Make AI Work for You

Before AI helps with your work, help it understand you. 

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"I am attending "Make AI Work for You and the Work You Do", a masterclass facilitated by Ali Juma from The Inner Game of Change Institute.

You are my learning and thinking companion throughout this masterclass and beyond.

First, get to know me. Ask me to introduce:
1. My name (optional).
2. My role and organisation (optional).
3. My three main accountabilities.
4. One work challenge or opportunity I want to explore.

Work with me in the following way:

- Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer.
- Ask clarifying questions when something is unclear.
- Make your responses relevant to my role, accountabilities and work context.
- Challenge my assumptions respectfully.
- Help me build skills, not just produce answers.
- Keep responses practical, concise and relevant.
- Don't invent information or claim certainty without evidence.
- Help me retain my own judgement and make my own decisions.

As we work together, identify useful information about my professional context, learning goals and skills.

Do not retain confidential or sensitive institutional information unnecessarily.

Stay in this conversation so we can build on what we learn.

Begin by welcoming me briefly and asking your first question."

Your task: Answer the questions one at a time. AI should begin to understand your responsibilities and the context in which you work.

Improve the result. 

01 · FRAME

Give AI what it needs before it starts.

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"I'm working on [challenge].

Before helping, ask me up to four questions about purpose, audience, constraints and what a useful result looks like.

Ask one question at a time and wait for my answers.

Then draft [deliverable] in fewer than 200 words."

Your task: Replace the bracketed words, answer the questions and compare the new result with your cold start.

02 · CHECK

Don't polish what you haven't checked.

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"Review the draft.

In fewer than 150 words, identify:

1. Facts requiring verification.
2. Assumptions you made.
3. Missing stakeholder perspectives.
4. Anything you may have invented.

Do not rewrite yet."

Your task: Identify one issue that needs human verification or correction. Give AI one precise instruction to improve the draft.

Improve the judgement.
03 · PANEL

See your challenge through other people's eyes.
 

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" Consider my challenge through three perspectives:

1. A project manager.
2. A change manager.
3. A business analyst.

Replace [the role I choose] with [a stakeholder who matters to my challenge, such as an academic, student, researcher or Chief Information Security Officer].

For each perspective, provide:
- One concern.
- One question I should ask a real person.

Identify any important disagreement between the perspectives.

Keep it brief.

These are simulated perspectives, not evidence of actual stakeholder opinions. "

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Your task: Choose one of the three roles to replace with someone important to your challenge.
Consider which perspective you hadn't thought about and which question you should take to a real stakeholder.

04 · CHALLENGE
Test your decision before you commit. 

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"Imagine this decision went badly six months from now.

What are the three most plausible reasons?

What assumption am I overlooking?

Make the strongest case for an alternative I haven't chosen.

Keep your response under 200 words."

Your task: Read the response, then put AI aside and make your own call.

Improve the person doing the work.
05 · BUILD MY SKILL
Turn today's learning into a professional capability.
 

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"Review our conversation so far, using only what you can actually see.

Consider my role, three main accountabilities, work challenge, questions, decisions and reflections.

1. Identify up to three professional skills I could benefit from developing.

2. Recommend ONE skill that would be most valuable for my work. Explain why, using evidence from our conversation.

3. Distinguish what I demonstrated from what you are suggesting. Do not invent weaknesses or progress.

4. Help me practise the chosen skill through a realistic scenario relevant to my role.

Become my practice coach.

Ask one question at a time, wait for my response, challenge my reasoning and provide constructive feedback.

Do not give me the answer before I've attempted it.

At the end, create a SKILL CARD with:
- Skill name.
- Why it matters.
- What I should practise.
- A short practice exercise.
- How to recognise improvement.
- A reusable prompt for future practice.

Where supported, explain how to retain this skill and learning for future conversations. Do not claim it has been saved unless confirmed.

If memory is unavailable, make the Skill Card portable so I can reuse it."

Your task: Review the recommended skill. Does it matter to your work? If not, challenge the recommendation.

06 · MY MONDAY
One challenge for me. One for my team.

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"Review our entire conversation today.

Use only what actually happened. Consider my role, accountabilities, challenge and the learning I demonstrated.

Do not invent learning, progress or decisions.

Here are my own reflections:

What I learned: [my sentence]

What I could do differently on Monday: [my sentence]

First, summarise:
1. The two most useful things I learned.
2. How my thinking changed, if there is evidence.
3. One professional skill worth developing.

Compare your observations with my reflections.

Then create TWO Monday challenges.

CHALLENGE 1: FOR ME

Recommend one practical action I can complete in 30 minutes or less to apply today's learning or practise my chosen skill.

Include:
- What I will do.
- When I could do it.
- What I should learn or observe.
- How I will know it helped.

CHALLENGE 2: FOR MY TEAM

Design a five minute activity I can run with my team to share one useful Thinking Move.

Include:
- The Thinking Move to demonstrate.
- A simple, non-confidential example.
- What the team will do.
- One question to spark discussion.
- One possible next step.

Keep both challenges realistic, relevant and easy to start.

Finish by asking me which commitments I want to make and what I would change.

Do not assume I have completed either challenge."

Your task: Check both challenges, adjust them to suit your actual work and share your commitments with a partner. 

 

The Inner Game of Change Institute Think better. Improve work.

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© 2026 The Inner Game of Change Institute. Workshop learning resources prepared for VDIT Women in IT participants. Please do not redistribute or rebrand without permission.