Practice Forward with XcelLabs

In the age of AI, what does leadership look like? In short, agentic leadership. These leaders facilitate the use of judgment, initiative, and spending time on work that needs a human mind.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting smarter every day. It sorts information. It outlines first drafts. It catches patterns that used to take hours of human time. With all of that happening, a new question sits right in front of us: where do people add value?

That is the real turning point. Not the technology itself, but the way we lead. Once repetitive work gets handled, people have room to think in a new way. They have space to test ideas, explore problems, and bring something original to the table. Some leaders make that possible. Some leaders shut it down without realizing it.

A New Kind of Leadership Is Emerging

For most people, “agentic” is a new word. It simply means having the ability to take action without waiting for direction. One example would be agentic AI. Give AI a place to start and it keeps going. It can be programmed to automatically sketch out a multistep plan or flag something worth a second look. It’s not here to replace your thinking. It just helps you get to the strategic part faster – the part clients actually value.

Agentic leadership builds on that idea. These types of leaders make it easier for someone to use their judgment, take initiative, and spend more time on work that needs a human mind instead of a checklist.

Here’s a real-world example. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, encouraged the company to move from “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls.” That mindset made curiosity normal. It made it okay to ask questions, try things, and learn out loud. AI fits into this kind of environment because the tools change quickly. When learning is part of the culture, people can grow with technology instead of falling behind it.

AI expands what people can do. Agentic leaders create conditions for people to actually use that freedom.

Agentic Leaders Invite People to Think with AI

Agentic leaders want you to use AI as a thinking tool. You try something with AI and see what comes back. You compare a few options. You walk into a meeting with ideas that have already been through a round of stress-testing.

Agentic leaders care about the quality of your insight, not the minutes you spend getting there. If AI cleared the path, great. What matters is what you did with it. They want you experimenting. They want you learning. They want you growing into work that calls for judgment, not repetition.

Leaders like this make you feel free to explore without worrying that you “cheated” by using AI. You are trusted to make sense of the output and turn it into something valuable.

Agentic Leaders Open Space for Higher Value

Once AI handles the basics, people finally get a little breathing room. And it is in that space where the real work starts. That’s when you can slow down enough to ask a better question, notice something a client didn’t see, or follow an idea you never had the capacity to explore.

Agentic leaders want more of that. They want people spending their time on the kind of thinking that leads to advisory work. When people actually have the room to do it, you see new services and better solutions for clients. None of that happens when leaders keep the focus on old processes and billable minutes.

To build toward this, you don’t need a sweeping transformation. Try weaving small habits into the day that make AI part of how people think. 

Ask your team what tiny frustration they have with workflow, and let AI be part of exploring an answer. Add one AI prompt or reflection question to your next project just to see what it turns up. Open a meeting by sharing something AI got wrong or something it revealed, and what you learned from it.

Those small moves add up. They show people it’s okay to try things. And that’s the point. Agency grows through practice, not pressure.

It’s Happening Now

AI is already handling the sorting, the drafting, the checking, and the organizing. So, value shifts – it becomes what people can interpret and advise on. The insight behind the data. It is a different kind of contribution, and it relies more on judgment than efficiency.

Agentic leaders see this happening in real time. They lean into it. They create safety to try things and learn as they go. They celebrate curiosity because the tools keep evolving. They treat thinking as part of the job because that is where people can add the most value. 

If you are curious where your own organization stands, XcelLabs’ AIQ Assessment is a helpful place to begin. It takes a few minutes and gives you insights into your readiness for agentic AI, your cultural strengths, and the habits that will help your team grow. Unclear of what AIQ is? Check out my blog “What Is AIQ and Why It Matters.”   

Jody Padar, CPA, also known as “The Radical CPA,” is the co-founder of XcelLabs, a training and technology platform that offers solutions to help accountants use AI to build fluency and strategic thinking. Visit XcelLabs for more information.

Backed by the PICPA, XcelLabs is helping CPAs leverage AI to expand advisory capabilities, strengthen firms, and keep the profession future-ready.

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Statements of fact and opinion are the author's responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the PICPA's officers or members. The information contained herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For actionable advice, you must engage or consult with a qualified professional.