As I chat with college students today—many navigating their first internships—I’m reminded of how formative those early work experiences were for me. Back at Florida A&M, our Career Services Center didn’t just help students find internships; they helped us find the right internship at the right time with the right people.
We gained exposure. We learned to work across cultures. We earned a few dollars. And for many of us, we discovered who we were becoming—sometimes by way of discovering what we didn’t want to do.
My first internship was at Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake, TX where we students were focused on what we were receiving: the skills, the exposure, the résumé lines. But I always carried a quiet question: What were the employers getting from us?
Over time, through years spent in supply chain, retail leadership and now consulting, the answer revealed itself. Employers weren’t just gaining temporary help—they were gaining insight. Interns became windows into the next generation of consumers and employees. They helped shape how we thought, how we marketed, how we evolved. The best interns didn’t just execute—they challenged, contributed, and made our businesses better.
What made those internships truly work—on both sides—was structure. Purposeful onboarding. Clear communication. Meaningful projects. Supervision without micromanagement. Celebrating results. Interns were most impactful when we took the time to guide them, not just use them.
And now, as we stand in this remarkable era of technological transformation, I’ve come to realize something even deeper: we are now managing artificial intelligence tools in much the same way we used to manage interns.
The parallels are striking. AI tools arrive in our businesses brimming with potential but lacking context. They’re fast learners, capable of handling real work, but they need direction. They thrive when given structure, relevant data, and a defined role. And like any intern, if you leave them unsupervised, you risk confusion, inefficiency—or worse, damage to your brand or customer experience.
AI should be given a reason for being—why it’s here, what it’s solving for, and how it fits into the business. It should be introduced with intention, not just because “everyone else is using it.” The tools need to be properly trained, not dumped with tasks and expected to perform without clarity. They require feedback loops, performance tracking, and the same kind of thoughtful leadership that once nurtured a college intern into a rising star.
What we learned managing human interns applies directly to AI: give it direction, monitor its progress, support its growth, and make sure it aligns with the broader vision. And just like interns, AI should be included in real business conversations. Let it analyze trends before meetings. Let it draft ideas, surface patterns, and lighten the mental load—so human leaders can focus on the deeper, strategic work.
The power of AI lies not just in what it can do, but in how well we manage it.
This is the leadership pivot that defines this era: not “who can use the most tools,” but “who can manage smart tools with clarity, ethics, and impact.” Just as we used to shape interns into high-performing contributors, we must now shape our digital counterparts into reliable co-pilots for growth.
And in that shift is a quiet but profound truth: AI isn’t here to replace great people—it’s here to amplify great leadership. The kind of leadership we once showed by mentoring a wide-eyed intern is now needed to guide the tools that shape our future.
Looking ahead, we must be intentional about training future leaders not just to use AI, but to integrate it with wisdom and purpose. They must learn how to harness intelligent tools without losing their own humanity, how to lead with empathy while operating at exponential scale.
Because the true role of AI is not to replace people—it’s to elevate their impact.
If we get this right, our companies won't just grow, they’ll flourish. And the communities we serve won't just be more efficient,they’ll be more inspired.
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