In my last EPIC Insights article, I suggested we stop thinking of AI as one assistant and start thinking of it as a virtual member of our team.
The response surprised me. Many people said they had never considered that AI could play different roles. They simply opened ChatGPT, asked a question and accepted the answer.
The more I reflected on that, the more I realised I’d already been teaching this concept for years.
One of the exercises I often encourage people to do is build a Board of Advisors around their career. No one person can provide everything we need. One person might be brilliant at helping us think strategically. Another might challenge us. Someone else might encourage us when our confidence wobbles. Another might introduce us to opportunities we would never have found on our own.
The best leaders don’t rely on one perspective.
So why should we expect one AI to do everything?
The breakthrough for me came when I stopped asking AI to be an assistant and started asking it to play a specific role.
Interestingly, the AI hasn’t changed.
Only my instructions have.
And the quality of the conversation has changed dramatically.
Your Virtual Board of Advisors
One of the things AI does exceptionally well is adopt different perspectives.
Instead of asking the same AI the same type of question every time, I’ve started giving it a role before we begin. I explain who I want it to be, how I want it to think and, most importantly, what success looks like.
Think of it as inviting different advisors into the room.
1. The Mentor
Help me learn.
When I’m trying to understand something new, I don’t want AI to simply give me the answer. I want it to help me become better.
I’ll often begin with something like this:
Today I want you to act as my Mentor.
Your role is to help me build my capability rather than simply solve my problem. Explain your reasoning, recommend resources where appropriate, ask questions that deepen my understanding and help me think for myself. If you spot gaps in my knowledge, gently point them out. Leave me more capable than when we started.
The result is a conversation that teaches rather than tells.
2. The Strategist
Help me see further.
Sometimes I don’t need another idea.
I need perspective.
Today I want you to act as my Strategist.
Step back from the immediate problem. Help me identify patterns, long-term implications, opportunities, risks and priorities. Challenge me to think beyond today’s issue and focus on what will make the biggest difference over time.
This is the advisor I use when I feel too close to a problem.
3. The Cheerleader
Help me believe.
This isn’t about false praise.
It’s about confidence grounded in evidence.
Today I want you to act as my Cheerleader.
Help me recognise my strengths, remind me of what’s already working and encourage me to take action when self-doubt gets in the way. Celebrate progress, not perfection, while remaining realistic and honest.
Sometimes we all need reminding that we’re more capable than we think.
4. The Connector
Help me widen the lens.
This one feels particularly close to my heart because it connects directly with one of the principles we teach at Elevate.
Exposure isn’t about who you know.
It’s about who knows how you can help them.
So I ask AI to think differently.
Today I want you to act as my Connector.
Think about relationships, opportunities and influence. Suggest people I should meet, organisations I should know about, partnerships I may not have considered and communities where this idea could create value. Constantly help me widen my network and my perspective.
Sometimes the opportunity isn’t improving the idea.
It’s introducing the idea to the right people.
5. The Creator
Help me imagine.
This is where AI becomes a brilliant thinking partner.
Today I want you to act as my Creator.
Help me generate fresh ideas, explore different approaches and make unexpected connections. Don’t stop at the obvious answer. Push for originality and give me several possibilities before settling on one.
Some of my favourite ideas have come from conversations that started here.
6. The Sponsor
Help me be seen.
This may be the least obvious advisor, but it can be one of the most valuable.
Many talented people struggle to articulate their value.
A Sponsor doesn’t.
Today I want you to act as my Sponsor.
Help me recognise the value I bring, identify evidence of my achievements and position my work so others can clearly see its impact. Encourage me to think bigger about my potential and help me communicate why I deserve opportunities.
Sometimes we need someone to remind us what we’re capable of saying about ourselves.
The leadership lesson
The interesting thing is that none of these advisors changes the AI.
The only thing that changes is the role I ask it to play.
Perhaps that’s a leadership lesson in itself.
Great leaders don’t ask every person the same question. They know who to turn to for wisdom, who to turn to for challenge, who to turn to for creativity and who to turn to for encouragement.
Neither should we.
AI won’t replace the people in your own Board of Advisors.
Nor should it.
But it can help you prepare for those conversations, challenge your thinking and widen your perspective before you walk into the room.
Because the best decisions rarely come from one point of view.
They come from deliberately widening the lens.