AI Collaboration IS a Leadership Skill
No more options to hide away from working WITH your new AI coworker
Imagine handing off research, strategy, or content creation to an AI—and getting results you’d use. That future isn’t far off. It’s happening now.
A new wave of AI coworkers is emerging. These aren’t just smarter chatbots—they’re agentic models that can plan, take action, and use tools independently.
They’re not assistants. They’re collaborators.
For leaders, this isn’t a sci-fi headline. It’s a new operating model.
Marketing teams already use AI to analyze campaigns, spin ad variants, and co-write strategy docs. Sales and CX leaders are offloading follow-ups and data work. Creatives are partnering with AI to break blocks and move faster.
The signal is clear: the companies that will win in this next era will be the ones that figure out how to work with AI, not just how to use it.
This week’s updates—from OpenAI’s genius-level o3 model to an Italian newsroom run by a bot—make it obvious that AI collaboration is a leadership skill now.
New AI Study
🧑💼 Can AI Spot a Leader? Apparently, Yes.
NBER Study
A new NBER study asked a simple but important question:
Are the skills that make someone a good people leader the same skills that help them lead AI agents?
The answer?
Yes—and with a correlation of 0.81, it’s not even close.
In the experiment, participants were asked to lead teams of human collaborators and, separately, AI agents. The same individuals who excelled at managing people also outperformed at managing AI. What made them successful? Classic leadership traits:
Asking clarifying questions
Encouraging collaboration
Applying emotional intelligence
These behaviors boosted performance, even when the “team” was artificial.
What does this mean for your organization?
AI agents like OpenAI’s o3 are becoming part of daily workflows. But here’s the catch:
They still need direction.
This is your signal to start treating AI like a new type of team member—one that still requires delegation, review, and feedback.
The best managers already lead this way. They know how to:
Assign tasks to AI (and iterate on prompts)
Spot mistakes in AI output
Blend machine input with human judgment
As AI becomes embedded in teams, leadership itself needs to evolve. You don’t just manage people anymore—you manage a mixed team of humans and AI.
🧭 The strategic takeaway
Start developing “AI leadership” across your org.
Just like remote work shifted how we lead, AI demands a new playbook. And here’s the upside: the same emotional intelligence and coaching skills that work with people also work with machines.
Treat AI output not as gospel, but as a teammate’s contribution—smart, but not infallible.
The future belongs to leaders who can confidently guide humans and machines.
What This Means for Marketing Leaders
The future marketing team isn’t just human—it’s hybrid. AI agents will handle the busywork, but they’ll need smart direction to be effective.
That’s where leadership comes in. The managers who thrive will be the ones who treat AI like a capable (but slightly unpredictable) team member—guiding it, refining its output, and knowing when to step in.
If your team leads campaigns, content, or customer programs, train them to lead with AI. The upside? Less time spent doing and more thinking, optimizing, and driving results.
