Using ChatGPT Should Be a Compliment, Not an Insult

As I wrote in mid-2024, AI is becoming a crucial skill.

At that point, already ​66% of leaders said they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills​.

The same Microsoft study showed that 71% of respondents prefer to hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more experienced candidate without them.

Fast-forward just six months, and ​47% of hiring managers​ see it as the number one skill for candidates to have.

Yesterday, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke even ​said​ that “AI is now a baseline expectation” and warned employees not to request additional headcount before proving that AI can’t do the work. (Wow!)

I’ve heard from our ​Lead with AI​ graduates that, with all things being equal, they would vastly prefer a ​SuperWorker​ with a team of AI assistants over a ‘regular’ employee.

Makes sense.

Companies with SuperWorkers are smaller, leaner, and more competitive.

You Have ‘Secret Cyborgs’

However, this contrasts with another common finding: over ​half of employees​ use AI in secret.

AI professor Ethan Mollick calls these people ‘​Secret Cyborgs​.’

They are using AI, but not openly.

I ​recently shared​ about one such closeted AI user.

“For a long time, I was in the AI closet. I didn’t want people to know that I used ChatGPT. But now, I’m sharing it for anyone to hear: I collaborate with AI to improve the quality of my work.”

So why does this behavior occur? Mollick has a ​good list​ of reasons:

• They got a scary, vague warning about using AI. Unsure what counts as "wrong use," they stay quiet.
• Even if not punished, they won’t be rewarded for using AI. Why give away their edge?
• They’re praised for sharp emails and fast code, and worry that revealing the AI behind it would lower others’ respect or perhaps worse: more work.
• They know companies use productivity gains to justify layoffs. If AI helps too much, someone might go.
• They want to share their AI tricks, but have no safe or trusted way to do it.

Working with AI is a superpower, but for organizations to benefit, there’s one thing that has to change:

“You’re using ChatGPT” should be a compliment, not an insult.

Based on what I’ve heard from Lead with AI graduates, here’s how you can get there:

Make Using ChatGPT a Compliment

The leaders who have impressed me the most have gone all-in on AI, not just as a company imperative but as a personal mission.

They create GPTs, tinker with their prompts, deepen their platform knowledge, and, most importantly, constantly share—in meetings, town halls, and one-on-ones.

As with any successful change agenda, it starts with modeling at the top.

Additionally, some measures that work for them include:

• Create clear, safe policies that define ethical use without punishing experimentation.
• Celebrate AI success stories in performance reviews, team meetings, and internal comms.
• Encourage responsible upskilling, not gatekeeping or fear-based restrictions.

If people are afraid to use their most powerful tools, your organization leaves value on the table.

Show them that using AI publicly is an opportunity to, as Jeremy Utley ​calls it​, “take their own job before someone else does.”

The Bottom Line: Winning with AI

From my many conversations with business leaders, it’s clear to me that when AI use stays in the shadows, everyone loses:

• Companies miss out on shared learning and repeatable systems.
• Teams lose trust—individuals look brilliant, but no one knows how or why.
• Employees burn out, stuck between efficiency and fear.

And worst of all? Innovation stalls.

Companies need more than skilled individuals to compete in an AI-powered world: they need a culture that rewards responsible use and open ​collaboration with AI​.

So yes, when someone says, “You’re using ChatGPT?”—the right response isn’t suspicion and mistrust.

It’s: “Awesome. Show me how.”

Is this something you can instill in your team?

If you're trying or already doing it, share with me here.