--- title: Leading with AI, Not Around It description: AI doesn’t replace leadership. It raises the bar. Russ Malz shares how organizations can lead effectively by embedding AI into real workflows. image: https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Modern%20executive%20leadership%20scene%20showing%20a%20confident%20business%20leader%20collaborating%20with%20AI%20subtle%20digital%20interface%20overlays%20clean%20corporate%20environm.png --- [Skip to content](https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/blog/leading-with-ai-not-around-it#main-content) [![knowledgelake-logo](https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/hubfs/Web%202022/nb-kl-logo.svg) ](https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/) - [Platform](https://www.knowledgelake.com/platform) - [Industries](https://www.knowledgelake.com/solutions) - [Company](https://www.knowledgelake.com/leadership) - [Resources](https://www.knowledgelake.com/resources) ** [![Contact Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5802762/5f620b97-8fa9-46d4-ad80-25f0134602ff.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5802762/5f620b97-8fa9-46d4-ad80-25f0134602ff) ** - [Platform](https://www.knowledgelake.com/platform) - [Industries](https://www.knowledgelake.com/solutions) - [Company](https://www.knowledgelake.com/leadership) - [Resources](https://www.knowledgelake.com/resources) [![Contact Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5802762/5f620b97-8fa9-46d4-ad80-25f0134602ff.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5802762/5f620b97-8fa9-46d4-ad80-25f0134602ff) ** ** Digital Transformation # Leading with AI, Not Around It By: [Russ Malz](https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/blog/author/russ-malz) | February 27, 2026 [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/blog/leading-with-ai-not-around-it](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://www.resources.knowledgelake.com/blog/leading-with-ai-not-around-it) There’s no shortage of opinions about AI right now. Depending on who you ask, it’s either going to revolutionize work overnight or quietly replace half the workforce. Reality, as usual, sits somewhere in the middle. Two books I’ve recently read — [Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741805/co-intelligence-by-ethan-mollick/) and [The AI-Driven Leader by Geoff Woods](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ai-driven-leader-geoff-woods/1146140237) — helped crystallize something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: AI doesn’t replace leadership. It raises the bar for it. **From Automation to Collaboration** What *Co-Intelligence* does especially well is reset the conversation around how AI actually shows up in day-to-day work. Mollick isn’t interested in sci-fi futures or abstract ethics debates. He’s focused on something much more practical: what happens when AI becomes a collaborator instead of just a tool. He frames AI as a co-thinker — something that can help you brainstorm, pressure-test ideas, summarize complexity, and move faster. Not perfectly. Not autonomously. But meaningfully, when guided well. That distinction matters. The value isn’t in handing work off to AI. It’s in working alongside it — knowing when to lean in, when to question the output, and when human judgment still needs to lead. **Why Leadership Needs to Evolve** This is where *The AI-Driven Leader* complements Mollick’s thinking so well. If *Co-Intelligence* is about how work changes, *The AI-Driven Leader* is about how leaders must change. Woods makes a compelling case that traditional leadership models — slow decision cycles, intuition without data, AI gets treated as a side project — which won’t hold up in today’s accelerated world. The leaders who succeed aren’t necessarily the most technical. They’re the ones who: - Build AI fluency across their teams - Use AI to inform decisions, not avoid accountability - Create cultures where experimentation is encouraged and learning happens fast AI becomes a force multiplier — but only when leaders know how to use it responsibly and confidently. **The Human Role Is Still the Point** Both books land on the same truth from different angles: humans remain firmly in the loop. AI needs context. Direction. Guardrails. Judgment. The organizations getting this right aren’t chasing automation for its own sake — they’re designing systems where AI enhances human expertise instead of bypassing it. That’s something we see every day at KnowledgeLake. Whether it’s document automation, workflow orchestration, or compliance-driven processes, the best outcomes come when AI is embedded into real work — not bolted on as an experiment. **Why This Matters Now** We’re past the point of debating *if* AI will change how work gets done. What matters now is how intentionally organizations lead through that change — and whether AI is treated as a short-term experiment or a long-term capability embedded into everyday operations. *Co-Intelligence* helps reframe AI not as a tool to automate around people, but as a partner that strengthens human judgment when it’s thoughtfully applied. *The AI-Driven Leader* pushes that idea one step further, challenging leaders to actively shape this partnership. Together, the message is clear: the future belongs to organizations that don’t just deploy AI, but design it into real workflows, with accountability, transparency, and humans firmly in the loop. That’s where we see the most durable results—and it’s the mindset required to turn AI from hype into sustained business impact. 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