AI is coming. Not for school leaders, but the boring bits.

I heard two business leaders talking about AI on a podcast. The more I listened, the more I thought: this is exactly what's happening in schools right now too.

Picture a principal sitting in a meeting. Everyone's talking about using AI for things like writing reports or planning lessons. The principal nods along, but inside they're thinking, "I have no idea what this means, and I'm supposed to be in charge of it." If that's you, don't worry. You're not behind. You're just being honest. Loads of principals feel exactly the same. Most just won't say it out loud.

On top of that, the board wants things done faster. The Ministry wants more done with less money. And half your staff are scared AI is going to take their jobs. Nobody's handed you a guidebook for any of this.

So here's the good news, and it's not what the people selling AI tools want you to hear.

You don't need to become a computer expert. You just need to keep doing the job you already had.

Being a leader has never been about knowing how the tool works. It's about taking the people you've got, the time you've got, and now the AI you've got, and using all of it to get the best result for your kids. That was true before computers existed. It's still true now.

What AI actually replaces is boring, repeated work that doesn't need much thinking. If a big part of someone's job is that kind of task, AI will probably take it over. That's not something to panic about. It just means you should look closely at where your own time actually goes.

Don't buy the tool first. Understand the problem first.

The biggest mistake I see coming is schools grabbing an AI tool because it looked cool at a workshop, without first figuring out what's actually slowing people down. Before bringing in any AI tool, get your team to write down what they actually do every day for a couple of weeks. What takes ages? What's repeated all the time? Start there. Don't start with whatever's trending online.

Treat AI like a keen new staff member who's still learning.

AI will give you an answer fast, and it will sound very sure of itself. But it doesn't actually know if that answer is right, it just wants to make you happy. That's a bit like a brand-new teacher: full of energy, but not yet experienced enough to always get it right. Your job is to check the work. Trust it a bit, but always double-check it, especially before anything goes to your board or shows up when ERO comes to visit.

Leading a tool is different from leading a person.

Using AI well means looking inward, thinking clearly about exactly what you want from it. Leading your staff means looking outward, paying attention to them. What makes them tick. How far you can push them. What they need from you this term. That part of the job was never going to be done by a computer. It's also the hardest part to fake, which is why good leaders still stand out.

Don't forget the people learning the ropes.

Here's something worth thinking about. If AI starts doing all the basic, beginner-level work, what happens to new teachers who used to learn by doing that work themselves? Nobody has a perfect answer yet. Worth a conversation with your mentors now, before it becomes a bigger problem later.

The best time to start is now, not later.

Leaders who try a few things, even badly at first, will be way ahead of leaders who wait until they feel ready. There's no perfect moment coming. Pick one small task this term and give it a go.

None of this changes what makes a good leader: being clear, having honest conversations, and knowing what actually matters. AI just makes it more obvious, and more costly, when a leader skips any of that.