The most important job of leadership in the AI era is giving permission and taking accountability

The speaker, who works at Intercom, discusses their leadership approach in implementing AI within their organization. They emphasize that one of their primary roles is providing explicit permission for employees to experiment with AI tools and taking personal accountability by telling staff to 'blame me if it all goes wrong.' The leader expresses strong conviction that AI will fundamentally transform work processes, stating that all work will become 'agent first' in the near future. They acknowledge that organizations face natural apprehension and initial challenges when introducing AI agents into business processes. The speaker argues that leaders at all levels - whether engineers or managers - must focus on enablement and creating space for employees to deeply explore AI capabilities. They believe this approach allows people to reach breakthrough moments where they realize AI's transformative potential for productivity. The overall message centers on leadership's responsibility to actively remove barriers to AI adoption while providing psychological safety for experimentation.