Michal Oshman: What is the One Thing AI Can’t replace?

Michal Oshman is the bestselling author of the book What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid, and former senior executive at TikTok and Facebook. Michal is a leading voice on leadership, workplace culture, and personal transformation.

Listen to her 18 min talk at our first ever KEN talks event in London.

Brought to you by Joice Global & Shalom Speakers. Supported by Israel Bonds.

Transcript

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Good evening everyone, Ere Tov, and thank you for that beautiful introduction. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, Am I a leader? What is my unique purpose in the world? Am I playing the role that only I can play? Most of us experienced great leadership. We followed people that made us believe in something, feel something, and connect to a purpose greater than ourselves. And we remember that feeling. Think about the best leader that you knew. Not the most senior, not the most accomplished, but the one who actually changed something within yourself. I guess it wasn't the title and it wasn't their strategy. It was something far more meaningful. Maybe it was the way that they showed up, the way that they made you feel. The sense that they knew exactly who they were and they were not afraid to be themselves. Those people that made you feel that way, did they see themselves as leaders? And more importantly, do you see yourself as one? That is the thing. What is the thing that creates great leadership impact? That's exactly what we're going to talk about this evening. I spent 10 years in academia researching human behavior, and 25 years in companies like Facebook and eBay and TikTok watching from inside how technology and AI affects people in the workplace and organizations. Right now we're witnessing something that we haven't seen before. Leaders in all levels, in all industries, in all the companies that I work with and support, they ask the same question. Am I still relevant? Do I have a place in the workplace? Can I still make an impact? And am I still valuable? Recently I've been working with a very known global brand, working with our leadership team. We went on an off-site, we had meaningful conversations, and then I asked one of the senior leaders, who is the person that you trust most for advice? Without pausing, without waiting, she said immediately, Chat GPT. We are at risk of outsourcing ourselves. I'm pro-outsourcing. As a mother of four children, an executive in tech, and I'm sure my kids are here somewhere. I outsourced everything I could. If I wasn't needed there, I was very happy to get help, to get support. I was actually proud about it. There is no mother guilt in me. But there is a limit to outsourcing, and we may have just crossed that limit. We are now outsourcing our judgment, our reflection, our sense of who we are and how we actually think. When that happens, we do not simply lose our edge. We're at risk of losing ourselves. You cannot outsource yourself. The way you read a room, the energy that you bring with you, the way you make people feel, you really cannot outsource that. AI can replace your strategy. It can replace your analysis and your research and your reports. And we all know that today, in seconds, we can achieve what took us days and maybe weeks in the past. But what AI cannot replace, what it will never be able to replace, is your soul. The flavor of your soul, that unique one-of-a-kind combination that makes you you. It's the most valuable personal and professional asset that you'll ever have, and especially today in the age of AI. For generations, power belonged to the person who knew the most, who could hold the most information, recall it quickly, access to data in their head, and really controlled the room that way. Knowledge was one of the greatest currencies of leadership. I know that from my own experience. AI has changed that almost entirely. Every person in this room right now can access the same information, the same data, and you have access to the same analytical tools. What matters now most is not who knows the most. What matters now most is who knows themselves the most. Two words sit into the kind of center of what I'd like to cover in the next couple of minutes. And the first word, and maybe unexpectedly, is soul. For some of you, the word soul really doesn't associate with career and leadership and all of those things. It feels like it's a word that maybe belongs in a place of worship or in completely different context. And believe me, I worked and sat in a very less, let's say, soul uh cultured organizations. So I know that many people won't associate with the word soul in this context. And yet, every one of you has the potential to lead from your soul. Every decision that you make, every relationship that you establish, every conflict that you resolve can and should come from your soul. Because beneath the performance and beneath the title, that's exactly who you are. If you feel comfortable with the word soul, let's keep it for the next couple of minutes. But if not, I want to offer a different word. Flavor. Your flavor is the specific combination, the one-of-a-kind, unrepeatable version of exactly who you are. How you think, what you notice, what you care about, how you respond when things get hard. It's the way that people experience you, the energy that you bring with you when you enter the room. Think about a dish that you love. Not because of one specific ingredient in that dish, but because of the combination of the flavors together. When they're put together, they create this favorite dish that has such a unique flavor, such a unique flavor that includes memories and even feelings, and you might even feel like you miss having that dish. In that same way, your combination of elements is the flavor of you. In a world where AI replaces almost everything else, your flavor is the one thing that remains completely and entirely yours. No one can copy or replicate your flavor. But Jewish wisdom, of course, knew this first. The Lubava Jereba taught us that every single person has a unique soul and has a unique mission in this world. The word is Schlichut. And there's no one else in the world that can complete exactly the mission that you were brought here to do and fulfill. The question that matters now is not what AI can do. The question is: do you know what only you can fulfill in the world right now? Do you know the exact flavor of you and how to maximize it? Remember, the flavor is your competitive advantage now. It's what's going to help you facilitate this AI era. But let's bring it to life. There's a long list of elements here, of different flavors. It's not a personality test, it's just an opportunity for you to look at that list. Don't think too much. Just try to find what are the three elements, three elements of flavor that when you read them, you immediately instinctively think, yeah, that's me. That's the energy that I bring into the room. That's what I'm known for. Gonna give you a moment to have a look. Choose three elements of your flavor. Now, the good thing about this is that this is in your eyes only. You define what makes you you. But at the same way, you can share this with someone and ask their opinion and ask them, you know, is this really me? Is this how I come across? Is this the energy that I bring to the world? What am I like when I'm doing those things? And then you can verify and activate it. And what I see with so many leaders that I work with and coach and support is that they have so many beautiful, meaningful flavors that have they have so many things that just define exactly who they are, that make them special, but for some reason they're not confident, they're not using them. And let's be honest, very often in this world we try to be like someone else. The world today is a lot, and I like using the word too muchness. Today the world can really feel like too much, too many expectations, internal and external, too many voices in our head saying we should be this, we should be that. And very often when we're unsure, when we're panicky, when we're overwhelmed, we go out to look for answers outside ourselves. When actually the best place to ask for answers, to look for answers, and especially in the era of AI, is within yourself. That is truly your only competitive advantage today is you. How you see people, how you connect between people, between dots, how you bring meaning to life. This is not the era to be like someone else, even though many of us spend time trying to be someone else. And by the way, this doesn't mean that you're perfect. None of us are perfect. We all have to evolve and grow and improve. But the best way to maximize your advantage in the world now is to be clear about who you are, work hard to become even better and thrive through your unique flavor. Your soul has a flavor. Lead from it. Good luck. Thank you.