I've been coaching senior leaders on AI, and it's not what I thought it would be.

I thought it would be about helping them use Claude Cowork or Code to do more for them: get rid of pesky administrative tasks; help them be smarter about an area of business; let them see possibilities so they could use AI more strategically.

There is that. But often, there's something else first.

It usually starts with a confession: real fears and concerns about AI. I get it. Sometimes I think I need an AI coach of my own, like therapists have their own therapists. This week, in a group I'm part of with genuine AI experts, many of us confessed we have no idea if we're ahead of the curve or behind it.

The answer, for all of us, is: relative to whom?

The fear of being behind is one of many that I hear. Some other worries I've heard: Is AI really taking over? What about jobs? What's our ethical responsibility here: to use it or resist it?

In the midst of all this, it's so easy to push off doing more with AI.
To wait for it to be safer (that'll be a long wait).
To wait for it to be cheaper (sadly, the only day when it'll be cheaper than today is yesterday).
To wait for when you have more time (when you find the magic portal to time expansion, let me know).

This is exactly where light actions come in.

When something makes you hesitate or hedge, this is your clue to dig out a Light Action: Something small and safe that helps you learn.

Here's what I hear when clients take a Light Actions approach to AI: "I feel smarter already." "This is fun!" "Wait, you can do that?"

It's a natural instinct to wait for clarity before we act. But action creates clarity. Action also creates confidence. And action reduces anxiety.

I teach this, and I still grapple with it. But it always feels so good to move.

So join me in moving this week. Here are a few ideas:

• If you've been meaning to switch to Claude, download the desktop app and ask Cowork what it can do for you.
• If you mostly use AI as a Google replacement, give it a big deck you have to read and ask it to pull out the highlights.
• Try one thing a colleague or friend did that delighted them.

Do it on your own, or (better!) do it with me: Sign up for an AI in Action hour. It's a free 1:1 where we find your edge and take you one step further. You'll leave with relief, excitement, and momentum. Without a trip to the therapist's office.

And in my next newsletter: I'll share the one most surprising aha that's been universal in my coaching sessions.