Where does AI belong in my work?
Where can it improve the quality, pace or value of work I'm accountable for - and where does it not belong?
AI Leadership Circle
Build the judgement to use AI wisely.
Work out what AI means for your work, your decisions and the responsibilities you hold - alongside other senior leaders and board directors from different organisations and sectors.
The Circle gives you a confidential place to work that through - using AI on real work, forming your own view and learning alongside peers navigating the same shift.
- Starts 9 February 2027
- Tuesdays 12–1 pm AEDT (recordings available)
- Six weekly live online sessions
- Peer-based small group
The questions that matter
Knowing about AI is not the same as knowing what to do with it.
What am I prepared to rely on?
What should I trust, challenge, verify, protect or keep human?
What does it mean for how I lead?
How do I lead myself and others through the AI transition without losing sight of the work, the risks and the people involved?
Is this the right room for you?
Senior leaders, board directors and experienced professionals who:
- have done the reading or a course, but it hasn't yet become a practice
- are facing real questions about use, trust, risk and leadership
- want a peer room without hype, jargon or performance
- are ready to use AI on their own work between sessions
It doesn't matter whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with more advanced tools. The work is applied at your level and in your context.
What you leave with
From scattered use to a deliberate AI practice.
Judgement is built by doing the work - then reflecting, testing and doing it again.
Judgement built from your own work
where AI helps, where it doesn't and what to trust
A deeper, more confident AI practice
used deliberately across work that matters
Quiet authority
credible conversations with teams, boards and vendors, because you've used AI and formed your own view
Your Personal AI Risk Position
the risks that matter in your role, your boundaries and how you'll verify work
A way to keep learning
Keep testing, reflecting and developing your judgement as AI keeps changing.
How it works
Bring your work. Learn from what happens.
Over six weeks, you explore AI in your own work through practical challenges shared with you. In the live sessions, we make sense of what happened - what worked, what failed, what surprised you and what it means. You hear how peers from other organisations and sectors are approaching the same questions, and build your judgement through experience and discussion.
- Six weekly live online sessions, Tuesdays 12–1 pm AEDT. Recordings available.
- Weekly challenges applied to your own work, offered at three levels
- A peer-based small group of up to ten, with confidential conversations and room to ask questions without pressure to perform
- Guides and resources to help you explore the challenges in your own time
- Use tools and information you are authorised to use
- AI Fluency Snapshot to help you reflect on progress in your practice, understanding and confidence
Explore the six-session outline
Session 1
Use AI on work that matters
Learn what generative AI does well, where it becomes unreliable and what changes when you use it for work you are accountable for.
Session 2
Direct AI and delegate well
Give AI clear prompts, the context behind the work and the standards the result must meet. Make your professional knowledge explicit and ask AI to question, challenge and improve rather than simply agree.
Session 3
Use AI where it adds value
Explore the ways AI can add value across thinking, analysis, communication, creation and execution - and distinguish genuine value from output that is merely fast or convenient.
Session 4
Know what to trust
Work through privacy, accuracy, bias, disclosure and over-reliance. Decide what needs checking, what requires human review and what should not be handed to AI.
Session 5
From conversation to execution
Explore configured tools, assistants and repeatable workflows - including agentic AI. Consider their purpose, context, data, limits and the points where human review must remain.
Session 6
Build an ongoing learning practice
Consolidate what has changed in how you use, question and rely on AI. Decide how you will keep learning, testing and building capability after the Circle finishes.
Two ways to take part
Build with peers. Go deeper on your own work.
With peers
AI Leadership Circle
Six weeks of firsthand AI work and live conversations with senior leaders from other organisations and sectors.
- Six live, one-hour Circle sessions
- Weekly challenges applied to your own work
- Curated guides, resources and peer learning
- AI Fluency Snapshot and a closing reflection on your practice, understanding and confidence
With peers + private support
AI Leadership Accelerator
Everything in the Circle, plus three private one-to-one advisory sessions to work through your situation, responsibilities and goals.
- Three private one-to-one advisory sessions
- Written advisory notes after each session
- Direct access to me between sessions for questions and support
“Sue has an exceptional ability to bring focus and clarity, helping us move comfortably into the unknown. What shifted for me was moving from using AI in a curious, ad-hoc way to building structured workflows and customised tools aligned to my brand, my IP and the way I deliver to clients.”
Margot Andersen · Founder and CEO, Insync Network Group · Accelerator
From participants
The difference shows up in the work.
Jacinta Whelan
Managing Partner, Watermark Search International
“The AI Leadership Circle was just what I needed! Sue brings together such a rich mix of senior leaders, from Board members to senior executives, and I've learned a great deal from the discussions. Starting out at the more beginner end of the AI learning spectrum, my confidence and capability have grown enormously.”
Your facilitator
Sue Cunningham
I bring 25 years of transformation, crisis and reform leadership - including leadership through Black Summer and securing $500M for a statewide ambulance service redesign.
In early 2025, I stepped away from executive life to explore AI and build a human-led, AI-enabled practice. I use AI in strategy, client work and operations, and create confidential rooms where leaders can be honest about what they don’t yet know.
B.Eng (Hons) · MIT Sloan · Oxford Saïd · INSEAD (Distinction) · Bluedot Impact · GAICD · Certified Master Coach
Read my storyFrequently asked questions5 questions
How much time does it take outside the sessions?
Allow 30–60 minutes a week for the challenges. You can spend more or less time according to your week and your appetite for learning. The challenges apply to work that matters to your role.
Which AI tools do I need?
Use tools you are authorised to use, with material you are allowed to share. Free tools can be enough for the challenges. A paid subscription doesn't automatically make a tool appropriate for confidential work; its terms, settings and your organisation's requirements matter.
What if I'm further behind than everyone else?
You can join whether you're using AI regularly or have barely opened a tool. I offer each challenge at three levels, so you can explore at a level that fits your experience. The peer conversations let you compare experiences and ask questions. You don't need to arrive with the answers.
What if I can't make a session?
Recordings are available. Challenges and resources are released each week by email, so you can do the work at whatever time works for you. The live conversations are a great way to learn from others, so plan to attend whenever you can.
Can you run this for our executive team or board?
Yes. The AI Leadership Circle for Teams works with your executive team; the AI Governance Circle works with your board. Each focuses on the responsibilities of that group.
2027 waitlist now open
Register your interest in the first Circle of 2027.
9 February - 16 March 2027 · Tuesdays 12–1 pm AEDT.
Request a place in the Circle or the Accelerator. This is a paid program. I’ll share the investment and joining details, and I’m happy to talk through any questions before you decide.
Each Circle brings together up to ten participants.
See the six session dates
Tuesday 9, 16 and 23 February; Tuesday 2, 9 and 16 March 2027.
Want to keep up with AI and learn what other experienced leaders are doing? Explore the AI Leadership Room