth and the thread. I don't think you can have an overreliance on humanity.

My own approach in my business is that I am going to build something for humanity. That is Adventure Edge. Outside, connecting, sitting around the campfire, telling stories, connecting with someone's soul.

And then I am also going to have an app to support the in-between coaching time that has AI infused in it.

I am a both-and guy. It is a matter of approaching this like a tightrope walker and not a wrecking ball operator.

How do we know when we are balancing too much AI versus too much humanity?

It is a paradox to manage, not a problem to solve.

Which leadership skill has AI exposed most on your team? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments 👇

Leadership development and executive coaching companies can be like the cobbler's shoes.

I know a lot about organizational design. I know a lot about how companies grow. I know a lot about how companies stay connected to their values.

And my own shoes are falling apart, because I do a lot of work in the business without taking the opportunity to make sure I am working on it.

That got real as I started bringing on more fractional resources and associate coaches.

I know what my capacity is. I know what happens when I get pinched.

But what happens when it is an organization? How do you predict future capacity? How do you take on the right type of work that matches these people's skills, and keep them engaged and excited?

Those were all things that Mike as future CEO of Sabre was going to need to think about.

Now it is right in front of my face.

So I protect the time to sit back and think. Our communication plan. Our goals. Our strategy. How often I give feedback. How often I have one-on-ones.

I remember all of it from the corporate days.

It is a discipline I have to remind myself of, because a lot of the business owners I work with don't have a lot of time, and I am in exactly the same situation.

How much of your week actually goes to thinking instead of doing? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments 👇

People still think you can learn to be a leader in ninety-minute to three-hour increments only.

You show up to class, you get knowledge poured in your head, and then you leave.

My experience has been that it takes something longer than that. Good diagnosis of where the person is beforehand. Really good content that connects to those needs. Then support and follow-up that includes practice.

It used to be an issue of having access to content, or the quality of the content.

Now content is everywhere.

So as an executive coach, I can encourage clients to go to the gym and do the workouts.

What I am noticing, though, is that everyone is so busy, so time-poor, that they don't do the workouts.

If you want to build a better body, you have to go to the gym and eat right.

If you want to be a better leader, we are talking about practice.

People miss the fact that Alan Iverson does play a role in this. We are in fact, talking about practice.

Not the game. Not the high-stakes conversation. Practice. Getting to the gym and doing the reps to build the skill.

Take something as simple as providing feedback.

There is a structure for it. The Center for Creative Leadership tells you situation, behavior, impact.

But when you go to give that high-stakes feedback in an agitated state, you just basically end up telling the person they suck at this.

That is not a way to encourage growth, and it is not a way to do it from a centered place.

Knowing the model is not the same as being able to hold it when it counts.

That is why I keep saying leadership is a craft to master, and we need to go to the gym.

What is one leadership skill you have read plenty about but never actually practiced? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments 👇

I can lead people who are exactly like me.

But can I lead people who are not like me? In a different time zone, in a different country, at a different level, at the enterprise level?

That's the real up-level.

If you don't know how to build a precise prompt, if you don't know how to build context, you are going to struggle.

If you don't know how to give feedback, if you don't know how to help someone improve from version one to version two, you are going to struggle.

Learn the basic blocking and tackling of leadership, especially around delegation, feedback, and accountability, and you can be a good prompt generator.

The gaps that were already there are just becoming visible.

I feel like we live in a world where two things can be true. We can be utterly human and we can embrace AI.

I see AI more like the internet than VR. It is going to change things in a dramatic way.

But there are tells. On LinkedIn you can often tell when something is AI generated.

There are real issues with an over-reliance on AI where you lose the depth and the thread. I don't think you can have an over-reliance on humanity.

So it is a matter of approaching this like a tightrope walker and not a wrecking ball operator.

It is a paradox to manage, not a problem to solve.

Which leadership skill has AI exposed most on your team? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments 👇