How to conquer imposter syndrome in the age of AI

When I started my business nearly two decades ago, I shared the same reservations as many first-time entrepreneurs. As a natural introvert, I doubted whether I had the personality to lead a company. Fortunately, I pushed through those self-doubts and gradually discovered my leadership style. Today, however, many leaders face a new type of challenge: feeling like imposters in the age of AI. 

A recent Korn Ferry survey of 10,000 workers and executives found that AI contributed to 71% of CEOs and two-thirds of other senior leaders feeling imposter syndrome in their roles. With technology evolving at an ever-faster pace, the fear of falling behind is understandable. But it begs the question: Why are so many professionals adopting a wait-and-see approach to AI?

In my experience, the best way to get started with AI is to carve out a bit of time for experimentation, explore new tools, and integrate them into daily workflows. As AI transforms industries, leaders can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. If you’re not already onboard, here are a few ways AI is helping CEOs run their companies more effectively.

Transforming the decision-making process

Being a CEO requires navigating an almost constant stream of decisions. While there’s an argument for leaning on intuition, data is essential for wading through today’s increasingly complex world. George C. Lee, co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, advocates leveraging AI in the C-suite to enhance effective decision-making. 

Writing for Fast Company, Lee explained that an AI-enabled system can analyze market trends, customer reviews, and competitive dynamics. He noted that such tools could “broaden the context of any discussion, introduce novel insights, and connect the dots across complex scenario analyses.” 

While some companies are developing proprietary AI models, widely available tools like ChatGPT are a great way to get started. They can conduct research and synthesize vast amounts of data in seconds, enabling CEOs to improve the quality of their decisions and make them faster and more confidently. Then, they can dedicate more time to big-picture topics like innovation.

There’s a caveat: AI tools like ChatGPT are powerful tools, but they have the unfortunate habit of occasionally “hallucinating”—making things up. It’s good practice to always verify essential information before relying on it for major decisions.

Streamlining operations to focus on strategic growth

As CEO of Jotform, I’m always on the lookout for new automation opportunities. Integrating these tools requires an upfront time investment, but once the processes are in place, I regain that investment and more, leaving me wide swaths of time and energy to focus on strategic growth. 

According to an IBM survey of over 1,600 senior European executives, 82% of the business leaders reported having already deployed generative AI or intending to this year. A common motivation was the desire to improve efficiency by automating manual tasks. 

Leaders can use AI to automate routine tasks, such as tracking business metrics and trends. Tools like Microsoft Power BI provide centralized dashboards for real-time KPIs, while predictive analytics deliver trend updates and forecast outcomes, obviating the need to gather data manually. Or, take executive-level recruiting: CEOs can combine AI tools with personal insight to connect with talent faster. As Nancy Xu, Founder and CEO of Moonhub, said at Summer Davos this year:

“In a world where talent is traditionally the bottleneck for growth, I think the really exciting opportunity for AI agents is actually to compress the time scale that it takes to build ideas or companies to impact and make it possible to do that in a much more compressed time frame.”

As a result, CEOs can focus more on higher-level work, like ensuring their companies are continually evolving. 

Enhancing soft skills and boosting team morale

Soft skills have long been underrated for CEOs, overshadowed by technical skills and business acumen—but that seems to be changing. According to Deloitte research, organizations are increasingly prioritizing soft skills in the C-Suite, like communication and critical thinking.

CEOs can leverage AI tools to build and enhance these skills. For example, natural language processing tools, such as Grammarly or ChatGPT, can help leaders refine their communication style and messaging to be clearer, more personalized, and more empathetic. Sentiment analysis tools, like IBM Watson or Qualtrics, can analyze employee feedback or survey responses to take the temperature on team morale. That information in hand, CEOs can pinpoint areas where additional support might be needed and keep employee morale afloat. 

While AI will never replace leaders or human decision-makers, it can help them work faster, more efficiently, more effectively—and at the same time, provide more guidance and support to employees. By experimenting with AI tools and integrating them into workflows, CEOs can navigate the increasingly complex modern business world and enhance, rather than eliminate, the human touch.