Seasoning Your Leadership: Finding Flavor in the Age of AI

In my previous articles, I talked about the importance of leadership and why bringing our leaders back to the table is critical. I then shared a personal story of a leader who, without fail would bring his team together and order for the table in a way that was inviting and not forced. Next was an article focused on how leadership actions can fuel a team, just like food does for our bodies. My last article last week explored the importance of flavoring your own leadership style in an authentic way.

So how can we be authentic, when we’re living in the age of AI?

AI…It’s here, in our workflows, our inboxes, our calendars.

It writes copy, builds strategies, analyzes performance metrics, and even drafts emails that sound almost like us.

I use it. I respect it. It’s a powerful prep tool, but here’s what it can’t do:

• It can’t taste.

• It can’t feel.

• It can’t season.

• It doesn’t know how to read a room.

• It can’t sense when a team is discouraged… or when someone just needs to be seen.

• It doesn’t know when to add heat or when to dial it down.

That’s still our job, and it always will be.

Back in the Kitchen

I learned this lesson long before AI was in anyone’s vocabulary.

It started during my college years, working in restaurants to help pay for school.

I was a kitchen manager and worked primarily on the pasta station.

If you ever had a chance to eat at this small pub attached to the Ramada Inn in State College PA during the late 90's and had a pasta dish? It may have been made completely from scratch, by me. Built in the pan. No premade sauces. No measuring cups. Just a hot burner, a line of tickets, and a team trusting me to deliver flavor every time.

We had no strict recipes. The owner gave us room to create, to trust our instincts, use our taste, and adjust as needed.

Sometimes that meant more spice.

Sometimes more cream.

Sometimes? Scrap it and start over.

That kitchen taught me something that’s shaped my leadership style to this day:

It’s not just about having the right ingredients. It’s about knowing how to use them.

AI can prep the ingredients. It can tell you what people might need.

But leadership? Real leadership?

That happens in the moment, when you choose how to season the message, the moment, the person.

Flavor Is the Future

There’s a lot of noise right now about replacing leaders with algorithms.

But if we lose the human flavor of leadership, the tone, the care, the presence, the intuition, we’re not leading. We’re just managing process.

AI doesn’t bring energy into the room.

It doesn’t remember how someone felt after a hard conversation.

It can’t build trust through timing, humor, or authenticity.

You do that.

The best leaders I know don’t just do the job.

They bring flavor, the kind that makes a team feel energized, valued, and connected.

They understand the data, sure. But they also understand the people behind the performance.

A Shift in Trust:

A recent Gartner study revealed something surprising:

Gen Z workers are beginning to prefer AI over human managers when it comes to being evaluated.

Why?

They fear their leaders won’t be fair, but they believe AI might. That should shake all of us.

Yes, AI can offer objectivity. It can strip away bias. But it also strips away empathy, history, timing, and instinct and yes…flavor.

If your team would rather be rated by a robot than led by you, that’s not just a tech issue — it’s a trust issue. And trust can’t be programmed. It has to be built, through consistency, care, and presence.

Seasoning in the Age of AI

In our Leadership model, FEED is what you offer them, your time, your trust, your investment.

Fuel is how you energize your team.

But Flavor? Flavor is what brings everything to life.

That’s your how. Your presence. Your style.

It’s the seasoning that makes your leadership uniquely yours, the difference between something that fills a need and something that feeds the soul.

Flavor, you say?

That’s your how. Your style. Your soul.

So as AI handles more of the prep, your job is becoming even more human.

It’s to taste the culture. Feel the dynamics. Adapt your approach, which we’ll talk more about with FLEX.

To challenge with care.

To support with purpose.

To lead… with flavor.

Try This Exercise

Next time you’re preparing for a 1:1, a team meeting, or a presentation, ask yourself:

•            What energy does this moment need?

•            What’s the tone I want to bring into the room?

•            Am I leading from instinct or just reading the script?

Then trust yourself enough to season accordingly.

The Real Question

If AI is handling the prep…

What are you doing with the dish?

What’s the flavor you’re known for?

Is it bold? Calming? Reliable? Complex?

Whatever it is, make sure it’s real, make sure it’s yours, and make sure your team can taste it.  Because in the end, that’s what great leadership is:

Intentional, human… and made with love.