151: Everyone's Chasing AI Skills. The Women Getting Promoted Are Building Something Else

WEBVTT
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:01.840
Hi Lady Leader.
00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:08.320
Listen, I hope you are doing really, really well.
00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:11.199
I am feeling very, very good.
00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:12.080
All right.
00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:13.599
It is September.
00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.239
It is September 2026.
00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.359
If you're listening to this in real time.
00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:28.239
And I'm in the Washington, DC area in the United States.
00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:35.679
And let me tell you the summer is definitely over.
00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:54.799
Now, I don't know if you're a summer girl or if you're a winter girl, fall or spring is your season, but summer is definitely over here in the northeast in the United States.
00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.640
Yesterday it was actually 80 degrees.
00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:09.120
And today it is 60 degrees, but it's the 60 degrees that's rainy and overcast and cold.
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.480
I'm wearing my chunky blue sweater.
00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:17.840
And I'm thinking to myself, where the hell did summer go?
00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:20.239
And I had a fabulous summer.
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:22.239
I hope you did as well.
00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.319
But I feel like it just flew by.
00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:35.280
All that to share that I'm sitting in my office and I'm recording this episode so cozy.
00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.439
And I have my heater running.
00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:44.719
So I hope you can hear me over the heater because it is kind of loud.
00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:48.719
I know it's loud to me, but hopefully it's not loud to you.
00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:50.079
Okay.
00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:56.239
So I want to take you back to 1989.
00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.959
Now, that is the first year that I went to college.
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:12.560
And I need you to understand something about how we registered for our classes every semester back then, because it matters for what I'm about to tell you.
00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:20.879
So back then, we lined up for our classes in a huge gymnasium, right?
00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:22.639
I went to Michigan State.
00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:26.479
It was obviously a land grant institution.
00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:35.199
We had probably at the time maybe about 25 to 30,000 undergraduate students, right?
00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:48.319
So imagine that many people lining up, physically lining up, in, and it really wasn't a gymnasium, it was our stadium, right?
00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:52.639
So Michigan State is a Big Ten school.
00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:58.479
Big Ten schools spent a lot of money on their sports programs.
00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:05.199
And we were Big Ten in basketball and we were Big Ten in football.
00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.240
So in our stadium, right?
00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:16.719
Imagine college size football stadium, we would be lining up.
00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:21.280
We would line up with index cards and sign-up sheets.
00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:39.039
So you physically stood in a line holding a piece of paper, waiting for your turn to write your name into a time slot for the class that you wanted and that you might not even get into by the time you reach the front.
00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:49.520
Not more than three, maybe four years later, we were all registering for classes every semester online.
00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:58.639
And right around that same time, this new thing called the World Wide Web started coming into view.
00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.719
Now, nobody at that time really knew what it was yet.
00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.719
We knew of it, right?
00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:10.240
And it was this rumor of a technology that was supposedly going to change everything.
00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:17.759
How we worked, how we communicated, how we lived, how we registered for courses.
00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:20.000
And it did change everything.
00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:22.160
Well, almost everything.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:24.480
Here's what it didn't change.
00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:30.800
It didn't change what actually gets a person promoted.
00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:47.279
And today I want to talk about the newest version of that same exact story and why so many brilliant, hardworking women like you are making the same exact mistake that people made back then.
00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:54.160
Welcome back, Lady Leader, to the Leading Her Introvert Way podcast.
00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:54.879
I'm Dr.
00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:05.120
Nicole Bryan, and today we're kicking off a new arc of podcast episodes heading into my October 3rd masterclass.
00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:14.240
And I need you to hear this one clearly because I think it's going to challenge how you've been spending your professional development time.
00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.000
So let's get into it.
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:24.959
Every decade or so, a new technology shows up, promising to revolutionize the way we work.
00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:27.439
The World Wide Web was one.
00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:29.759
Email was another.
00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:32.879
Smartphones was yet a third.
00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:37.519
Cloud computing was also something that we talked about.
00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:44.480
And right now, in this exact moment, it's AI or artificial intelligence.
00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:51.040
I watched the World Wide Web hype cycle happen in real time.
00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:59.120
I stood in that gymnasium, in that stadium in 1989 with an index card in my hand.
00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:03.759
And a few years later, I was registering for classes from a computer lab.
00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:12.560
And everyone around me was talking about this internet thing, like it was going to change the fundamental nature of human existence.
00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.160
And here's the thing: it did change a lot.
00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:23.199
It changed how we access information, it changed how fast we can do almost everything.
00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:29.120
It changed entire industries, entire economies, entire ways of living.
00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.639
But what it didn't change is this.
00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:43.199
It didn't change how people got hired, how people got promoted, and how people advanced by other people who trusted them.
00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:57.600
Not by systems, not by tools, but by people in rooms making decisions about who they know, who they've seen deliver, and who they're willing to put their own credibility behind.
00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:21.680
And I want you to think about every single revolutionary technology that you've lived through yourself and ask yourself, honestly, did any of them replace the fact that you still need someone who knows you, who respects you, who trusts you, and who will speak your name in a room that you're not in?
00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.600
No, they didn't, and they never have.
00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:29.920
And AI is not going to be the first one that does.
00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.600
Now, let me just be 100% clear.
00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:36.000
I am not anti-AI.
00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:39.199
In fact, I am pro-AI.
00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:50.959
I want to say that out loud because before I go any further, I don't want this to land as if I'm a technophobe, right?
00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.199
Or that I have technophobia, because it isn't, and I don't.
00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:59.600
AI is genuinely a useful tool.
00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:01.439
It will make you more efficient.
00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:03.360
It will save you real time.
00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.720
It will help you do your current job faster and in some cases better.
00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:16.000
But there's a distinction that I want to draw because it's the entire point of this episode.
00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.480
Artificial intelligence makes you more capable.
00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:24.639
It does not make you more known.
00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:29.680
Those, my friend, are two completely different things.
00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:43.440
And right now, an enormous number of high-achieving Black women are pouring their professional development budget, their limited free time, and their mental energy into the first one.
00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:52.879
While the second one, the one that actually determines whether you get promoted, goes almost entirely unattended.
00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:08.960
Think about every job posting that you've seen lately, every LinkedIn post about prompting, every conference agenda with an AI track, every professional development stipend suddenly being redirected toward AI certifications.
00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:18.000
There is a mad scramble happening right now that looks almost identical to the scramble I watched in the early 90s.
00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:25.279
Everyone is rushing to learn the new tool, convinced that mastering it is what will set them apart.
00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:31.039
But here's what an AI certification will never ever be able to do for you.
00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:39.679
It will not build your relationship with the senior leader who decides who gets the next vice presidency.
00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:45.279
It will not put your name in a room that you're not already in.
00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:51.919
It will not make anyone trust you enough to advocate for you when it counts.
00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.759
Certifications signal capability to a system.
00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:00.960
Relationships signal readiness to a human being.
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:07.679
And promotion decisions, every single one of them are made by human beings.
00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:21.279
You can be the most AI fluent person in your entire department and still be invisible to the people who actually decide what your next title is going to be and when you're going to get it.
00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.679
So here's the reframe.
00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:25.759
And I want you to write this down.
00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:33.200
Get a pen and paper, pull out your phone, the notes app on your phone, but write this down.
00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:40.320
The women who are getting promoted right now are not the ones with the most AI certifications.
00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:51.679
They're the ones who use the time that AI saved them to have the conversations that actually mattered, to build the relationships that actually mattered.
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.240
That's the whole shift.
00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.679
AI is not your competitor for advancement.
00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:06.720
It's a tool that can free up your time if you use it in that way, instead of treating the tool itself as the destination.
00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.759
So here's what I want you to do this week.
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.879
I want you to audit where your development time is actually going.
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.039
Be honest with yourself.
00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:25.200
How many hours this month, how many hours in the last three months have gone toward learning a new tool?
00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:35.440
Versus how many hours have gone toward building or deepening a relationship with someone who could actually help you advance your career?
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:43.440
If the answer is lopsided, and for you it probably will be, that's not a character flaw.
00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:47.120
It's a pattern that you can correct starting today.
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:55.039
The second thing I want you to do is I want you to use the time that AI saves you, but use it deliberately.
00:11:55.279 --> 00:12:02.879
If a tool cuts an hour off a task you used to do manually, that hour didn't disappear.
00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.080
That hour, it's yours to redirect.
00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:16.320
Redirected toward a coffee conversation or a follow-up note or a genuine check-in with someone whose trust matters to your next career move.
00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:23.039
And the third thing that I want you to do is ask yourself who actually knows you.
00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:27.039
Not who's seen your name on an email chain.
00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:38.320
Who in your organization, who in your industry could describe specifically what you're capable of because they've watched you do it.
00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:51.039
If that list is short, if that list only has one person or zero people or two people on it, that's this week's real professional development project.
00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:54.080
Not signing up for the next certification.
00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:01.039
I want to be precise about something before I close out this podcast episode.
00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.720
This isn't about abandoning skill building.
00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:12.000
Competence still matters enormously, particularly for you as a black introverted woman.
00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:16.000
It's the floor, however, not the ceiling.
00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:20.960
But competence without relationship gets you considered.
00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:24.960
Relationship is what gets you chosen.
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:28.320
Here's what I want you to carry with you.
00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:42.960
Every generation, every generation that I've known about, faces its own version of the scramble, the new tool that promises to revolutionize everything, to change everything.
00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:49.279
The World Wide Web did change everything, except the one thing that has never changed.
00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.080
People rely on people.
00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:59.759
People, advance people, but only those people that they know and trust.
00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:04.320
AI is 2026's version of that same story.
00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:16.639
And the women who understand the difference between being capable and being known and trusted are the ones who are going to walk into the next room already chosen, right?
00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.000
The next boardroom already chosen.
00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:26.080
This is exactly the terrain we're going to walk through together at my October 3rd masterclass.
00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:43.360
We're going to talk about how to build the kind of relationships that actually move your career as a black female, as an introvert, without having to spend hours upon hours at networking events that completely drain you.
00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.000
And without having to pretend that you're extroverted when you're not.
00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.639
The registration link is in the show notes.
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:54.720
And I'll be talking more about it as we get closer to the date.
00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:58.240
AI will make you more efficient.
00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:00.960
It will not make you more known.
00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:03.919
It will not make you more trusted.
00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:10.879
And known and trusted is what gets you invited into the executive suite.
00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.279
I'll see you next week, Lady Leader.
00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.399
Until then, keep leading your introvert way.