Want Better AI Results? Try Taking a Look in the Mirror

Uncover your shadows and learn what your values are

In every agency hallway and LinkedIn feed, the same questions keep coming up: How is AI going to change my job? What tools do I need to master to stay relevant? We are obsessed with the “outside,” bracing for impact and looking for external armor to protect our careers from a wave of automation.

But after over 25 years in this industry, I have realized the most important operating system is not on your device. It is the one running inside your head.

The Human Touch

Many companies are rushing to define their AI strategy. But the real question is fundamental: what is the strategy? As the unknowns of technology grow, our humanity becomes the most signifcant grounding we have.

In my experience, the agencies and teams that consistently produce the most impactful work tend to create environments where people can show up as their most human selves. Awards and results follow not just because there are brilliant minds in the room, but because those minds operate in contexts that encourage openness, trust and self-awareness.

Personality frameworks like Color Insights can help agencies understand how people think and collaborate, along with feedback modules that encourage teams to “say the thing” directly and kindly. The goal isn’t therapy in the workplace. It’s helping people clear the internal static so they can do their best work together.

The Glitch Is in the Human, Not the Machine

When people ask me for career advice, they often expect a recommendation for a new book, practice or anecdote. Instead, I tell them to look inward rather than looking outward. We spend millions upgrading our agency software, but we ignore the faulty operating systems running in our own heads.

I learned this firsthand. Entering this industry as a gay man in 2001, I spent years code-switching to fit heteronormative expectations. I was progressing, but I was running on a buggy operating system fueled by a lack of worthiness. My breakthrough didn’t come from a promotion. It came from doing the internal work to identify the fears, insecurities and barriers that were causing me internal strife. I did this through a combination of therapy, meditation and books, along with the support of good friends and family. And by the way, it’s ongoing.

Every single one of us has either a capital-T trauma or a bunch of lowercase-t traumas that form barriers between us and others. If you have not figured out your own barriers, such as your insecurities or your need for validation, those things become an invisible ceiling. They manifest as the bad behaviors we see every day: shutting down, icing colleagues out, lashing out or demeaning others.

The Risk We’re Overlooking

We talk a lot about the risk of AI taking jobs. That’s a real concern. But there is another risk that gets less attention: losing the human qualities that make great work possible in the first place.

If we treat self-awareness as just another KPI to optimize (bio-hacking our way to a 4 A.M. wake-up call to squeeze out more productivity), we have missed the point. This is not about performance. It is about being a person people actually want to be with, work with, follow and trust.

Great ideas rarely come from isolated individuals. They come from groups of people who feel safe enough to challenge each other, support each other and build something together.

The Best Way to Differentiate in 2026: Know Thyself

The best thing you can do for your career in 2026? Instead of mastering the latest generative tool, get to the source of whatever is stopping you from showing up fully in the room and with the people around you.

The industry is shifting. One of the few real differentiators left is empathy and self-awareness. It makes for a better existence, but it also leads to better work.

Get curious about yourself, uncover your shadows and learn what your values are. Have an objective look at who you are and how you show up for others.

That’s the work that is going to make a big difference. And of course, we’ll deal with the technology along the way.