The Sales Leadership Gap: Leading Humans in an AI-Augmented World with Kristie K. Jones
In this episode, Joseph Frost, MBA and I speak about why leadership, not just tools, is becoming the real differentiator inside the modern C-suite. I share insights from my new book, The Sales Leadership Gap, and explain why executives now need to manage systems made up of humans, automation, agents, and AI not just people alone. We also explore how leaders can build accountability into AI-assisted workflows, train teams in systems thinking, hire for judgement and discernment, and help employees develop their own point of view before relying on AI outputs. Any C-suite leader, sales Leader, or business owner who is still adapting to the AI-driven changes happening in their industry will find this a must-listen.AI didn’t kill the sales fundamentals. It just made everyone forget what they actually are.
John and I have a detailed discussion about why the buyer now wants to talk to a human 80 to 90 percent of the way through their own research, why the post-mortem meeting needs to be replaced with a pre-call meeting, and why AI is forcing sales leaders to teach objective judgment for the first time in their careers. I break down the four core skills every sales leader needs going forward, how I test candidates live with AI during interviews, and why I still won’t let AI anywhere near resume review.
If you are in sales, sales leadership, RevOps, or GTM, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about writing a role brief for the AI tools on your team, replacing the post-mortem with a pre-call meeting, testing for objective judgment instead of just tactical skill, and why the old playbook is dead even though playbooks aren’t.