Learning and Leadership: How to Lead on AI When You’re Still Learning

There is a version of AI leadership that requires you to understand large language models and build a firm-wide strategy from scratch. Most accountants are far too busy for that. And honestly, it’s not what your team or your clients need from you.

What they need is someone who is paying attention. Someone willing to try things. Someone who is open about what they are learning. And that is where a lot of leaders are right now. Most of us are somewhere between curious and overwhelmed. That is a normal place to be. It is also a very real place to lead from.

Learning AI Is a Leadership Skill
AI draws on a lot of the leadership skills you already have. It just might not feel that way yet.

Think about how you manage change. Leaders have always had to help people navigate new tools and new processes. You read the room. You set a pace. You bring people along. AI is the latest version of that.

The same goes for decision-making. Leaders rarely have the full picture before they have to act. You gather what you can, make a call and stay open to adjusting as you learn more. AI brings that same kind of judgment call with it. You don’t need to understand every technical detail to decide where it belongs in your firm and where it doesn’t.

Then there’s delegation. Good leaders know what to hand off and what to keep. What does AI handle well? Where does it fall short? And where does human judgment still need to stay in the loop?

When a leader is willing to engage with AI out in the open, it does something no policy or training session can replicate. It gives everyone else permission to start learning too.

Modeling Curiosity Instead of Fear
Your team will take its cues about AI from how you talk about it. If the only message they hear is that AI is dangerous or off-limits, they will either shut down or use it quietly and hope no one notices. If the only message is excitement, they may trust the tool more than their own judgment. Neither one helps much.

One of the best ways to introduce AI is be transparent. Share what you are learning. Talk about where you see potential in your own work. Explain where you are still not comfortable and why. When you say, “I do not have this fully figured out yet, but here is how I am thinking about it,” you model the kind of honesty you want from everyone else too.

That tone makes a difference. When people hear, “We are going to test AI in a few specific places, with clear guardrails and then decide what we think,” they feel invited into the process. They understand that ethics and trust are still non-negotiable. And they understand that learning is allowed, because you are creating room for curiosity without lowering the standard.

And it is worth keeping in mind that other firms are already doing this. The leaders who are learning openly and helping their teams do the same are building an advantage that is hard to close later. Not because they found a better tool, but because they started sooner.

A Roadmap for Moving Forward
Most leaders try to learn AI in big abstract chunks. They go to a webinar or read a long article but still feel unsure what to do on Monday morning. A better approach is to attach learning to work you are already doing, one conversation at a time.

Start with one kind of meeting that matters in your week. An advisory call with a key client. A leadership check-in. A regular one-on-one. Use your firm’s advisory technology to look at that conversation a little more closely.

Ask one question that helps you reflect. Did you explain the purpose clearly? Did you miss an opportunity? You don’t need to critique every minute. You are just looking for one or two patterns you probably would have missed on your own.

Then make one small change the next time you lead a similar conversation. Maybe you open with a clearer agenda or pause more often to check for understanding.

That is what learning with AI can look like in real life, and it becomes a force multiplier.

Building Momentum
This kind of learning grows through repetition. Over time, it starts to change how you lead.

If your firm uses Navi, this is exactly the kind of learning it can support. Let it analyze one meeting this week. Then go beyond the summary. Ask a few high-level questions. Pick one thing to do differently next time and share it with someone on your team.

That is how momentum builds. By staying open. By making small changes. By learning out loud.