You’re the Director — and AI Is Waiting for Your Cue
The Surprising Coaching Power of a Well-Written Prompt
There’s a moment I’ll never forget.
I was helping a client draft their first AI-assisted strategic plan. They typed in, “Help me make a business plan,” and the model responded with something that sounded like it had been lifted from a middle school textbook: vague, flat, uninspired. You could practically hear the tumbleweeds roll across the bullet points.
She looked at me and said, “Is that all it can do?”
And that’s when I realized — we’re not talking enough about the role of the human in AI success.
Because here’s the truth:
AI isn’t magic. It’s pattern-matching.
And prompting? That’s emotional intelligence meets instruction manual.
As a coach, I spend a lot of time helping leaders learn how to communicate — with their teams, their customers, their inner voice. Prompting AI isn’t that different. It requires clarity, intention, and structure. It asks us to become more precise with our language and more conscious of our desired outcomes. In a weird and wonderful twist, AI is making us better communicators.
Coaching the AI (and Yourself)
The Prompt Guideline puts it beautifully:
“Think of AI like an incredibly knowledgeable, eager-to-please apprentice. Your prompt is the instruction manual you write in real time.”
When you’re vague, it’s vague.
When you’re specific, it’s a revelation.
But here’s the part that lit up my coaching brain: Every great prompt requires you to know who you are and what you want.
- Persona: Who should the AI be?
- Task: What exactly are you asking it to do?
- Context: Why does this matter?
- Format: What should the result look and feel like?
If that doesn’t sound like self-awareness in action, I don’t know what does.
Prompting as a Leadership Mirror
Most of us don’t realize how fuzzy our asks are — until we meet an AI that needs clarity to perform well. “Help me lead better,” or “Tell me what to do,” doesn’t cut it.
But try this:
“Act as an executive coach. I’m preparing for a high-stakes meeting with a skeptical stakeholder who doesn’t believe in our AI investment. Help me anticipate objections and craft responses that are both factual and emotionally intelligent.”
Now we’re talking.
In fact, many of my clients are discovering that the process of crafting great prompts is sharpening their leadership. It’s helping them think through:
- What am I really trying to say?
- Who’s the audience I’m speaking to?
- What outcome am I hoping for?
In this way, AI becomes both a productivity tool and a reflection tool — a quiet coach that holds up a mirror and says, “Is that really what you meant?”
My Favorite Prompt Coaching Tip
When in doubt, start with this template (adapted from the Prompt Guideline):
“Act as [persona]. I’m working on [context] and need to [task]. Please provide your response as [format], using a tone that’s [tone].”
It’s a formula, yes — but it’s also a mindset: Lead with intention.
The Prompt as Practice
I now give this prompt workshop to every coaching client working in tech or leadership:
- Build a better ask
- Reflect on your blind spots
- Train yourself to think in outcomes, not outputs
This is no longer just “prompt engineering.” This is executive coaching for a future where we lead with language, partner with machines, and build trust — not just through charisma, but through clarity.
Want to learn how to lead better with AI, not just faster?
Let’s build your leadership prompts together.
Resources & Inspiration
This post was inspired in part by The Art of the Ask, a beautifully practical guide to effective AI prompting by Ahmed M. Raafat, whose LinkedIn post captures the essence of prompt-led leadership. Worth a read.
