When Someone Understands Exactly Why You Wrote the Book
While writing the book, I revisited old emails I sent home from Afghanistan in 2008, messages to friends and family.
One email stood out with a vivid memory.
The Danish Infantry asked me to support a complex mission, which led to me briefing the Commander of Task Force Helmand. Outside the room, a handful of Colonels and Majors were waiting, half‑expecting they’d need to step in if things went sideways.
Ten minutes later, I walked out with approval and disbelief.
The Brigadier had said, “I’m very confident with you in charge.”
Reading that email, and the pride I had written home with, I can see it was a turning point. The shift from the mindset of an apprentice to someone who could think creatively, act decisively, and trust her own judgment.
In that moment, the Brigadier became more than a senior officer; he was a psychological container, holding the uncertainty long enough for me to grow into it.
What does that moment teach us about leadership in an AI era?
That moment stands out because, in a quick moment, that Brigadier did something that let me take a leap forward in my belief in my own leadership. The crucial bit for an AI era is that it needed another human to do that for me.
Psychological growth takes place in the presence of other humans.
Just a few months ago, someone else gave me a burst of courage as I was bringing my book into being.
Rob Stemp is the CTO of DeepMinds Ltd. Rob has a wonderful, curious, and caring energy about him. He did his postgraduate work in neural networks and machine learning long before AI became mainstream, and now helps businesses adopt AI safely, securely, and effectively while delivering measurable ROI.
When we meet, we talk openly, challenge each other, and explore one another’s ideas.
His opinions mean a lot to me, and when he reviewed my book, his words gave me the same feeling I had leaving that Brigadier’s office almost 20 years ago.
““Katie Muldoon captures the defining paradox of our era: AI gives us unprecedented efficiency, but at the cost of the cognitive discomfort required for genuine growth.
Mind Your Self moves past the superficial hype to address the true issues facing modern leaders: how to prevent our teams from using AI to ‘evacuate’ the struggle of deep thinking.
An essential, deeply perceptive guide for the future of leadership.””
