Prompt Engineering for People
or "What AI taught me about leading humans."
Your team isn’t doing what you need them to do.
Not because they’re lazy. Not because they don’t care. But because you’re not being clear enough.
That’s the hard truth I share with nearly every CEO I coach. You think you’re being clear—but your team is guessing. And when people have to guess, things go sideways. Fast.
Recently, I started using a new frame to explain this: prompt engineering. The same concept you use with AI—be specific, give examples, define the output—is exactly what your team needs from you. (P.S. I’m running a free live webinar on this — details at the bottom.)
Think about it:
When we prompt our AI tools, we’re learning to be more precise.
What’s the goal? What’s the format? What specific results do I want? What do I want it to sound like?
And when we don’t get the right answer, we fix the prompt—not the AI.
That’s how it works with humans, too.
You say, “We need to grow faster.”
They hear, “Panic and go do stuff.”
You say, “This isn’t good enough.”
They hear, “I have no idea what success looks like.”
You say, “Take ownership.”
They hear, “I’m on my own, I hope this is right.”
Reframe the problem.
It’s not them. It’s your prompt.
Try this instead:
Instead of “We need to grow faster”
Try “I want to grow revenue by 30% in the next 90 days. Let’s generate and prioritize 10 experiments by Friday.”
Instead of “This isn’t good enough”
Try “The goal was a one-page summary that highlights the trade-offs. Let’s look at how we missed that.”
Instead of “Take ownership”
Try “This is yours to lead. That means making the plan, getting the right people involved, and driving daily activity, and updating me weekly.”
Clear input = better output.
AI or human, it’s the same idea.
I’m putting together a free workshop on this—real prompts, real feedback, real-time coaching. Comment below, message me, or register here if you want to attend.
#startups #leadership #executivecoaching #communication #howtoceo
A brilliant reminder that as leaders, we have spent hours and years honing our understanding of what we need to build a strong business, but we make the mistake that in seconds we can convey that thinking to our people.
Being more specific, giving clear examples, and engaging in dialogue to refine the prompt is such an important piece of guidance. Don't ever assume you were clear enough -- most likely, you weren't.