we are learning Webinar
The Human Skills AI Made Harder
And How Leadership Training Can Keep Up
By Alinnette Casiano | Growing Your EQ™
January 28th, 2026
January 28th, 2026
The Big Assumption
The Common Belief
"If AI handles the routine stuff, human skills will naturally get better."
The Reality
The opposite is happening.
The Connection Paradox
More Tools Than Ever
Slack, Teams, Zoom, email, project management platforms. We're drowning in ways to connect.
Less Real Connection
Yet teams report feeling more isolated, misunderstood, and disconnected than ever before.
The Gap Widens
Technology gives us access. It doesn't give us the ability to truly connect.
3 Shifts Leaders Must Navigate
The landscape of leadership has fundamentally changed. AI isn't just a tool in the toolkit, it's reshaping what leaders are actually responsible for. Here are the three most critical shifts happening right now in organizations worldwide.
Decision-Making → Sense-Making
Ambiguity is the new constant. Leaders must make meaning from incomplete, contradictory, and rapidly changing information.
Managing Tasks → Managing Energy
The bottleneck is no longer task completion, it's human capacity. Burnout, overwhelm, and decision fatigue are the real constraints.
Transactional Communication → Trust at Speed
No more hallway moments. No casual coffee chats. Leaders must build psychological safety and trust in compressed timeframes.
Each of these shifts requires fundamentally different capabilities than what worked even five years ago. The leaders who win now are the ones who can adapt how they show up, moment to moment, with intention and skill. Those who translate innovation into execution.
The 4 Skills That Matter Most Now
In an AI-augmented workplace, technical skills and domain expertise are table stakes. What truly differentiates effective leaders now are capabilities that can't be automated → skills that are fundamentally about how you show up in the moment, with other people, when stakes are high and certainty is low.
Emotional Regulation Under Pressure
Staying centered and clear-headed when everything around you is chaotic. Managing your internal state so you can respond instead of react.
Adaptive Thinking in Uncertainty
Making decisions with incomplete information. Pivoting when plans change. Holding multiple perspectives simultaneously without collapsing into binary thinking.
Trust-Building at Speed
Creating psychological safety quickly with people you may never meet in person. Establishing credibility and connection in compressed timeframes.
Presence & Deep Listening
Bringing full attention in a fragmented world. Truly hearing what's being said, and what's not being said. Without formulating your response while someone is still speaking.
Why Training Isn't Working
Without practice, we forget most of what we learn within days.
Research shows people in lecture-only training were 1.5× more likely to fail than those who got to actively practice.
4 Hidden Breakdowns:
Content-Capability Confusion
Teaching ABOUT skills, not building them
One-and-Done Myth
One workshop can't rewire years of habits
Measurement Mismatch
Tracking completion, not behavior change
Context Collapse
Generic programs ignore your culture
The fix:
Telling isn't training. Practice is.
Telling isn't training. Practice is.
5 Principles That Work
Effective leadership development doesn't look like traditional training. Here are the five non-negotiable principles that separate programs that transform from average programs.
1
Start with Real Challenges
Not Competency Lists
Begin with the actual, specific problems your leaders are facing right now.
2
Practice in Realistic Scenarios
Safe to Fail
Create conditions where leaders can try new behaviors, get immediate feedback, and adjust without real-world consequences.
3
Build in Accountability
Partners, Check-ins, Spaced Practice
Learning happens in the space between sessions and ongoing practice opportunities.
4
Add Reflection Loops
Awareness Accelerates Growth
Build in structured time for leaders to reflect on what they're learning about themselves.
5
Plan for Transfer from Day One
Connect to Real Work Immediately
Don't wait until the end of the program to think about application.
When you apply these principles consistently, training stops being an event and becomes an ongoing capability-building system. That's when you see sustained behavior change and measurable impact on business outcomes.
What to Do Right Away
You don't need to redesign your entire leadership development strategy tomorrow. Start with one program. Make three specific changes. Build momentum from there. Here's your action plan for next steps:
Audit One Program
Against These Principles
Pick your highest-priority leadership program, the one that matters most to your business outcomes.
Add One Scenario-Based
Practice Opportunity
Find one place in your program where you can replace lecture or discussion with realistic practice.
Schedule the 30-Day Follow-Up
Before Training Ends
Before participants leave the session, schedule an actual meeting where they report on what they tried, what they learned, and what support they need.
Pro tip: Share this plan with your stakeholders. Transparency about what you're changing (and why) builds credibility and creates accountability for follow-through. You're more likely to actually do it if others know it's coming.
Resources
Ready to redesign your leadership development with these principles? Here are two practical tools to help you get started immediately.
1
The 4 Capabilities Quick Reference Card
A one-page guide to the four critical human skills, with behavioral indicators and reflection questions for each. Use it to assess your team's current capabilities and identify development priorities.
2
Experiential Learning Design Checklist
A practical checklist for reviewing and redesigning training programs using the five principles.
Let's Continue the Conversation
Have questions about applying these principles in your organization? Want to explore how I can support your leadership development strategy? I'd love to hear from you.
Alinnette Casiano
Founder, Growing Your EQ™
Founder, Growing Your EQ™
