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The Second Ascent

Jul 06, 2025

 

A CEO recently confided, “I’ve led billion-dollar transformations but now I feel like I’m back at base camp.”

That quiet moment captures a broader truth: in the AI era, even the most seasoned leaders are starting a new chapter.

He’d spent decades building a reputation on delivering results, mastering complexity, and leading through uncertainty. But this moment felt different.

It was the realization that the playbook he’d relied on for years no longer gave him the edge. The speed, scale, and unfamiliarity of AI-driven change had shifted the terrain.

"I know how to lead people through change," he said, "but this time, I need to change first."

He expressed exactly what I'd been feeling too.

Decades of business experience and wisdom had suddenly become insufficient ingredients for future success.

Instead of going beyond what I'd already achieved, I was learning how to lead and succeed in an entirely new reality. 

This is not about climbing higher on the same mountain but climbing a brand new mountain. 

The second ascent is steeper. It requires deeper self-awareness, faster adaptation, and a willingness to let go of what made you successful before. 

Relevance must be re-earned.

And the leaders who embrace that truth will not only stay in the game but will be the ones to reinvent the game itself.

 

SUMMARY

  • Trends: Senior executives are at a relevance crossroads
  • Tips: Reframe the role, upgrade judgment, redefine legacy
  • Tools: AI prompts and tools to reinvent leadership edge

     

TRENDS


Seasoned execs are hitting a new kind of crossroads. They have built global teams, weathered crises, and delivered results. But now, many are quietly asking: What’s my edge in the AI era?

In today’s economy, wisdom, judgment, and influence are more valuable than ever but only if they are applied through new operating models. 

A recent PwC survey reveals 45% of senior leaders feel "uncertain" about how to apply their experience in the AI age. That uncertainty slows action and breeds organizational drag.

The concept of the S-curve is critical here. It’s the pattern of innovation and growth that starts slow, accelerates, and eventually plateaus.

Most executives have already mastered one or more S-curves by rising through the ranks, driving digital transformations, scaling businesses. 

But AI marks the beginning of a new S-curve. The rules have changed. The old growth engines don’t apply. And the plateau that once felt like mastery now demands reinvention.

This next S-curve doesn’t value tenure. It rewards adaptability, fluency, and orchestration. The climb is steep but for those who embrace it, the summit is higher.

 

TIPS

 

Reinvention requires embodying a new model of leadership. Here are three high-impact moves to realign your leadership edge with the demands of the AI economy.

From Expert to Integrator

  • Old Model: Your value is in deep subject-matter expertise and command over a single domain.
  • New Model: Your edge is in integrating across domains and aligning AI with enterprise strategy.
  • Strategy: Stop leading from within silos. Start stitching together tech, talent, and transformation. Influence grows when you connect the dots others don’t see.
  • Action Step: In your next exec meeting, map one cross-functional decision that could be accelerated by better integration and lead the charge.

 

From Intuition to Augmentation

  • Old Model: Decisions are driven by experience, instinct, and domain memory.
  • New Model: Insight is powered by data, pattern recognition, and AI-informed judgment.
  • Strategy: Great leaders don’t need to master the tech; they need to master the framing. Learn to shape prompts, test models, and guide teams through the signal.
  • Action Step: Spend 15 minutes weekly exploring AI use cases in your industry. Translate one insight into a strategic question for your team.

 

From Operator to Multiplier

  • Old Model: Leadership is about executing at scale and driving performance through rigor, control, and repetition.
  • New Model: Leadership is about multiplying capacity by catalyzing adaptability, curiosity, and continuous learning at every level.
  • Strategy: In the AI economy, speed and scalability come from empowering people to act on insight, not just instruction. Shift from driving execution to designing systems that scale decision-making.
  • Action Step: Identify one process where centralized control is slowing progress. Redesign it to enable faster, smarter action from the edge.

 

TOOLS


You don’t need to be an AI expert but you do need an AI-enhanced edge. Use these tools to clarify judgment, streamline decisions, and scale your strategic capacity.

AI Prompt
"Act as my executive strategist. I am a senior leader with decades of experience, seeking to expand my influence and value in the AI economy. Based on my current leadership style and market dynamics, advise me on: 1) the judgment areas where I hold unique competitive advantage, 2) the gaps in my current approach to decision-making in AI-transformed environments, 3) the leadership behaviors I need to unlearn to unlock greater impact over the next 5 years."

Humata.ai
Instantly extract insights from long documents and board materials. Use this to prepare faster and surface deeper patterns ahead of critical decisions.

Bardeen.ai
Automate repetitive workflows across your digital ecosystem. Use this to offload manual processes and free up strategic capacity.

Delve.ai

Turn raw data into decision-ready intelligence about customers, markets, and competitors. Use this to deepen insight and sharpen your next strategic bet.

Are you designing the next 10 years of your leadership for legacy or longevity?

Until next time...stay curious!

Nikki Barua

Cheers,
Nikki


When You're Ready To Rise

Here’s how we can create your next leap:

Keynotes: Catalytic experiences that shift mindsets and spark movements to embrace change in an AI-driven world.

Workshops: High-intensity, high-impact sessions for executive alignment and business reinvention.

Advisory: Private, tailored guidance for navigating complexity, sharpening strategic focus, and scaling with power.

 

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