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Across the leaders we work with or speak to, I see two responses to AI.
One group feels the future of work is something being done to them. They are wary of AI, uncertain of its value, and hope its impact will somehow pass them by.
The other shows two traits that will define who thrives: agency (the willingness to take initiative) and ambition (the drive to aim higher).
If I could bet on one group, it would be the latter. So what would that take?
Technology is no longer scarce; models are proliferating (we saw the launch of Gemini 3 just this week) and capabilities compounding.
What seems scarce is the human choice to lean in, learn, and lead. People who combine agency and ambition will not only keep their jobs but redesign them for a future they aim for.
That’s not to say I don’t understand why people are anxious.
As AI accelerates its capabilities, more wonder whether they will still have a meaningful role. The stages of AI adoption according to Asana and Anthropic, for example, start fittingly with "skeptical,” not neutral.
But those who treat AI as a partner, investing in skills and piloting use cases, are gaining an advantage.
As Harvard Business School’s Karim Lakhani argued, change and change management are no longer optional but core capabilities for every leader and organization to practice.
AI is changing every function, and HR is next in line. From hiring and onboarding to performance and retention, leaders who know how to use AI to scale people's impact will define the next decade of HR.
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That mindset begins with agency.
Because AI has no intrinsic goals. It waits. Humans provide the questions, constraints, and judgment. As execution gets cheaper and faster, the bottleneck becomes deciding what work is worth doing.
High-agency people step into that gap.
Agency is not a fixed personality trait; it is a practiced stance of taking ownership rather than waiting for instructions. Something I very much subscribe to.
As Daniel Pink writes: “High Agency means finding a way forward without waiting for perfect conditions. No excuses or blaming circumstances. Just action.” (Thanks, Shlomit, for sharing.)
With today’s tools, people with insight can move from idea to implementation faster than ever. As I wrote previously, the one-person unicorn is no longer such a crazy idea in the age of agentic AI.
Ambition is the second crucial ingredient.
Where agency drives action, ambition sets its horizon.
Ambition is not only about personal advancement. It is about asking, “What could we achieve if we fully leveraged these tools?”
A small, focused team can now do work that once required an entire division.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang observed that working with advanced AI does not make him feel obsolete, but gives him the confidence to pursue bigger ideas.
I want us all to feel that.
The data underscores the stakes.
As Sophie Wade writes, the World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of existing skills are expected to be transformed, and 40% plan to reduce staff with less relevant skills.
And that is not just a reskilling challenge; it demands a different attitude.
Workers who wait to be told what to learn will lag. Those who choose agency and ambition will put themselves in the driver’s seat, using AI to expand their impact and future-proof their careers.
One executive who took our Executive Boot Camp, Henrik Jarleskog, offered a preview in a viral LinkedIn post.
Confronted with an unsustainable workload and lifestyle, he used AI not as an escape but as an amplifier, redesigning his job, raising his sights, and improving both performance and well-being.
It’s a perfect case study of the fact that the future of work will not be written by technology alone.
It will be written by people who decide to treat AI as leverage rather than fate. And who act with agency and aim with ambition.
Let’s go!
- Daan
As AI takes more of the routine work off your plate, the real question becomes: How do you redesign your role to focus on what matters most?
Led by Rob Baker, best-selling author and founder of Tailored Thinking, our next Masterclass will show you how to use job crafting to elevate your impact, energy, and meaning at work.
The session takes place on November 26th at 9AM GMT / 10AM CET / 3PM SGT / 5PM ACT.
Members, the invite is on your calendar.
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