Are You Still Thinking About Your Thinking?
Photo by Cottonbro Studio
How to use AI without losing the human skills that matter most.
What are your thoughts about how you think about things? Do you ever stop and wonder why you think the way you do?
Most of us don't consciously pause to examine our thinking. We move through our days guided by familiar beliefs, assumptions, and opinions, often without questioning where they came from or whether they still serve us.
I've explored this before in my reflections on weeding our mental gardens—recognizing which thoughts and beliefs help us grow and which ones may be holding us back.
Now, when we're stumped, we have another option. We can turn to AI for answers, solutions, and even recommendations about what to do next.
While that can be incredibly helpful, it raises an important question: Are we using AI to expand our thinking, or are we letting it do our thinking for us?
Researchers are beginning to explore how our growing reliance on AI may affect critical thinking and other cognitive skills. Some findings suggest that when we consistently turn to AI instead of working through problems ourselves, we may miss opportunities to exercise and strengthen those abilities.
On the other hand, AI can help us work more efficiently, organize information, explore ideas, and free up time for more meaningful work.
So how do we find the balance? How do we take advantage of what AI offers while continuing to challenge our own thinking?
A recent American Psychological Association article explores this question. Researchers are finding that the impact of AI depends not simply on whether we use it, but on how deliberately we engage with it.
The distinction matters. AI can support our capabilities, but we still have a responsibility to exercise our own judgment.
I recently experienced a wonderful example of this through a professional I was advising.
She was disappointed with her compensation despite delivering exceptional results. She had received a stellar performance evaluation, developed processes well beyond her assigned responsibilities, and earned praise from leadership for her dedication, innovative solutions, and communication.
Yet her compensation didn't reflect the value she believed she was contributing.
I asked her how she wanted to address the situation. She was committed to having a conversation with leadership and advocating for an increase.
What she did next fascinated me.
She turned to AI to help build her case. She entered her performance evaluation, original scope of work, the processes she had created, and the measurable results she had achieved.
When she shared the conversation AI had prepared for her, I was astounded. It was factual, well-organized, and succinct. It made a compelling case for why she deserved greater compensation.
But something important was missing.
Her humanness.
The AI-generated conversation communicated what she had accomplished, but it didn't fully communicate what the experience meant to her.
I encouraged her to include how the gap in compensation was affecting her, what it meant for her motivation, and how it might influence her commitment to future work.
That personal element was essential. She wasn't simply presenting a business case. She was having an honest conversation about her experience, her contribution, and what she wanted moving forward.
The result? Her leader admired her willingness to advocate for herself, her courage to speak up, and her accountability in asking for what she wanted.
She also received a favorable increase in compensation.
There are so many rich lessons in this example.
AI helped her organize the facts and prepare a thoughtful conversation. But she still had to decide what mattered, find the courage to express it, and connect with another human being.
The technology supported the conversation. It didn't replace the relationship.
I believe this distinction is especially important for leaders. Improving systems and processes is only part of the equation. We also have to consider the people affected by them.
How can we use AI to create efficiencies and improve our results without becoming overly reliant on it for answers? How do we continue developing our own critical thinking skills while encouraging our teams to do the same?
And perhaps most importantly, how do we protect the conversations and relationships that are so essential to effective leadership?
We can use AI to prepare for a difficult conversation. We can ask it to help us consider different perspectives or organize our thoughts. But we still need to listen, ask questions, exercise judgment, and be willing to engage with one another.
I've had people ask whether AI has impacted the coaching industry.
My answer is the same as it would be for many industries…absolutely!
AI can be valuable for research, developing processes, and accessing information. But when it comes to the human side of coaching and leadership, there is something it cannot fully replicate.
Human beings need connection and community. We rely on one another for support, empathy, validation, and listening. We grow through conversations that challenge our assumptions, introduce new perspectives, and sometimes cause us to reconsider what we believe to be true.
And this brings me back to one of my favorite tools: curiosity.
Curiosity invites us to question our automatic thinking rather than simply accept the first answer available. It helps us understand one another, explore possibilities, and expand our perspectives.
In a world where information is available almost instantly, curiosity may be more important than ever.
I imagine we'll continue experimenting with the right balance between human thinking and artificial intelligence. And perhaps that balance will look different depending on the situation.
But I believe the responsibility remains ours.
Before clicking a button to find a quick answer, pause. Think about the problem. Ask yourself what you already know, what you might be assuming, and what you still need to understand.
Consider whether AI will help you think more deeply or simply help you avoid the effort of thinking.
And when the situation involves another person, ask yourself whether what you really need is a better answer or a meaningful conversation.
Viktor Frankl reminds us in Man's Search for Meaning that even in difficult circumstances, we retain the freedom to choose our attitude and our way forward.
Technology may offer us more options than ever before. But how we think, how we connect, and what we choose to do with those options remain our responsibility.
So, how can you master the use of AI without losing the very capabilities that make you human?
I challenge you to think about your thinking!
Here's to finding our way,
Momentum works with executive leadership teams to rebuild trust, communication, and alignment at the top through executive business coaching, executive consulting, team training, and team off-sites.
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Fundamental of the Week #23: PRACTICE RECOVERY
When mistakes or errors in judgment happen, own it. Communicate with the appropriate parties, acknowledge your accountability, and set corrective steps in motion. Get back in the game quickly.
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