AI is changing how work gets done, and the pace is not slowing down. Most of the conversation is about AI tools. We hear less about the people who have to lead through the change.
On September 24, we brought together three leaders from data science, psychology, and technology to talk about exactly that. They came from different worlds, but they kept returning to one idea. How a leader handles pressure now shapes how well the whole team can think, trust, and perform.
Here are the ideas that stayed with us the most.
At a glance
Three ideas to take with you
1
Absorb pressure instead of passing it down to your team.
Dr. Ilyas Iyoob
2
Your own state of mind shapes how well your whole team performs.
Dr. Emma Seppälä
3
Clear purpose and trust between people matter more than any tool.
Ruchika Sikri
Speaker 1 of 3 | Data science
Dr. Ilyas Iyoob
Former IBM Chief Data Scientist and Distinguished Engineer. Faculty at the University of Texas.
A calm leader gives the team room to think clearly and do good work.
01
Absorb the pressure instead of passing it on
We asked Ilyas what he wishes he had learned earlier in his career. His answer was about pressure, not technology. The pressure to move faster with AI usually comes from above, and it is easy to pass it straight down to the team. He believes a good leader absorbs that pressure and turns it into a clear direction.
“Let it end at my level, and I will make it a lot better for the rest of the team.”
His reason is simple - Teams watch how their leader reacts, and they take their cue from what they see.
“Sometimes, even when it’s right, it’s wrong.”
DR. ILYAS IYOOB
A story that stayed with us
The right answer was still wrong
Ilyas once guided a team that built an AI assistant for a mental health support service. People often reached out late at night, when few experts were available, so the tool was designed to help them right away. Its answers were accurate and carefully checked, and more people began to use it.
When the team later called users to ask how they were really doing, one person said they felt let down. At one of their hardest moments, the system had told them, “I know how you feel.” Hearing those words from a machine made them feel even more alone.
For Ilyas, the lesson is about listening. A correct answer is not always what a person needs. Leaders need to listen fully, without rushing or interrupting, because people often need time to say what they really mean.
02
Know when to trust what AI tells you
Ilyas offered three questions to ask before acting on advice from AI.
How big is the impact?
The more a decision affects people's health, safety, or money, the more carefully it should be reviewed.
Can it be undone?
Some decisions are easy to reverse and others are not. The ones you cannot take back deserve a closer look.
How fast will it take effect?
A financial trade or a software release can go live in seconds, which leaves very little time to catch a mistake.
Even with these checks in place, he was clear that the responsibility always stays with a person.
“At the end of the day, the decision is on the person that clicked the button.”
Speaker 2 of 3 | Psychology
Dr. Emma Seppälä
Psychologist, Research Scientist, and Author of “The Happiness Track” and “Sovereign”.
When a leader stays calm and clear, the whole team thinks better and works better.
01
Most of us were never taught how to handle stress
Emma pointed out that no matter how educated or senior we are, very few of us were ever taught how to manage stress and difficult emotions.
“You probably have as much knowledge about how to handle your negative emotions, your stresses, like a five-year-old's... which is none.”
She believes the ability to stay centered, whatever is happening around you, is the most important skill a leader can have.
02
Good ideas need a calm mind
Emma asked where our best ideas usually come to us. For most people, the answer is in the shower, on a walk, or while driving. These are all moments when the mind is at ease. Yet many workplaces keep people rushing from one task to the next, and that leaves little room for new thinking.
She shared the story of a calm friend who got a surprising phone call from his recruiter.
“Your manager's really worried about you because you just don't seem stressed. Like, what world do we live in?”
03
One person can lift the energy of a whole team
Emma described research by Dr. Kim Cameron at the University of Michigan. He found that highly productive groups often had one person at the center who gave energy to everyone around them. It was not always the manager. It could simply be someone who made others feel this way:
“Safe, seen, heard, valued, appreciated.”
Her advice is to look after your own energy first, so that you have something to give. Then help the people around you feel that way every day.
Speaker 3 of 3 | Technology leadership
Ruchika Sikri
25 years in Tech Leadership at Google, Microsoft, and Cisco. Former Head of Wellbeing and Learning at Google.
Teams do their best work when people understand their purpose and trust one another.
01
Clarity matters more than resources
At Google, Ruchika led wellbeing and learning programs for people who already had great food, gyms, and doctors on site.
“The problem wasn't that people didn't know how to take care of themselves.”
What wore people down was a lack of clarity about their purpose and how their work connected to the bigger picture. As teams rely more on AI for answers, she believes leaders need to spend more time helping people find that clarity.
02
Trust is what makes teams strong
Google studied its own teams to learn what made the best ones succeed. That research, known as Project Aristotle, found that the most important factor was psychological safety. In simple terms, people trust one another and feel safe to speak up.
“If the team can trust each other, and they know they have each other's back, they will outperform any other team.”
Try this at your next team meeting
A six-minute practice from Ruchika
First minute
Before the agenda begins, ask everyone to close their eyes, take a few breaths, and settle in. Ruchika has opened her team meetings this way for 15 years.
Next five minutes
Ask each person to give a thumbs up, sideways, or down to show how they are doing. If someone is struggling, take a moment to ask what is going on.
It takes only a few minutes, and over time it builds the trust that strong teams depend on.
In their words
One message from each speaker
We closed by asking each panelist to share one message they would want leaders to take away.
“Just cut everybody some slack... prioritizing the employees as much as we prioritize customers would be important during this transition.”
DR. ILYAS IYOOB
“A leader should prioritize their own state of mind above everything.”
DR. EMMA SEPPÄLÄ
“Trust their intuition more than ever before. There is an intuitive capability that we have that can set the compass right.”
RUCHIKA SIKRI
A question to reflect on this week
Where does your pressure go?
Think about the last time pressure landed on your desk. Did you absorb it and give your team clear direction, or did it pass straight down to them?
If it passed straight down, that is not a failure. Noticing it is the first step toward leading differently.
TLEX works with leaders and teams in large and mid-sized organizations across more than 30 countries. If this conversation reflects what your leaders are facing, we would be glad to talk about how we can help.
Thank you to everyone who joined us live and sent in questions. A special thank you to Dr. Ilyas Iyoob, Dr. Emma Seppälä, Ruchika Sikri, and Josette Aggarwal for such an open and thoughtful conversation.
Warmly,
Choudhary
Head of Business Development, TLEX Institute North America