Advice for succeeding in the AI era

Over more than three decades, I have worked across industries, countries, and cultures.

I’ve led large global organizations, managed through periods of growth and disruption, and hired, promoted, and mentored people at every stage of their careers.

Today, as president and CEO of Project Management Institute, I am often asked questions every mentor knows well: Which field should I pursue?

What should I study?

Which industries offer the greatest opportunities?

The answers seemed clearer just a few years ago. https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence" title="AI">AI is reshaping how work gets done.

It’s changing the value of certain skills and challenging traditional career paths.

Many professionals, from recent graduates to experienced executives, are trying to determine what this means for them.

Here are five pieces of advice I offer for succeeding in the AI era.

1.

BECOME A MASTER OF GETTING THINGS DONE

However quickly technology evolves, and however many tasks it can perform, someone still needs to drive momentum and manage the work.

Someone must assume accountability for getting the team across the finish line.

AI can already produce analysis, documentation, schedules, options, code, and content.

But producing things is not the same as delivering outcomes.

Someone must still ensure that projects lead to real progress—and be accountable for the result.

I have seen throughout my career that strategies fail because priorities are unclear.

Leaders delay decisions and spread resources too thinly.

Sometimes they fail when no one fully owns the outcome.

And because change is arriving so quickly, organizations must keep adapting.

That increases demand for people who can turn business-critical initiatives into results.

This is why project management will be one of the great talent needs of the future.

The World Economic Forum’s https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weforum.org%2Fpublications%2Fthe-future-of-jobs-report-2025%2F&data=05%7C02%7CDina.Morton%40pmi.org%7C29e19d5b3bd14730f44008dee70b848c%7Cefa022f42c0246d8b6141b43989d652f%7C0%7C0%7C639202233847221220%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2Bn9dXz0TCTawaOBdcyiNUd%2BEUI8iZjFjvxSdlYxb01A%3D&reserved=0">Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies project managers among the roles expected to drive the most net job growth worldwide.

That finding is consistent with https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pmi.org%2Flearning%2Fthought-leadership%2Fglobal-project-management-talent-gap&data=05%7C02%7CDina.Morton%40pmi.org%7C29e19d5b3bd14730f44008dee70b848c%7Cefa022f42c0246d8b6141b43989d652f%7C0%7C0%7C639202233847263952%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Mq%2BbbC2MIZvDrnqhvwg082%2FldGUbWnTGb%2BUHI5qUR2w%3D&reserved=0">our own research at PMI, which estimates that the world may need up to 30 million additional project professionals by 2035.

Whatever your role or industry, become known as someone who gets important things done.

2.

INVEST IN YOUR HUMAN EDGE

AI is astounding, but some capabilities remain deeply human.

Stakeholder alignment is one of them.

https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lennysnewsletter.com%2Fp%2Fanthropics-1b-to-19b-growth-run&data=05%7C02%7CDina.Morton%40pmi.org%7C29e19d5b3bd14730f44008dee70b848c%7Cefa022f42c0246d8b6141b43989d652f%7C0%7C0%7C639202233847291636%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8iKIweWRzss4MDu3lOpRZrxGn%2BNbRLqpiVKjC%2BRDW2k%3D&reserved=0">Amol Avasare of Anthropic recently shared an observation from a colleague after a difficult meeting: “We will have artificial general intelligence, and it will still be impossible to get six people in a room to align.”

Across countries, cultures, and organizations, I have found that the most difficult leadership challenges involve building trust, reconciling different interests, communicating clearly, and persuading people to move in the same direction.

The ability to lead people through complexity is therefore becoming more important, not less, At PMI, we rely on what we call power skills to accomplish this.

The professionals best equipped to succeed will combine these human capabilities with the ability to use AI confidently and intelligently.

3.

DO NOT ASSUME SENIORITY DETERMINES WHO HAS THE ADVANTAGE

Traditional corporate ladders are becoming less reliable, particularly as AI changes the relationship between experience and capability.

People early in their careers who understand the power of AI and use it naturally every day can research faster.

They can explore more possibilities and produce work that might previously have required years of experience.

An entry-level professional who is fluent in these tools can have a real advantage over a seasoned colleague who resists the tools or struggles to adapt.

Experience still matters enormously.

It brings context, judgment, relationships, and pattern recognition.

But it is most valuable when combined with a willingness to reconsider how the work should be done.

One of the risks of seniority is becoming too confident in methods that worked in the past.

Forget age.

The important divide will be between those who continue to learn and those who believe they have already learned enough.

4.

STAY CURIOUS

Whatever field you pursue, learning cannot end when formal education does.

Read widely.

Follow what is changing in your profession.

Find mentors who will challenge your assumptions, confirm you are on the right path, or help you course-correct.

Most importantly, experiment.

We suddenly have extraordinarily powerful tools at our fingertips.

Do not simply read about them.

Use them.

Build something.

Improve a process.

Test a different way of working.

Look for courses and other opportunities that provide structure to your learning and demonstrate initiative.

At PMI, for example, we offer https://www.pmi.org/shop/us/p-/elearning/generative-ai-overview-for-project-managers/el083">free AI training to help project professionals understand and apply these technologies.

This is particularly important for new graduates.

You may not secure the internship or first job you hoped for.

But early in your career, the quality of what you learn and the responsibility you are given often matter more than the title’s prestige.

5.

BE DISCIPLINED

The abundance of information, tools, and opportunities makes focus more difficult and valuable.

Showing up consistently and improving your work quality matters.

Following through on your commitments differentiates people more than many realize, over a long career.

I have seen talented people succeed in different ways.

The most consistently effective know what deserves their attention.

They continue learning and do what they said they would do.

The same is true for organizations.

With so many possible priorities, it is easy to confuse activity with progress.

AI will make it increasingly easy to produce more.

It will not decide what deserves your attention.

That requires clarity of purpose, along with focus and the discipline to follow through.

In the AI era, the advantage will belong to people who can use the technology, exercise judgment, align others, and take responsibility for results.

Pierre Le Manh is president and CEO of Project Management Institute.