Lately I’ve noticed something interesting when it comes to AI and teams. It’s not just exposing who’s fast or slow, talented or average. It’s exposing who actually thinks.

Every week, I watch two types of people in action. Person one hits a problem and stops. They wait. They stare at it. They say things like, “I’m still working on it,” which usually means, “I’m hoping the answer magically appears in my inbox.”

Person two hits the same problem and immediately starts moving. They open Perplexity or Grok or GPT, ask a question, test a prompt, or find a workaround. Minutes later they have momentum, maybe not the perfect answer, but they’re moving forward.

Same job. Same tools. Different mindset.

AI is revealing something we used to be able to hide. You can’t fake progress anymore.

You either find a way forward, or you don’t.

Here’s the twist: AI doesn’t actually make you smarter (although it can sure make you dumber). It just makes your habits more visible. If you’re lazy, you’ll use it to cut corners. If you’re curious, you’ll use it to build hacks or warp pipes (to revert to my Super Mario days) that actually work and get you to the next level.

McKinsey recently reported that teams using AI daily see up to 40% faster problem resolution and significantly higher innovation scores. But that number only applies to people who use it. The rest? They’re still waiting for permission or afraid of the machines.

Here’s the truth: you don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to own the next step.

The next step might be asking AI for options. It might be clarifying the problem. It might be sending an email that says, “Here’s what I found so far.” The point is movement.

Progress doesn’t come from knowing everything. It comes from refusing to stay stuck.

And if you’re a leader, this matters even more. Your team will match your motion. If you’re still “thinking about it,” they’ll be thinking too. If you’re learning, testing, building, and adapting…they will too.

I’ve been guilty of waiting. Of overthinking. Of believing I needed to solve the whole problem before taking action. That’s ego. And ego kills momentum.

Owning the next step doesn’t require brilliance. It requires ownership. It required refusing excuses; refusing the quicksand of inner resistance.

So the next time you or someone on your team gets stuck, skip the excuses. Open the tool. Ask the question. Try the thing. You can figure it out or you can fake it, but one of those pays better.

This week’s solution: Whatever you’re facing, a marketing snag, a process issue, a stalled idea, own the next step. You don’t need the whole plan. You need the next move.

That’s where the growth happens. That’s where the leadership starts.

See you next Saturday.