Leadership Delta Toolkit: How Leadership Coaches Can Use AI to Support Leadership Development

Do you remember a bygone era when you printed out directions on MapQuest? What seems antiquated now was– dare we say it? –revolutionary in its time.  

You could get specific directions from point A to point B in less than a second– as long as your dial-up connection was reliable.  

And then– like a pixelated beacon of industry, hope, and innovation –came the GPS.  

The year was 2001 and Garmin was all the rage. A GPS navigator in your very own vehicle? A game changer. Honorable mention, TomTom. We see you, friend. These everyday heroes are now gone, but mostly not forgotten.  

Now there’s a new sheriff in town. Artificial Intelligence.  

AI is the Garmin of the early 2000s.  

The MapQuest of 1998. 

AI is the zeitgeist's sharpest tool in the shed.  

Artificial Intelligence is a leadership GPS. This revolutionary tool can help leaders navigate complex routes, avoid obstacles, and find the best path more efficiently than ever before. But without the vehicle or the driver, it’s not much use.  

Leadership Development experts, like Leadership Delta (hi!), are the vehicles. Your team is the driver (a bit crowded, sure, but you make it work).   

AI is here to stay, and the most effective leadership development teams aficionados are using AI-driven resources to support their commitment to develop leaders in a variety of ways.  

Notably, AI supports leadership development through innovative approaches for enhancing emotional intelligence, communication, and coaching.  

Influencing Emotional Intelligence 

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical skill that all leaders (and ahem, all humans) should learn. EI is the ability to recognize, understand, manage, and respond to emotions effectively in yourself. Emotional intelligence is also about understanding the same emotional complexities in other people. Emotional intelligence prioritizes important interpersonal skills such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.  

With so much focus on emotions– an innately human experience– it may seem counterintuitive to utilize technology to enhance and develop this important skill.  

AI-driven resources have become a catalyst for leadership experts to help teams develop emotional intelligence through tools and insights that help people understand, manage, and improve their emotional and social competencies better than ever before. 

Here are a two examples:  

• Real-time emotional feedback: AI can analyze facial expressions, voice tone, and body language through emotion recognition software. With AI-assistance to provide real-time feedback on emotional states, leadership gurus can help teams become self-aware of how they express emotions in different situations.  

• Practicing empathy: AI-powered experiences can help team members "step into someone else’s shoes." With these tools, leadership development experts can coach team members through real-life scenarios where they can practice empathy by learning to relate to diverse experiences and perspectives.  

AI-Assisted Coaching 

AI-powered virtual coaching and AI chatbots can be invaluable tools during leadership development exercises. These resources can provide on-demand guidance, advice, and real-time feedback.  

These resources act as a leadership coach’s virtual assistant that supports a shared mission of helping employees develop skills; make better, more informed decisions; and improve communication.   

Additionally, AI-chatbots can provide additional hands-on practice for leadership coaches to implement. An AI chatbot is a computer program that models a conversation-like experience with customers or clients. This AI-assisted resource provides interactive experiences where employees can practice active listening skills and respond empathetically to hypothetical challenges. 

Communication Resources 

AI can support leadership development through resources that 1) teach people how to identify their own communication styles and the communication styles of those around them and 2) adapt messages for effective communication.  

Chat analysis tools are AI-driven resources that can analyze chat conversations and provide key data to help the entire team improve. This data can assist leadership development experts as they create personalized learning and coaching experiences for each participant.  

These insights can improve communication patterns, emotional intelligence, and relationship dynamics.  

AI-assisted resources can also support improving communication skills. Some AI-applications can help users modify the tone of their messaging for various situations and contexts. While you never want AI to replace interpersonal communication, these types of tools can help leadership development experts teach individuals specifics that will empower them to utilize these skills outside of AI-based tools.  

A Catalyst for Growth 

It’s important to remember that despite the wide variety of tech now available, a leadership expert that will help your team hone all of this AI-driven support is essential. Just as a GPS is useless without a vehicle to guide, leadership development falls flat without a key component– a leader.  

AI should never replace the human elements of leadership—such as empathy, vision, ethical judgment, and personal experience—but it can amplify them by providing leaders with resources to enhance self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills.  

In the hands of our skilled Leadership Delta experts, these AI-driven resources are more adept at putting people’s specific needs first. When people grow, the organization grows.  
Contact Leadership Delta today to learn how to integrate AI-driven resources into your leadership development coaching.