How to Prompt for Leaders: Tips for Gen AI (and Your Humans Too)
Hiya Leaders, if you want to get better at prompting Generative AI, here’s the good news: you already have the skills.
In March 2025, for International Women’s Day, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the Women of Web3 / Next Big Thing AI Summit on The Future of Work and AI.
My not-so-hot-take:
The best prompts don’t come from tech pros—they come from great leaders.
The kind who build high-performing teams by getting clear on expectations, asking powerful questions, giving feedback that fuels growth, and creating the conditions for creative problem-solving.
Since that speaking opportunity, I’ve heard more and more leaders say something similar, and I couldn’t agree more.
And when you think about Generative AI as a creative or collaborative partner—not just a tool—you unlock its potential the same way you unlock human potential. Some of our best relationships at work are the ones that are managed well.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
✨ It starts with energy.
Just like people, Generative AI reflects the energy you bring to it. Vague prompts yield vague results. But when your energy is focused, purposeful, and specific, you’ll notice your output shift too.
💡 Try this with AI:
Before you start, make sure you tell AI who you want it to be. Is it a world-class expert in a specific field? Is it your biggest critic whose feedback you depend on to keep you on your toes? Defining the role is just as important for AI as it is for a new member of your team IRL
Before prompting, get clear on the tone and vibe you want—whether it’s energizing, reflective, bold, or calming—and name it explicitly.
Add mood-based instructions like “Write this with a tone of grounded optimism” or “Make this feel like a calm voice of clarity in the chaos.”
Ask: “What’s a compelling way to articulate the energy and pace I want our company to grow with—without glorifying hustle?”
🎯 It requires clarity.
AI thrives with clarity. So do people. If you’ve ever seen a project go sideways because expectations weren’t clear, you know how costly ambiguity can be. Clear expectations and aligned direction are fuel for focused outcomes. Ambiguity drains quality outcomes.
💡 Try this with AI:
Include the format, structure, tone, and purpose in your prompt. Imagine you’re briefing a team member on what excellence and “done” looks like.
Use a checklist prompt: “I want a 500-word blog post with: 1) a compelling headline, 2) a hook in the first paragraph, 3) three clear sections, and 4) a warm, human-centered closing.”
Ask: “What’s a clear, simple way to describe our company’s long-term vision so that it guides both daily decision-making and strategic growth?”
💬 It takes courageous coaching.
AI will give you generic answers if you ask generic questions. So will your team. But when you get curious—really curious—you unlock deeper thinking and more creative solutions. Ask powerful questions that unlock thinking, not just give answers. Show up with curiosity, not control.
💡 Try this with AI:
Don’t just ask for a deliverable. Ask “What are 3 approaches I might not have considered?” or “What’s a fresh metaphor for this leadership challenge?” and my absolute favourite: “What else am I missing here?”
Ask AI to interview you: “Act as a coach and ask me 5 questions to help clarify my thinking on this idea.”
Ask: “What powerful coaching questions could I use in a leadership meeting to explore how aligned our team is on what growth looks like?”
📈 It thrives on feedback.
Generative AI learns fast. So do your people—when feedback is timely, actionable, and grounded in growth. Don’t just accept the first output. And for the Love, do NOT accept a poor first attempt as a failure and decide it was better done yourself. Lean into your leadership and reflect on how you could have been more specific, more direct. Shape it. Guide it. Teach it.
Feedback isn’t about judgment—it’s about clarity and progress. The more we normalize it, the more it becomes a tool for building trust.
💡 Try this with AI:
After receiving an output, say “This is too formal—make it warmer and more conversational” or “This misses the key message—focus more on clarity than cleverness.” Your feedback is the fuel for iteration.
Use follow-up prompts like: “Regenerate this keeping the structure, but rewrite in the tone of a trusted mentor giving honest, helpful advice.”
Ask: “Here’s our current strategy narrative—what feels unclear, misaligned, or missing if I’m trying to inspire intentional, values-led growth?”
🧭 It demands navigation skills.
AI can help you move fast. But leaders know: moving fast in the wrong direction doesn’t serve anyone. The goal is alignment—not just action.
As we know, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. The same applies with AI. Great leaders sense what’s needed in the moment and move their collaborators toward desired outcomes with space for improvisation and personal creative problem solving techniques.
💡 Try this with AI:
Use it to test different routes, but pause to reflect. Ask it to evaluate trade-offs, or to generate perspectives that stretch your own thinking. Then, decide which path truly aligns with your vision.
Say: “Give me three ways to communicate this strategy: one for a skeptical CEO, one for a stressed-out team lead, and one for a curious junior employee.”
Ask: “Help me map out the potential risks and ripple effects of this growth move—what should I be considering beyond revenue?”
Empowered Prompts Lead to Empowered Results
All the best leadership skills—setting expectations, coaching with curiosity, giving productive feedback, creating alignment—are the same ones that make you great at using Generative AI.
The secret? Treat AI like a teammate. Lead it. Coach it. Shape it.
When you do, you don’t just produce better prompts that result in better outputs from the AI tools. You become a more empowered leader—one who knows how to unlock potential everywhere, human or machine.
