Not exactly sure how it’s March but here we are! I want to pat myself on the back for getting through February- but then looked at my March calendar. Luckily, this tsunami of events are genuinely fun and I get to see some of my favorite people.

If you’re at any of these conferences or live in any of these cities, let me know- I’d love to grab coffee.

And if you’re in NYC, I’ve been hosting social impact dinners- small gatherings for folks working in and across the social impact space. If you’re interested, just sign up here to stay in the know.

Also? I’ve been having the same conversation with clients in HR, finance, operations and quality assurance. They’re leading trainings to get managers to do <fill in the blank> and dreading it- the us versus them, the non-compliance. And the folks in L & D? They’ve shared they lead engaging trainings that then go no where.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! I promise!

If you are someone responsible for getting managers to do, well, anything, join my free webinar this Wednesday, March 4 at 1pm EST.

Know someone who can benefit? Feel free to share this link with others.

Everyone is using AI to write emails, but not everyone is  using it to do the harder thing: get clear on what they actually expect, how they give feedback, and whether the people they're promoting are actually ready for what comes next.

That gap isn't an AI problem — it's a leadership infrastructure problem.

Here's what I've found to be true about AI: it's a ruthless mirror. If your thinking is fuzzy, it amplifies the fuzz. If your expectations are vague, it surfaces the gap right back at you. Used well, it becomes a real thought partner. Used poorly, it just writes prettier confusion.

I’ve been playing around with AI prompts for the past few months. Recently, I’ve begun sharing them in training and facilitations, to help leaders continue to develop the clarity they need when they’re by themselves..

I’m sharing three here that seem relevant given the time of year- feedback, succession planning, and avoiding the Peter Principle.  The prompts below aren't magic, but if you sit with them honestly, they'll tell you something useful.

Most managers know that feedback should be specific, but fewer stop to examine their own role in the dynamic before walking into a hard conversation — and that's usually where things go sideways.

Try this before your next tough feedback conversation:

I need to give feedback to a high-performing but defensive team member. Help me clarify: the specific observable behavior, the impact on the team, what "good" would look like, and where I may be unintentionally contributing to the dynamic. (Bonus: Add job description and details on what you are seeing)

That last line — "where I may be contributing" — is the one most people skip, and it's also the one that shifts the conversation from tension to something more productive.

If your succession plan is a spreadsheet of names, I'd push back on calling it a succession plan — it's more of a wish list. Real succession planning is a stress test, and it asks the questions most leaders avoid: what would actually break if this person left tomorrow, where does knowledge live only in one person's head, and what decisions does this role own that no one else knows how to make?

Before you fill in any names, try this:

I'm succession planning for [role]. Help me identify: the critical decisions this role owns, the capabilities required under pressure, where knowledge is undocumented, and what would break if this person left tomorrow. (Again, you’ll get better results by sharing both JDs)

The answers will be a lot more useful than any org chart.

Most promotions don't fail because the person isn't capable — they fail because no one redesigned the system around the new role. You promoted a strong individual contributor, but did you define what success actually looks like now that they're managing people instead of projects? Did you identify which of their old behaviors need to decrease? Did you build any support infrastructure for the first 90 days?

Before your next promotion decision, try this:

I'm promoting a top individual contributor into a leadership role. Help me identify: the mindset shifts required, the new success metrics, what behaviors must decrease, and what support infrastructure should be in place in the first 90 days. (Again, sharing JD or competencies will make this richer)

That's what separates a promotion from a setup.

AI won't build your leadership culture, but it can expose whether the thinking behind your leadership is clear or just comfortable — whether your feedback prep is honest or performative, whether your succession plan is a system or a placeholder.

Interested in seeing more AI prompts like these? Email me to let me know what topics you’d want me to cover.

The prompts above are one piece of a much bigger puzzle. In my Train the Trainer program, we build the full infrastructure that organizations need to deliver strong, consistent manager training — so that performance conversations are not only clear and humane, but also protect your org from the kind of vague, biased feedback that creates real legal and cultural risk. AI tools are part of the framework, but the program is really about giving your trainers and managers the structure, language, and practice to do this well every time.

If your organization is delivering manager training but still seeing inconsistent feedback, murky evaluations, or promotions that don't stick, that's the gap we close.

Interested? Learn more about Train the Trainer here or just reply to this email.

Give your team a "decide without me" threshold. Identify the types of decisions your direct reports should be making without looping you in, and tell them explicitly. Most managers say they want their team to have autonomy but never define what that actually looks like in practice, which means people keep asking for permission they don't need.

Assign a decision owner before you adjourn. At the end of every meeting, name one person responsible for each action item and a specific deadline — not "the team" and not "soon." If you can't name a person and a date, the item probably needs its own dedicated conversation before it becomes accountable.

Does Your C-Suite Really Operate As A Team?- or do they act like the leaders of different nations at a summit? I appreciate this article calling this out specifically, the tops they shared and the interview of one org that is working to improve C-suite cohesion.

12 Questions Every HR Leader Should Ask AI Vendors- Honestly, every leader period should read this. On a good day, choosing the right vendor is sometimes like solving the sphinx’s riddle- now ad din AI. Not asking the right questions can lead to more than a poorly chosen product. WIth the very real potential of increasing discrimination or bias, it could also open your org up to significant risk. Stacey’s questions here are SO smart.

If you’re a decision maker at your company, you need to be on the bleeding edge of, well, everything. But before you go signing up for seminars, conferences, lunch ‘n learns, and all that jazz, just know there’s a far better (and simpler) way: Subscribing to The Deep View.

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