Beyond Deployment: Preparing the Organisation for AI Success
Insights from Gabriel Milien on building the internal agility required to turn technology investments into measurable outcomes in 2026.
I had the pleasure of welcoming Gabriel Millien to the Level Up Podcast recently to explore a topic that is dominating the executive agenda in 2026: how to move beyond the technical deployment of AI and into the realm of genuine value creation. Gabriel spends his time helping organisations figure out how to get a return on their technology investments by changing how decisions are made and how people operate. Our conversation was a deep dive into the necessity of digital fluency for leaders and the importance of a human-centred approach to transformation.
The Digital Fluency Mandate
We began by discussing a recent McKinsey report which suggests that successful AI transformation depends less on the tools themselves and more on the digital fluency of domain leaders. These are the executives and functional heads who do not need to be software developers, but must understand how technology intersects with their specific business processes.
Gabriel noted that we are seeing a shift away from the traditional divide between purely technical leaders and general leaders who manage technical people without understanding the work. In the current landscape, a leader must be willing to get their hands dirty to understand how these technologies interact with their business goals.
The Three Cs Framework
To help leaders navigate this journey, Gabriel introduced a framework he calls the Three Cs: Clarity, Capabilities, and Capture.
Clarity: This involves understanding the specific business problems you are trying to solve and the decisions you aim to improve. Many AI initiatives fail because teams jump to tools before aligning on purpose.
Capabilities: This refers to leadership ability, operating models, and the development of domain expertise. Gabriel shared a fascinating example of an organisation where leaders participated in an internal internship with technology experts to learn the basics of prompt engineering and workflows.
Capture: Leaders must define how the value of the investment will actually land, whether that is through reduced costs, increased speed, or an improved customer experience.
Moving Beyond Deployment to Outcomes
A recurring theme in our discussion was the tendency for organisations to rush into deployment without a clear view of the desired output. Gabriel pointed out that technology does not deserve credit for being impressive; it only deserves credit for delivering results.
In my book, Enhanced Leadership, I refer to this as the ‘bionic’ approach to management. As I state:
‘AI is not going to replace you. You’re not going to be replaced with a robot. But what you’ve got is an opportunity to enhance yourself with AI, still being the human, the human thought, the human empathy, the human strategy, but with AI augmenting everything.’
This perspective aligns with Gabriel’s view that the best AI transformations are human-centred. We must design systems that augment human judgment rather than bypassing it, ensuring that people remain in the loop as sources of accountability and trust.
The 2026 Outlook: Preparing the Body
As we look ahead through 2026, the era of ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) is ending. Boards are no longer asking if AI has been deployed; they are asking what measurable value has been captured.
Gabriel used a striking analogy: an AI transformation is like an organ transplant. For the procedure to be successful, the organ must be healthy, but the body receiving it must also be prepared. In many cases, the technology is ready, but the organisation is not. This year is about strengthening the foundations and preparing the ‘body’ of the business to sustain the new technology.
Takeaways for Leaders
For leaders looking to increase their digital fluency, the advice is to start with the business strategy and map backward.
Focus on Communication: One of the most vital skills a leader can develop is knowing how to ask AI the right questions and how to use it to augment their thinking.
Set Clear Guardrails: It is the responsibility of senior leadership to communicate appropriate use cases and ethical boundaries, ensuring that internal data is not exposed to public AI systems.
Encourage Transparency: We must move away from the idea that using AI is ‘cheating’. Encourage your teams to be upfront about their use of these tools and the value they add.
Takeaways for Coaches
Coaches can play a pivotal role in helping leaders build the ‘learning agility’ required for this era.
Build Psychological Safety: Help leaders create an environment where staff feel safe to experiment and learn without the anxiety of being replaced.
Focus on Vulnerability: Encourage leaders to ‘learn in public’. As Gabriel noted, nobody knows everything, and the ability to listen and learn from others is a hallmark of wise leadership.
Challenge the Hierarchy: Use the principle that hierarchy should never silence insight. Support your clients in fostering a culture where every team member feels empowered to bring better thinking to the table regardless of their title.
Conclusion
The journey toward digital fluency is not about becoming a technical expert; it is about developing the leadership muscles to guide your organisation through a period of profound change. By focusing on clarity of purpose and the augmentation of human talent, we can ensure that AI serves as a powerful catalyst for growth rather than a source of friction.
If you would like to explore these concepts further, I highly recommend listening to the full episode with Gabriel on the Level Up Podcast or connecting with him on LinkedIn, where he shares daily insights on human-centred AI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-millien
You can also find more about my own framework for the future of management in my book, Enhanced Leadership: https://mybook.to/EnhancedLeadership
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Hey, great read as always. The emphasis on domain leaders' digital fluency is indeed crucial for geniune value creation. Could Gabriel elaborate on how the 'Clarity' phase within the Three Cs framework specifically integrates with fostering a human-centred approach?