by Atiya Sheikh | Aug 5, 2026 | Board Members, Board Trustees, CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, Emerging Leaders, General Managers, Heads of Divisions, Human Resources (HR), Junior Managers, Leadership Development, Managing Directors, Middle Managers, Non-Executive Board Members, Senior Managers, Women Leaders
As artificial intelligence becomes better at producing answers, the capabilities that distinguish exceptional people are changing.
For most of history, intelligence was limited by access to information. Today, it is increasingly limited by the quality of the questions we ask.
For generations, expertise was often measured by what people knew.
The person with the most knowledge frequently became the expert in the room.
Artificial intelligence is quietly changing that.
Today, information is available almost instantly. AI can draft reports, summarise meetings, analyse data, generate presentations and answer increasingly complex questions within seconds. Tasks that once required specialist knowledge can now be completed by almost anyone with access to the right technology.
This is one of the most significant shifts in the modern workplace.
Not because knowledge no longer matters.
But because knowledge alone is no longer enough.
AI Is Making Answers Cheaper
Throughout history, access to information created advantage.
Today, information has become abundant.
Increasingly, the competitive advantage lies elsewhere.
As AI makes producing acceptable answers faster, cheaper and more accessible, the value of simply having information inevitably declines.
What becomes more valuable is something AI cannot easily replicate.
- Judgement.
- Discernment.
- Curiosity.
- The ability to ask the question nobody else thought to ask.
- The confidence to challenge an answer that appears convincing.
- The wisdom to recognise when context changes everything.
Research reflects this shift. The World Economic Forum continues to rank analytical thinking among the most important skills for the future, alongside resilience, curiosity and lifelong learning. At the same time, organisations are investing heavily in AI while recognising that technology alone does not create competitive advantage. It is how people apply it that matters.
The New Definition of Expertise
Perhaps the most important change is not what AI can do.
It is what people now need to do differently.
For decades, expertise often meant providing answers.
Increasingly, expertise means framing the problem.
The quality of an AI-generated response depends almost entirely on the quality of the thinking that guides it.
A poorly framed question often produces a perfectly convincing—but fundamentally unhelpful—answer.
The opposite is also true.
A thoughtful question can unlock insights that would otherwise remain hidden.
In many organisations, this changes the nature of leadership.
The best leaders will not necessarily be those who know the most.
They will be those who help others ask better questions, challenge assumptions and think more deeply before acting.
The Hidden Risk
There is another consequence that receives far less attention.
Many professionals developed their judgement by completing the routine tasks that AI increasingly performs.
- Drafting papers.
- Analysing spreadsheets.
- Preparing presentations.
- Reviewing contracts.
Those activities were never simply about producing work.
They were how people learned to think.
If organisations automate those experiences without deliberately creating new opportunities for learning, they risk accelerating efficiency while quietly slowing the development of judgement.
The question is no longer whether AI will replace certain tasks.
The question is how future generations will develop the wisdom those tasks once created.
The Leadership Challenge
Leaders therefore face a different challenge from the one many expected.
The goal is not simply to encourage people to use AI.
Nor is it to compete with it.
The goal is to develop capabilities that become more valuable because AI exists.
- Critical thinking.
- Judgement.
- Creativity.
- Influence.
- Ethical decision-making.
- Systems thinking.
- The ability to connect ideas that appear unrelated.
These have always mattered.
Today, they matter even more.
Because as answers become increasingly accessible, the ability to recognise the right question becomes a defining competitive advantage.
Insight: Artificial intelligence is reducing the value of producing acceptable answers. It is increasing the value of recognising which questions deserve to be asked.
The organisations that succeed over the next decade will not simply adopt AI more quickly.
They will develop people who know when to trust it, when to challenge it and, perhaps most importantly, when to ask an entirely different question.
Because the future will not belong to those who can produce the fastest answer.
It will belong to those who can ask the question no machine thought to ask.
Leadership Question
As AI becomes better at providing answers, are you developing people who know how to ask better questions?
The Right Conversation Can Change Everything. Let’s Talk.
Microsoft Work Trend Index
by Atiya Sheikh | Aug 5, 2026 | Board Members, Board Trustees, CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, General Managers, Heads of Divisions, Human Resources (HR), Leadership Development, Managing Directors, Middle Managers, News & Articles, Senior Managers, Women Leaders
What one business leader’s refusal to make an easy profit teaches us about culture, trust and long-term success.
Imagine increasing the price of every product in your business by just 3%.
Most customers probably wouldn’t notice.
Your profits would rise almost overnight.
When the idea was suggested to Costco founder Jim Sinegal, he refused. He famously described it as “the business equivalent of taking heroin.”
At first glance, it seems an extraordinary comparison. However, what followed revealed a much bigger leadership principle.
After all, what harm could a modest price increase really do?
The answer had very little to do with pricing.
It had everything to do with culture.
The Decision Was Bigger Than the Numbers
On paper, the decision seemed straightforward.
A small increase in prices would have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in additional profit. Consequently, many businesses would have viewed it as sound commercial judgement.
Instead, Sinegal saw something very different.
He understood that Costco’s success had never been built solely on low prices. It had been built on something far more valuable: trust.
Customers believed Costco would always act in their long-term interest.
The moment that principle became negotiable, Costco itself would begin to change.
Not overnight.
Not dramatically.
But gradually.
That gradual drift is perhaps the greatest danger.
Organisations Rarely Drift Overnight
Most organisations do not lose their culture because of one catastrophic decision.
They lose it through a series of small compromises that slowly become normal.
“We’ll make an exception this time.”
“No one will notice.”
“It’s only temporary.”
“We’ll put it right next quarter.”
Individually, these decisions seem insignificant. Collectively, however, they redefine what the organisation is prepared to accept.
Over time, the exception becomes the expectation.
The compromise becomes the culture.
Leadership Is Often Tested in the Small Decisions
Leaders rarely wake up intending to weaken their culture.
More often, they face pressure.
Commercial pressure.
Operational pressure.
Time pressure.
As a result, the temptation is understandable.
A small shortcut.
A slightly lower standard.
A decision that delivers today’s result while quietly borrowing against tomorrow’s reputation.
The difficulty is that culture does not change through mission statements.
It changes through repeated decisions.
People pay far less attention to what leaders say than to what leaders consistently tolerate.
The Hidden Cost of Leadership Compromises
Insight: One of the most remarkable aspects of the Costco story is that the decision was not driven by what the company could do. It was driven by what it believed it should do.
That distinction matters.
Many leadership decisions are not constrained by capability.
They are constrained by values.
The strongest leaders recognise that protecting trust sometimes requires turning down opportunities that appear attractive in the short term.
Because trust, once compromised, is rarely restored through a single decision.
It is rebuilt one decision at a time.
Insight: Organisations rarely lose their way through one major decision. They lose it through a series of small compromises that gradually become acceptable.
Costco’s decision reminds us that sustainable success is rarely built by extracting the maximum value from every opportunity.
Instead, organisations build sustainable success by protecting the principles that caused people to trust them in the first place.
Because culture is not defined by the decisions leaders celebrate.
It is defined by the compromises they refuse to make.
The most damaging leadership compromises are rarely dramatic. They become visible only after small decisions accumulate over time.
Leadership Question
What is your organisation normalising today that would once have been unacceptable?
The Right Conversation Can Change Everything. Let’s Talk.
Business equivalent of taking heroin’: Why Costco refuses to raise prices even if no one will notice
by Atiya Sheikh | Mar 4, 2026 | Board Members, Board Trustees, CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, Emerging Leaders, General Managers, Heads of Divisions, Leadership Development, Managing Directors, News & Articles, Non-Executive Board Members
When activity becomes constant, organisations can lose the space required for strategic thinking.
Modern organisations rarely lack activity. Calendars fill quickly, meetings multiply, and leaders move constantly from one issue to the next. Yet when busyness becomes the norm, strategic thinking quietly begins to disappear.
Organisational busyness has become a defining feature of many leadership environments today.
Calendars are full. Meetings follow meetings. Messages flow across multiple channels throughout the day.
From the outside, this pace appears productive. Leaders look engaged and responsive. Teams appear active and committed.
However, activity does not automatically translate into progress.
Many leadership teams operate at such speed that they rarely step back to consider whether the organisation is moving in the right direction.
Insight: An organisation can be extremely busy and still make very little progress.
Busyness creates the feeling of momentum. It gives the impression that the organisation is moving forward simply because so much activity is taking place.
But something important is often lost in this environment: thinking.
Strategic thinking requires space. It requires moments where leaders are not responding to emails, attending meetings, or addressing immediate operational issues.
It requires the freedom to ask difficult questions.
- Are our assumptions still valid?
- What signals are emerging from the market?
- Which opportunities are we not seeing because we are too focused on current priorities?
Without these pauses, leadership teams become highly effective at managing the present but less capable of shaping the future.
Ironically, some of the most effective organisations operate at a calmer rhythm. Their leaders deliberately protect time for reflection. They schedule conversations that explore possibilities rather than simply review activity.
They understand that progress is not created by constant motion. It is created by motion guided by clear thinking.
Because when busyness becomes the culture, organisations can move quickly without moving forward at all.
Leadership Question: How much time does your leadership team spend thinking about the future rather than managing the present?
The Right Conversation Can Change Everything. Let’s Talk.
by Atiya Sheikh | Jan 21, 2026 | Board Trustees, CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, General Managers, Heads of Divisions, Leadership Development, Managing Directors, Middle Managers, News & Articles, Non-Executive Board Members, Senior Managers
The psychology of delay, why it is often emotional not logistical, and how leaders turn hesitation into decisive action
The uncomfortable truth about procrastination –
Most leaders already know the usual advice: plan better, prioritise, break tasks down, block time. Useful, yes. But it misses the real reason procrastination persists even in capable, high-performing people.
The strongest research-led explanation is surprisingly human. Procrastination is often short-term mood repair. We delay not because we cannot do the task, but because doing it triggers discomfort, and we instinctively choose relief now over consequences later.
Leaders rarely procrastinate on easy admin. They procrastinate on emotionally loaded actions: the conversation, the call, the decision, the message, the boundary.
What leaders are really avoiding
When a leader says, “I just need more time to think,” it can be true. But it can also be a socially acceptable cover for something else.
In leadership settings, procrastination often clusters around four hidden stressors:
- The identity threat – If I act and it does not go well, what does that say about me?
- The reputational risk – If I decide and people disagree, will I look wrong in public?
- The conflict cost – If I raise it, will it trigger anger, defensiveness, or a political mess?
- The moral weight – If I choose one path, who gets disappointed or disadvantaged?
Research reviews consistently link procrastination to task aversiveness, low expectancy of success, impulsiveness, and the way rewards feel distant, which is one reason deadlines suddenly create motivation.
The brain angle leaders find oddly reassuring
If you want a sharper explanation, neuroscience has explored procrastination through the lens of emotion regulation and action control.
One widely discussed finding is that procrastination relates to how effectively the brain regulates negative emotions and shifts into action, with studies pointing to connections involving the amygdala and control regions. This supports the idea that procrastination is not simply laziness, but a struggle between discomfort and regulation.
In plain terms: the task feels like a threat, and the brain nudges you towards avoidance.
The leadership version of procrastination
In organisations, procrastination is rarely “scrolling social media instead of working.” It is more polished than that. It turns up as:
- Scheduling another meeting instead of making the call
- Requesting more data when the decision is already clear
- Rewriting the email repeatedly to remove any possibility of misinterpretation
- Waiting for “alignment” when what is really needed is a line in the sand
- Delaying the feedback because you are trying to be liked and respected at the same time
A small dose of humour is helpful here because it is true: some leaders do not procrastinate by doing nothing. They procrastinate by doing everything except the one thing. That is why “structured procrastination” resonates with so many professionals, even if it is not a scientific intervention.
Why self-criticism makes procrastination worse
Here is the trap. Leaders procrastinate, then become harsh with themselves, and the harshness increases stress, which increases avoidance.
Research has linked procrastination-related stress to lower self-compassion, and suggests self-compassion can be part of breaking the cycle. This is not about being soft. It is about reducing shame so action becomes psychologically accessible again.
A practical framework leaders can use immediately
If procrastination is mood repair, the intervention is not only better planning. It is better emotional handling and clearer decision design.
Try this sequence:
Setp1 – Name the emotion in one word: Anxious, irritated, resentful, exposed, guilty, uncertain.
Step 2 – Name the threat: What exactly feels at stake? Reputation, belonging, control, fairness, identity?
Step 3 – Reduce the task to the “first irreversible step”: Not “solve the whole issue.” Just “send the message,” “book the meeting,” “state the decision,” “ask the question.”
Step 5 – Shorten the distance to reward: Temporal motivation research highlights how delay reduces motivation. Create near-term payoff: clarity, relief, momentum, fewer open loops.
Step 4 – Choose courage over comfort, in that moment: The point is not to feel ready. The point is to stop negotiating with the discomfort
A closing reflection that starts conversations
Procrastination is not always a character flaw. Often it is a leadership signal. A sign that something matters, that stakes feel high, that the emotional load is real.
A useful question to ask yourself or your leadership team is this:
What are we calling “prioritisation” that is actually avoidance?
Because the day leaders stop waiting to feel perfectly ready is often the day momentum returns.
The Right Conversation Can Change Everything. Let’s Talk.
by Atiya Sheikh | Jan 21, 2026 | Board Members, Board Trustees, CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, General Managers, Heads of Divisions, Leadership Development, Managing Directors, News & Articles, Non-Executive Board Members, Senior Managers, Women Leaders
How leaders can go beyond talent and commitment to build excellence that endures — inspired by those who hold multiple Michelin stars and unmatched standards.
Excellence feels glamorous until you watch the work behind it –
When people hear about a chef holding three Michelin stars and three hats — like Clare Smyth — it’s easy to focus on glamour. But mastery is not accidental, nor is it a weekend feat. It is the result of unglamorous repetition, focus on fundamentals, and disciplined refinement.
Most leadership content glorifies “breakthrough performance”. What few explore is how leaders sustain excellence over time, across contexts, and under pressure.
Discipline is the invisible backbone
Excellence is not a moment of brilliance. It is a daily commitment to repeat the fundamentals better than yesterday. In kitchens, studios, sports teams, and boardrooms, the pattern is the same: those who sustain peak performance are obsessed with refinement — not recognition.
In leadership, the temptation is to chase strategy, innovation, and differentiators. These matter. But without discipline — the practice of doing the right basics well — excellent strategy remains unexecuted.
The cost of consistent refinement
Sustained excellence demands continuous attention to:
- process quality
- personal reflection
- feedback integration
- resilience in setbacks
A leader who embodies these behaviours communicates more than what they do. They transmit a culture of mastery that others feel encouraged to adopt.
What separates the brilliant from the enduring
Short-lived breakthroughs are often tied to inspiration. Sustained excellence is tied to habits. It emerges where leaders internalise discipline as identity rather than imposition.
This matters because organisations often confuse enthusiasm with persistence, or charisma with consistency. Real excellence is not visible in highlights; it is visible in the day-after-date grind.
The leadership ripple effect
When discipline becomes cultural, it shifts expectations. Teams begin to see resilience not as endurance, but as rhythm. Performance becomes less about urgent peaks and more about reliable excellence.
Purpose becomes practice.
When people know that excellence is the daily baseline, they adopt behaviours that match it.
A reflection worth passing on
Ask yourself and your team:
- What behaviours are praised for their impact in the moment, rather than their value over time?
- What habits do we honour because they build sustained excellence?
When excellence is practice, not performance, everything changes.
The Right Conversation Can Change Everything. Let’s Talk.
