This is the fifth article in my series on AI Superpowers. Feel free to check out the previous articles: series overview, the first superpower: Understand, the second superpower: Create, and the third superpower: Engage.
When I was starting my speaking career, I practiced my keynote in front of my dogs approximately 147 times. They were a captive audience (literally – the door was closed), but their feedback left something to be desired. One fell asleep, and the other seemed most interested in whether I was hiding treats in my pockets.
If only I’d had access to what we have today: AI tools that can listen to your presentations, analyze your delivery, suggest improvements, and never once fall asleep or check for hidden Milk Bones.
This brings us to our fourth AI superpower: Enable – using AI to reinforce your training and maintain skills that might otherwise get rusty between uses.
When “I’ll Figure It Out Someday” Becomes “I’m Learning It Right Now”
We’ve all got that mental list of skills we’d love to develop “when we have time.” Public speaking. Sales negotiations. Difficult conversations with team members. Speaking Mandarin. Learning to play the ukulele while reciting poetry. (Okay, maybe that last one is just me.)
Here’s the truth: traditional learning methods have significant barriers. Professional coaching is expensive and time-constrained. Group training is rarely personalized. And most critically – you rarely get to practice those skills consistently enough to maintain them at peak levels.
For most of us, this creates what I call the “skill decay problem” – we invest in valuable training, but then watch those capabilities gradually fade through lack of regular application. Think about the last time you attended a fantastic workshop. How much of that training were you still actively using three months later?
AI is addressing this challenge by providing on-demand learning and practice opportunities. What used to require scheduling time with an expensive human expert can now happen at 11 PM in your pajamas, exactly when and how you need it. And unlike that poor colleague you’ve cornered for yet another role-playing session, AI never gets tired of helping you practice. (Have you ever watched a salesperson’s face when you cheerfully announce, “Let’s role-play this scenario!” It would be funny if they didn’t look so utterly traumatized.)
The Coaching Revolution: How AI Powers Personalized Learning
Remember when corporate training meant being trapped in a beige conference room with stale donuts, watching someone click through PowerPoint slides while secretly checking your phone? (If you don’t remember this, congratulations on being born after 2010.)
While traditional training certainly has its place, AI is bringing something powerful to the table: personalized, adaptive, on-demand learning that fits your specific needs and learning style.
AstraZeneca offers a fascinating real-world example of this approach. According to the Association for Talent Development, they enhanced their sales coaching by integrating AI with their coaching practices. Previously, they had mountains of field coaching forms submitted each year – valuable data that was nearly impossible to analyze at scale. By implementing AI, they could automatically analyze thousands of coaching conversations against a rubric of effectiveness criteria:
- How focused was the coaching?
- Was there an appropriate balance in the conversation?
- Was the coaching aligned with business goals?
- Was the feedback specific enough to change behavior?
- Was it delivered immediately?
- Was it part of a continuous development process?
The results weren’t just impressive – they were transformative. Sales managers gained immediate visibility into patterns across dozens of coaching conversations, helping them calibrate their approach and align their coaching with revenue targets. As AstraZeneca put it, AI allowed them “to do what they haven’t been able to do without it,” moving managers from simply teaching and telling to true collaboration.
But the potential goes far beyond analyzing coaching conversations. Imagine an AI that could:
- Help you practice that salary negotiation before you walk into your boss’s office (much less awkward than role-playing with your spouse)
- Listen to your customer calls and identify exactly which questions lead to the most engagement
- Analyze your written feedback to team members and suggest ways to make it more impactful
- Give you personalized recommendations on which skills to develop next based on your career aspirations
- Tailor explanations to your preferred learning style, whether that’s through examples, storytelling, data, or hands-on practice
This might feel like a dream (especially if you’re in L&D), but it’s actually happening right now in companies that understand the true value of the Enable superpower.
Beyond the Basics: AI as Your Learning Partner
The best part? AI coaching doesn’t follow a one-size-fits-all approach. It adapts to your learning style, focuses on your specific growth areas, and provides a safe space to practice without judgment.
Think about those valuable skills that gradually fade without regular use – the “use it or lose it” phenomenon that affects us all. Maybe you conduct interviews only a few times a year and struggle to remember the right questions. Or perhaps you learned advanced presentation techniques but rarely get to apply them. These periodic but crucial skills are where AI can make a tremendous difference.
IBM discovered this value when they implemented AI-driven career development. By providing personalized guidance that resonated with each individual’s communication style and preferences, they saw measurable reductions in turnover. Employees weren’t just getting generic advice – they were receiving guidance tailored to how they actually learn and process information.
HubSpot’s research on AI in sales reveals similar patterns. Their Smarter Selling with AI Report showed that sales professionals face consistent challenges around closing deals, connecting with prospects, and deepening customer relationships. AI coaching tools help reps practice specific techniques, analyze their own calls, and maintain skills in a pressure-free environment.
One of my clients recently implemented a fascinating application of this approach for interview skills – something most managers learn but don’t practice constantly. They created custom AI chatbots designed to simulate job candidates with different backgrounds and communication styles. Managers could practice their interviewing techniques before actual hiring rounds began, refreshing skills that had grown rusty since their last hiring push. The system also provided a safe space to practice giving feedback and conducting performance reviews – conversations that many find deeply uncomfortable but critically important to get right.
Meanwhile, forward-thinking professionals are using ChatGPT’s voice mode to practice other high-stakes skills – from delivering presentations to handling difficult client conversations. The key insight is that these tools provide a judgment-free zone where you can try, fail, adjust, and try again without any of the social anxiety that comes with human-to-human practice.
Real-World Success Stories
The Enable superpower is already transforming how organizations approach skill development:
Chorus.ai: Turning Every Call into a Learning Opportunity
Chorus.ai uses AI to analyze sales calls and provide feedback on key metrics like talk time, pitch effectiveness, and deal progression. Companies using this approach have seen their win rates increase by up to 29% as sales teams gain evidence-based insights into what actually works rather than relying on gut feel or anecdotes. The platform turns every customer interaction into a learning opportunity, allowing reps to improve continuously rather than waiting for formal coaching sessions.
Kasisto: The Banking Coach That Adapts to You
Financial services firm Kasisto integrated their KAI platform into their CRM systems to provide personalized coaching to their sales teams. What makes their approach unique is how the system adapts to different learning styles. Some advisors need data and analysis to be convinced, while others respond better to stories and examples. The AI identifies which approach works best for each individual and tailors its coaching accordingly – resulting in both higher client satisfaction and increased sales.
Practice Makes Perfect: The Interview Simulator
A fascinating application I’ve seen recently involves professionals using AI voice interfaces to practice interviewing skills. The AI plays the role of a job candidate while simultaneously evaluating the interviewer’s technique – ideal for managers who conduct interviews infrequently and need to refresh their skills before hiring cycles. After the simulation, the system provides detailed feedback on questioning strategies, listening skills, and potential biases. The key benefit? Managers can practice as many times as needed without subjecting real candidates (or their HR/legale teams) to their learning curve.
Getting Started: Your AI Development Toolkit
Ready to activate this superpower? Here’s how to begin:
- Identify your learning priorities. Where would skill development create the most value for your career or business? Focus there first.
- Understand your learning style. Are you more responsive to examples, stories, data, or hands-on practice? Configure your AI to teach you in ways that work best for your brain. We tested this at home by having AI translate math problems into stories about animals for my daughter.
- Create a safe practice zone. Set up AI role-playing scenarios for high-stakes conversations or presentations where you need consequence-free rehearsal.
- Address your skill decay areas. Which capabilities do you need periodically but don’t use often enough to maintain peak performance? Schedule regular AI-guided practice sessions.
- Build a feedback loop. Have AI analyze your actual work products – emails, presentations, meeting recordings (with permission) – to identify specific improvement opportunities.
The tools for implementation range from accessible to advanced:
- For individuals: Start with multi-purpose AI platforms like ChatGPT or Claude to practice specific skills. Try prompts like “I need to give constructive feedback to a team member who consistently misses deadlines. Can you play their role so I can practice the conversation?” or “I have a job interview next week. Can you ask me likely questions and then give me feedback on my responses?”
- For small teams: Explore specialized tools like Chorus.ai or Jiminny.com for sales coaching or Presentation Coach features in Microsoft PowerPoint.
- For enterprises: Consider comprehensive platforms like HubSpot’s Sales Hub or Salesforce’s Einstein that integrate coaching with your existing workflows and data systems.
Your AI Development Challenge
This week, try one of these exercises:
- Have a difficult conversation with AI first. Think about an upcoming challenging discussion – asking for a raise, providing constructive feedback, or negotiating a deal. Role-play it with an AI assistant, asking for specific feedback on your approach.
- Learn something RIGHT NOW. Instead of adding another item to your “should do” learning list, pick a skill you’ve wanted to develop and use AI for an immediate 15-minute learning session. The immediacy might surprise you.
The goal isn’t to replace human mentors and coaches – their wisdom and empathy remain invaluable. Instead, think of AI as the development partner who’s always available, infinitely patient, and capable of providing personalized learning exactly when you need it.
With the Enable superpower, AI helps you fight skill decay, adapt to your unique learning style, and create a safe space for practice and growth – ultimately making you more capable in the moments that matter most.
Stay tuned for the next article in this series, where we’ll explore the fifth AI superpower: Empower.
Looking for help identifying which skills would most accelerate your professional growth? Let’s connect for a conversation about creating an AI-enhanced development plan that fits your team’s unique needs and aspirations.
