With AI on the rise, why does work feel harder - and workplace relationships feel even trickier?
Not to be a Luddite, but I struggle to see how AI will help with either…unless we get one thing right:
Helping the people using it.
Here’s some interesting facts:
MIT: 95% of enterprise GenAI pilots fail to deliver ROI
BCG: Only 4% of companies report “substantial value” from AI (Source: MindGym)
Because…
Yeah, AI isn’t a magic wand.
And without strong human leadership, the data shows…it’s just an expensive distraction.
You can’t shove tech into a messy culture with fried and stressed out people…and expect the company to suddenly become high-performing and successful
You have to upgrade the people around it.
That starts with leadership.
Specifically: secure leadership.
So what is secure attachment in leadership?
Secure attachment means emotional consistency.
It’s an emotional system, a person’s wiring, that lets them regulate effectively under pressure. It lets them stay calm in conflict. It lets them be kind, trustful, collaborative, and cool under pressure. It makes them genuinely high performing - without having to play weird power games or be volatile and messy.
It’s emotional maturity, groundedness, and honestly performance-critical if you want to scale sustainably.
Why does this matter?
Because AI doesn’t fail from tech alone. It fails from behavior.
As MindGym puts it:
“The issue isn’t the tech stack. It’s the talent stack.”
Even the best algorithm can’t compensate for:
Low-trust environments
Poor communication
Insecure, reactive leadership
Stressed out, fried, burned out leaders
Secure leaders hold the system steady while change unfolds.
They help people feel safe, supported, and clear, so they can actually use the tools being rolled out.
The human cost of poor leadership during AI change:
61% of workers feel overwhelmed by the pace of tech
25% say their employer isn’t offering enough support
Half feel learning AI is like “a second job” (Source: MindGym)
Because - hello! People don’t need more tools.
They need trust.
They need to feel safe. They need permission to be imperfect while learning. They need emotionally stable leadership.
They need to feel comfortable speaking up and innovating.
They need to feel rested and well resourced to perform.
That’s what secure leaders are - and what they deliver.
Here’s the bottom line:
AI will never replace humans.
Nor will it replace what secure leadership delivers.
Attunement, calmness, vision, groundedness, healthy, inspiring leadership that gets real results.
Because securely attached leaders set boundaries. They clarify vision. They reduce fear. They build buy-in from a genuine place.
And yes…they make AI adoption easier and more effective.
So go ahead, by all means use AI (though do remember the climate impact it has on the planet - it is extremely inefficient, energy and resources wise)
And don’t expect it to fix your leadership gaps. Because…it won’t.
Humans will do that. And secure ones will do it exponentially faster.
If you want help building secure leaders and high-trust teams:
This isn’t something you’ll find at your typical ‘leadership development’ company - because secure leadership falls in the realm of relational science, which is what I specialize in.
It’s far more than just ‘leadership development’
It’s whole person development, at a root cause level - and it drives your successful leadership.
If you want to learn more, message me today.
Whether it’s a keynote speaking event, small scale workshop, or pilot program, we can get started quickly in transforming your company to win.
