The AI-Driven Leader: Leverage AI to Think Better

On March 10, 2026, AI Academy Live hosts its first AI Book Club conversation with Geoff Woods, author of The AI-Driven Leader.

By Jessica Miller; drafted with support from Gemini.

Generative AI is now woven into the daily rhythm of work. Emails are drafted in seconds. Meetings are automatically summarized. Reports take minutes instead of hours. For many leaders, AI has become a powerful productivity engine.

But productivity is not the same as leadership.

And speed is not the same as clarity.

As AI embeds into workflows, a critical question emerges: Are leaders using AI simply to move faster—or to think better?

That distinction is our real opportunity.

On March 10, 2026, AI Academy’s first AI Book Club session of the year brings together Jessica Miller, Head of Learning at AI Academy, and Geoff Woods, founder of AI Leadership and author of The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions, for a live, 60-minute conversation about what it actually means to treat AI as a thinking partner.

This session isn’t about surface-level hacks or clever prompts. It’s about something deeper: improving judgment, sharpening decision-making, and gaining strategic clarity in an era defined by acceleration.

Many leaders are overwhelmed because they lack space to think. AI can remove operational friction, but its greatest value may be in helping leaders slow down in the right moments. Used intentionally, AI can help pressure-test assumptions, explore alternative scenarios, conduct pre-mortems, and surface blind spots that might otherwise go unnoticed. It can help leaders ask better questions before making high-stakes decisions.

During this live AI Book Club session, Geoff and Jessica will explore the mindset shift that moves AI from “assistant” to “collaborator.” They’ll unpack practical frameworks leaders can apply immediately—approaches that support clearer thinking without surrendering human judgment. The conversation will also examine the cultural implications of AI-driven leadership: how to address fears of job replacement, how to define clear red lines for human oversight, and how to measure whether AI adoption is improving the quality of decisions—not just the efficiency of workflows.

This approach aligns with AI Academy’s broader commitment to human-centered AI transformation. Our goal isn’t simply to help professionals use AI. It’s to help them use AI responsibly, strategically, and in ways that enhance human capability rather than diminish it.

Leaders today are navigating real tension. They are asking: How do I move beyond task automation? What does it actually mean to treat AI as a thought partner? How can AI help me make better decisions—not just save time? And how can I experiment with these ideas without disrupting my entire organization?

This session is designed to address those questions directly. Through author insights, real-world examples, and guided reflection, participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to integrate AI into their leadership practice in a way that strengthens—not replaces—their own thinking.

AI Academy Live was built to bridge the gap between on-demand education and real-time application, bringing leaders together for conversations that deepen learning and accelerate transformation. The AI Book Club is a powerful extension of that mission, and of our broader commitment to Accelerate AI Literacy for All.™

This session is designed for executives seeking sharper strategic clarity, managers navigating operational overload, consultants advising clients on AI adoption, and AI-curious professionals ready to move beyond surface-level use. Whether your focus is personal growth or enterprise transformation, the ability to think better with AI may become one of the defining leadership advantages of the next decade.

The future won’t belong to leaders who simply automate faster.

It will belong to leaders who learn how to think alongside AI—deliberately, ethically, and strategically.

Join us live on March 10, 2026, for a 60-minute conversation that will challenge how you see AI and how you lead with it. This event is for AI Academy Mastery Members, who can enroll here.

Reserve your seat and start building the skill that matters most in the AI era: better thinking.