Leadership in the Era of AI: Dan Stewart on Human-Centered Leadership Shifts

Host Annette Klososky and co-host/producer Annie Brown introduce Leader Spotlight and a three-part series with Dan Shuart, senior consultant at Future Point of View and author of "Leadership in the Era of AI," a book built from a think tank of executives across industries. Shuart shares his career journey from geologist at Exxon to IT leadership across multiple technology eras, arguing AI is different because it expands focus on human impact, culture, and workforce concerns. The discussion covers shifting fears of AI from sci-fi takeover to job and workflow realities, younger leaders’ heavy daily AI use, and the need for leaders to abandon information hoarding and command-and-control decision-making. Shuart explains leaders need hands-on tool use and broad AI fluency beyond “we use Copilot,” supported by use-case harvesting, training, risk awareness, and visible learning through sharing practical AI wins.

Show Notes / Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and Hosts
01:10 Why AI Changes Leadership
03:43 Book and Series Overview
05:45 Meet Dan Shuart
07:24 Dan’s Leadership Journey
09:21 Why the AI Era Feels Different
15:35 Inside the Think Tank Book
18:40 What’s Changed in a Year
21:16 Big Leadership Shift Letting Go
29:04 AI Fluency and Strategy
35:12 Visible Learning and Better Questions
41:02 Wrap Up and Where to Follow