Overcoming AI Impostor Syndrome: How Leaders Can Support Their Teams
John Schneider, CMO at Betterworks, drives business growth through large-scale transformations, market positioning and innovation.
Are you old enough to remember when a calculator in math class felt like cheating? Move forward a few decades, and no one bats an eye at someone using Excel to perform calculations. Spell check was also once thought of as a cheat, but now it's integrated into most software tools.
AI tools represent a similar technological leap, but in a more expansive way.
Given the constant change, why do people put caveats on their AI-assisted accomplishments? I recently heard someone sheepishly say, 'Well, I used ChatGPT!' Using ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or any other AI tool isn't cheating. It's the evolution of technology and human usage and adaptation, and it's nothing to apologize for.
An Intelligence Extension
Many professionals who want to communicate with clarity and impact feel AI usage is a black mark on their capabilities. That's impostor syndrome, a psychological pattern in which individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a fraud, despite evidence of their competence.
Generative AI (GenAI) isn't a replacement for our wit, creativity and drive—and its output certainly must be checked for accuracy. Oftentimes, though, it's a great starter dough.
We provide the inputs and parameters, but AI tools correlate the data. They enhance our creativity, offering content ideas or different approaches to help solve problems. Data from Betterworks' recent 'State of Performance Enablement Report' supports AI's workplace benefits, noting 87% of users report improved accuracy, speed, quality and creativity because of AI.
My teams at Betterworks use AI to brainstorm ideas and develop concise content. They can build a blog structure or case study outline with a large language model (LLM) and, with some revising, get a draft that meets our standards. With AI prompts, we get a rewrite or polishing that speeds the process, so the team can accomplish more creatively.
Remember that sales prospect from a year ago? AI does. And not just their name, but why they went with another vendor, that they had a daughter headed to Stanford and a dog named Baxter.
People's memories are fleeting and fallible, but GenAI can recall and polish our thinking, bringing our best selves to any conversation, analysis or recommendation.
Reframing AI Business Success
With AI, the important question is the implications of its usage, not whether it will become ubiquitous or secondhand. We remain the sentient being that applies intelligence to the AI; we shouldn't feel we defer to it. AI removes redundant and tedious work.
However, if employees and leaders just let it run in a 'set and forget' mode, they're missing the point. It's a system that makes mistakes because it's only as smart as the person inputting prompts and delivers outputs based on pattern detection. It can't mimic individual intelligence, experience or creativity—at least not yet. I'm proud that my team continually discovers new uses for AI, as they see where it can take them and the company, while remaining in charge.
Employees want to feel a measure of control and understanding with AI. Unfortunately, according to a Wiley Workplace Intelligence Report, 96% of workers feel stressed due to change at work, with AI being a major cause. Also, 75% say they lack confidence in utilizing AI.
With AI as a co-pilot, managers and employees can quickly craft performance and stretch goals grounded in past feedback, progress and priorities—goals that are sharper, more impactful and aligned to business outcomes. What once took hours now takes minutes. Add a bit of human finesse, and the ideal goal is ready to go—without the heavy lifting
Leaders must reframe AI business success by approaching AI as a strategic partner, not a tool. A calculator is a tool that handles repeatable tasks. GenAI rides any wave you are surfing by framing the wave, helping you stand and ride it and then advising you on the best place to jump off.
Changing The Narrative
You can use AI to conduct stock research, code for a new microsite, write a sci-fi story and list the five best barbecue joints in Memphis. This broad capability is similar to the smartphone, which replaced answering machines, GPS devices and a host of other gadgets and tools.
People adapted to this usage, and some tech leaders like Sam Altman want to replace the smartphone with a ChatGPT device, so innovation continues unabated. I agree with him on this topic, that we'll have an AI smartphone that will eliminate and unify many current apps.
Using a phone to check your email or calendar are secondhand actions for workers, done without any stigma. AI tools need to reach this acceptance point, which means framing AI as a collaborative workplace partner.
Leaders can 'flip the script' to change narratives over time. If staff members frequently say with a deflated tone, 'I created the report with AI,' take another perspective. Encourage instances of 'I didn't spin my wheels because I had a creative sounding board that gave fresh ideas without feeling drained.'
Ask your teams what they did or will do with the time they saved through AI-driven productivity. The world is changing because we can get much of our jobs done in a fraction of the time, so proactively help teams manage this change.
AI can present new pathways for thought, and workers have the autonomy to run down those paths or create their own twists and turns. AI is the colleague who doesn't tire, the advisor who's always available and the trusted colleague who remembers all the key details but judges nothing.
More Than A Feeling
Worry about AI usage and authenticity isn't just about feelings; it impacts business results.
When employees downplay their output and productivity due to AI usage, they might not innovate or act confidently, which can hurt their company's fortunes. Imposter syndrome ignores the truth: that proper AI usage requires humans who understand context and embrace creativity.
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
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