Maintaining the Human Edge
As AI reshapes industries, leaders face a defining question: Will technology replace human ingenuity, or unlock its potential?
McChrystal Group’s latest webinar brought that question to life, showing that the best organizations are closing the gap between artificial intelligence and human intelligence.
Across the conversation with McChrystal Group President of Growth Shawn Tyrie, CIO Afiba Edwards, and Pfizer VP of Learning & Development and AI Fluency Sarah Blendermann, the answer was unmistakable: AI is a force multiplier for teams, not a substitute for them. Organizations that win will be those that build trust, shared consciousness, and fast learning loops that let humans and machines solve problems together.
Closing the Interpretation Gap
Tyrie drew from years of national security and enterprise transformation work: most AI investments fail not because the technology is insufficient, but because organizations struggle at the point where AI ends and human judgment begins, what he calls the “Interpretation Gap.”
The concept struck a chord throughout the discussion. The interpretation gap is the space between what AI can detect and what humans must decide.
“AI doesn’t fail because the models are wrong—it fails when organizations don’t close the Interpretation Gap. The real value comes when teams use AI to elevate judgment, collaboration, and higher-order decision-making,” said Shawn.
AI can surface patterns, automate analysis, and dramatically reduce manual burden. But only teams can turn those insights into strategy, action, and impact.
AI as a Catalyst for Teaming
All three experts emphasized that AI should expand collaboration across functions and break down silos, a fundamental principle in Team of Teams. Collective insight, shared consciousness, empowered execution are vital to high-performing teams.
Freed from routine tasks, teams can invest more attention in:
- Integrated problem-solving
- Forecasting rather than reacting
- Cross-functional debate and sense-making
- Exploring the “why” behind the data, not just the “what”
As Tyrie explained, the future of collaboration looks less like a command chain and more like a network. When teams are empowered to interpret AI outputs together, rather than handing them off between silos, decisions speed up, accountability deepens, and creativity compounds.
AI is not a replacement for teamwork. It is an accelerant.
Leader-Led Adoption: The Cultural Multiplier
Blendermann emphasized that AI adoption succeeds when leaders model it.
Leaders who share their experiments, protect time for team learning, and consistently ask, “What did you try with AI this week?”
Pfizer’s AI Academy, multi-tier learning tracks, and global Champions network make fluency part of the workflow—not an afterthought.
“AI is the starting point, not the final step. It accelerates the work, but it’s human curiosity, discernment, and teamwork that turn those insights into real impact,” said Blendermann.
Measuring What Matters
Blendermann challenged a common assumption: efficiency is not the end goal. Leaders must ask: What higher-order work does this free us up to do?
“AI can help us move faster, but the real opportunity is what we choose to do with the time it frees up,” said Blendermann. “Curiosity, discernment, and teamwork are where the future value will be created.”
Organizations that treat saved time as strategic fuel—not cost-cutting—gain the real advantages: better decisions, faster learning cycles, more innovation, and deeper collaboration.
Governing AI Responsibly
Edwards emphasized that governance is a cross-functional responsibility, not a technical one.
Legal, HR, IT, Operations, and Delivery must collectively define guardrails for how data is used, protected, and integrated.
Edwards cautioned that AI governance isn’t an IT checklist. It’s a leadership practice.
“This isn’t about choosing humans or machines—success comes from bringing out the best in both,” said Edwards. “AI can amplify a team’s speed, but trust, clarity, and critical thinking still determine the outcome.”
Good governance enables teams to experiment confidently while safeguarding clients, data, and the organization’s reputation.
The Human Advantage
In a world where models can generate code, summarize research, and assemble documents, the differentiator becomes how humans think, not what they know.
Critical thinking, judgment, contextual awareness, and the ability to collaborate across functions become even more essential.
The future won’t belong to organizations with the most advanced tools. It will belong to those who fuse technology with human teaming. The winners will pair AI’s speed with people’s creativity, intuition, and shared purpose.
Because in the end, AI can accelerate the work, but teams will create the impact.
