From Avoidance to Agency: A Business Leader’s Honest Take on GenAI

I didn’t grow up with tech. I went to university in the late 90s, when no one had laptops and the internet was still a novelty. Fast forward to the present, and I find myself helping clients navigate something that, not long ago, I barely understood myself: generative artificial intelligence.

To be honest, my relationship with genAI hasn’t been smooth or linear. It’s been emotional, confusing, even a little existential. But it’s also been energising—and it’s changing the way I think about my work, my clients, and the future we’re all part of.

From Indifference to Dread

When genAI first appeared in headlines, I barely noticed. It felt like something for techies or younger people—relevant to someone else’s world, not mine. I was working in corporate roles, busy managing teams and projects, not algorithms.

Then ChatGPT came along.

At first, I was curious. Then quickly unimpressed. It felt clunky and overhyped. But that changed during my master’s in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Sussex. I started seeing how the students around me were using genAI—not just to get things done faster, but to approach tasks in completely new ways. That’s when the anxiety kicked in.

Everything I read made me feel left behind. GenAI wasn’t just a tool; it was reshaping how people worked, thought, and made decisions. And I hadn’t even started.

Learning, Slowly and Reluctantly

Eventually, I did what most overwhelmed business owners do when change feels too big: I Googled it.

Ironically, it took me a while to realise I should just ask genAI to explain itself. That was a turning point. I started experimenting—small things at first. Drafting emails. Summarising documents. Brainstorming ideas. And for the first time, I saw real potential.

Mixed Feelings Are Rational

Now, I live in a kind of productive ambivalence.

Yes, I’m still uneasy about the pace of change—especially when I think about the impact on work, education, and the future my daughter will grow up in. But I’m also excited. I’ve found ways to use genAI that are genuinely helpful, even enjoyable. I’ve started to wonder how much easier some of my earlier consulting roles would have been with tools like these.

And I’ve realised something important: it’s OK to hold two truths at once. To feel both cautious and curious. Concerned and creative. That kind of thinking is a strength—not a contradiction.

You Don’t Have to Be an Expert. But You Do Have to Be Engaged.

My view now is simple. If we don’t engage with genAI, we can’t expect to shape how it’s used. It’s not about being a tech expert. It’s about staying in the conversation, asking questions, and making sure you’re the one deciding how it fits into your world.

That’s the work I’m doing with my clients—and myself. Helping business leaders move from overwhelmed to informed, from passive to proactive.

Because when it comes to managing strategic change, especially something as significant as genAI, it’s not just about the tools; it’s about how we show up.

Image animated with GenAI