Overcome the AI Overwhelm

Episode # 155: AI can feel like it’s coming for your job while you’re still trying to close the month. If you’ve felt overwhelmed by artificial intelligence, unsure which tools matter, or worried you’re falling behind, we’re going to slow it down and make it practical, especially for finance leaders, FP&A, accounting, and anyone responsible for decisions, controls, and credibility.

We start with the real reason AI creates anxiety: finance professionals build careers by becoming experts, but AI changes too fast to “master” in the old way. I explain why information overload fuels fear, what AI can do well today, and where human judgment remains essential for critical decisions and strategic leadership. We also talk about responsible AI use, including following organizational policies so you don’t accidentally expose sensitive company information.

Then we shift the mindset that unlocks confidence: don’t start with AI, start with the business problem. I share the questions I want every finance team asking, from repetitive work that wastes time to reports nobody reads to decisions that need better insight. From there, I walk through a simple confidence-building progression: awareness, personal productivity, financial analysis, and finally using AI to elevate your role as a true strategic partner, not just someone who automates reporting.

Episode outline:

1.  Why AI creates so much anxiety,
2. Shift your mindset from technology to business problems, and
3. Build your confidence in using Artificial Intelligence effectively.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
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4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Transcript

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AI Anxiety And Career Fears

Stephen McLain 0:04

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by artificial intelligence? Or do you just lack some confidence in how to effectively use it in your duties? Do you sometimes fear that it might take your job one day? You are not alone in any of these feelings. Many others feel the exact same way. So how do we build confidence so that we feel comfortable applying AI tools to our work to solve real business problems? Now go one more step further. How can you use artificial intelligence to create for yourself a unique way to set yourself apart by using AI in a smart and effective way to determine better insights and to solve your organization's toughest problems, resulting in you getting recognition and career advancement. Please enjoy the episode.

Welcome And How To Connect

Stephen McLain 1:00

Welcome to the Finance Leader Podcast where leadership is bigger than the numbers. I am your host, Stephen McLean. This is the podcast for developing leaders in finance and accounting. Please consider following me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. My usernames and the links are in this episode's show notes. You can also follow Finance Leader Academy on LinkedIn. Thank you. This is episode number one fifty five, and I will be talking about how you can boost your confidence in the use of artificial intelligence at work, and I'll highlight the following topics. Number two, shift your mindset from technology to business problems, and three, build your confidence in using artificial intelligence effectively. Chairman and CEO Simeon Preston said the biggest part of our digital transformation is changing the way we think. Now I am curious about what has been challenging everyone lately at work or in your professional life. If you did not notice, there is an interesting feature on the platform that distributes my podcast. You can send me fan mail. It's really cool. Depending upon the platform you're listening to, you can scroll through the episode's show notes. You should see a prompt or a link where you can send to me a text or a voicemail. They don't share your phone number, so your privacy is protected, and the message is handled within the application. And I am given one chance to reply. So if you want to share something interesting with me regarding your professional life or a comment about the podcast or something else, please send me some fan mail. I may read a few in a future episode, so please give it a try. I previously shared episode number 154, how agile strategy can transform FPNA from a reporting function to a strategic business partner. I walk through how you can apply agile strategy to your FPNA team processes to avoid becoming reactive, but to actually become more responsive to the needs of the business through shorter cycles and more strategic partnering. So please listen if you have not already. Enjoy.

Start Using AI Without Fear

Stephen McLain 3:20

This week I will be discussing how artificial intelligence can feel overwhelming at times, especially if you are trying to figure out how to implement it in your team. It can be scary for the first-time user and it can feel like this big thing out there that wants to take your job away. But I want you to operate from a space of no fear. We are going to learn how to implement it smartly and to help you and your team to build efficiencies and to help your organization even more. But first, we must overcome the overwhelm. I would say get on board with it. It's not too late. Don't delay. Learn some basic AI applications and prompts to learn how it works. Experiment with how your AI tools work and adjust the settings to your style. Figure out how to apply your team's work portfolio to the AI tools you have. But always lead with the problem first, then apply the right tool. More to follow on that. I do want to remind you to adhere to your organizational policies and procedures to ensure that for yourself and your team you are complying. You don't want to inadvertently share company information in an AI tool that could expose the company. I recommend researching what is approved and acceptable and what AI tools you may have available. Apply the best tool to the right problem.

Lead Your Team Through Change

Stephen McLain 4:51

One other very important issue I want to cover before we get into the details of the episode today, if your role as team manager are above, which means you are not an individual contributor, the most important responsibility you have is to help others and to set up your team for success. Taking care of people is your number one task every day. Leadership means that we grow other leaders. Leadership means we ensure our team is properly resourced and trained to do their jobs. Leadership means that your people have somewhere to go for help when they hit an obstacle. This is coming from my more than two decades worth of U.S. Army experience, where we embrace the aspects of leadership that involves bringing our people through the toughest obstacles and the most harrowing challenges always leading from the front and setting the right example of courage, integrity, and excellence. That is the same standard that I'm expecting from all finance leaders, from team manager to the chief financial officer.

Subscribe And Free Leadership Guide

Stephen McLain 5:58

Please subscribe to the podcast on the platform you are currently listening to, and also please subscribe to my weekly email. When you subscribe to the email, you will receive a free guide about developing your finance leadership. It's filled with many tips and strategies to grow your leadership. Thank you. Now let's talk about how to overcome the overwhelm of artificial intelligence and become more confident.

Why AI Creates So Much Anxiety

Stephen McLain 6:24

Number one, why AI creates so much anxiety Now most finance professionals built successful careers by becoming experts. They learned accounting standards, they mastered Excel, they became experts in ERP systems, they developed forecasting models, they understood internal controls. AI feels completely different. Instead of learning one software package every five years, there are hundreds of new tools every month. Now that creates several psychological challenges. There is a real fear of being left behind. It seems like it is changing all the time. While you are performing your daily duties, another AI tool emerges or your competition used it to get ahead of you. But AI is a tool that can create a competitive advantage, save immense time in repetitive tasks, and much more. The biggest fear of all is that AI might take our jobs one day. We don't know for sure the complete magnitude of what AI will do, but there are still gaps in what AI can deliver today. Yes, it can help with data analysis fast, but does it reason properly? AI still lacks human judgment when it comes to making critical decisions.

Start With The Business Problem

Stephen McLain 7:47

Number two, shift your mindset away from technology to what the business problems are. I recommend you continue to focus on the problems you are trying to solve, break them down, and then apply the proper tools to get a solution that makes sense. Don't start with AI, start with the problem. AI is not a strategy, it's a tool. Now continue to ask great questions when solving problems and how you and your team operate. For example, what repetitive work consumes your time? What decisions take too long? What reports are you sending that nobody reads? Now where do managers need better insights? What analyses require hours but provide little value? What executive questions are difficult to answer quickly? So don't ask how you can use AI. Ask how you can solve a particular business problem. Now another example, how can we reduce administrative processing time in the next quarter? Now that's a great question. AI can help you determine a problem set so that you can look at some data and try to come up with the best recommendation for that particular example.

Build Confidence Step By Step

Stephen McLain 9:06

Number three, build your confidence in using artificial intelligence effectively. What we want to do is to explore AI so we build our confidence in what the system can do. It gives us opportunity to explore and also to test. I want to cover a few key areas of emphasis. The first is awareness. This is where you can learn what AI can and cannot do. There is no pressure here. Just learn a few aspects of AI, like what types of prompts you can do, upload some test data to see what type of organization and analysis they can do. Continue to adapt and play with the prompts to see what changes. Also, change a few of the settings to see what types of different output you get. Now the next is personal productivity. Begin using AI for your own daily work like summarizing lengthy reports, drafting emails, brainstorming ideas, improving communication, developing outlines, and so many other ways. These personal projects help to gain confidence as you improve the prompts and verify that what you receive from the application makes sense, is factual and accurate, and is in line with your expectations. Now, next would be to perform some financial analysis. You can start to determine some more simple analysis like explaining variances, writing dashboard narratives, identifying some trends, improving forecasting commentary, and building out scenario analyses. And finally, we want to become that strategic partner. Once your confidence is strong, you can use AI to help you find insights that can drive the business. This is the level that we want to strive for, using AI to improve business, especially at the strategic decision making level. Now to further gain confidence with learning and applying artificial intelligence, just get in the tools and experiment. Do some practice analysis and some research. Play around with the prompts and how to format your output and always check for accuracy.

One Weekly Action To Improve

Stephen McLain 11:22

Now for action today, sometime this week, I want you to stop trying to become an AI expert, instead become an expert at solving one important business problem. Now I want you to ask yourself, what repetitive tasks waste the most time? What decision needs better information? Where could AI eliminate low value work? And how can I spend more time creating insights instead of gathering data? And then finally, what can I learn this week that'll make me 1% better next week? Now confidence doesn't come from reading another AI article. Confidence comes from consistent application. Now I want to finally ask you, what business problem will you be solving this week?

CFO Mindset Course Invitation

Stephen McLain 12:11

If you've ever wondered how to move beyond reporting results and earn a seat at the executive table, the CFO Mindset course was built for you. This course isn't about learning another software tool. It's about transforming how you think, communicate, and lead so you can confidently connect financial analysis to business strategy, ask better questions, uncover meaningful insights, and help your organization make better decisions. Whether you're an FPNA analyst, an accountant, controller, finance manager, or an aspiring CFO, you'll develop the mindset and leadership approach that organizations increasingly value in today's rapidly changing business environment. Don't just adapt to the future of finance, position yourself to help shape it. Learn more about the CFO Mindset course at Finance Leader Academy and take the next step towards becoming the strategic finance leader your organization needs.

Key Takeaways And Closing

Stephen McLain 13:12

Today I talked about how you can boost your confidence in the use of artificial intelligence at work, and I highlighted the following points. Number one, why AI creates so much anxiety. Number two, shift your mindset from technology to business problems, and three, build your confidence in using artificial intelligence effectively. AI overwhelm is primarily caused by information overload, not a lack of capability. Finance leaders should focus on solving business problems before selecting AI tools. Begin with low risk, high value personal productivity use cases. AI enhances analysis, but human judgment remains essential for strategic decisions. Develop a repeatable learning habit rather than trying to master every new technology. The most valuable finance leaders will integrate AI with financial expertise, executive communication, and then strategic insight. Organizations gain the greatest return when finance teams use AI to improve decision making, not simply to automate reporting. Now, next episode I will be talking about how to best develop a SWOT analysis to gain a competitive advantage. I hope you enjoyed the Finance Leader Podcast. If this episode helped you today, please share with a colleague and leave a review. Please check out Finance Leader Academy.com for more resources and for ways that I can help you and your team. And now go lead your team and I'll see you next time. Thank you.