Generative AI as a Thinking Partner

Many of us have have tried using GenAI for some tasks. Far fewer have developed genuine fluency with it, and the distance between those two things is larger than it appears. Moving too slowly risks gradual disadvantage; moving too fast without a framework risks over-reliance on outputs that sound authoritative but may be flawed.

This workshop is designed to close that gap. Through hands-on practice and a set of concrete analytical frameworks, you will develop the prompting capability and interpretive habits needed to work with GenAI as a genuine thinking partner. You will leave with practical skills you can apply immediately, and a clearer sense of where your judgment is irreplaceable.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Explain how large language models work and what this means for how their outputs should be interpreted and used.
2. Apply a structured prompting framework to produce higher-quality, more reliable GenAI outputs across a range of leadership tasks.
3. Use four analytical moves — Multiply the Lenses, Surface the Silences, Bridge the Levels, and Stress-Test the Categories — to generate fresh perspectives on stuck decisions.
   
4. Practise interpretive vigilance by evaluating GenAI outputs as proposals rather than conclusions, and develop habits for maintaining accountability over AI-assisted work.

About the Facilitator:

Jennifer Sloan is a strategy and organization scholar whose work sits at the intersection of strategizing and artificial intelligence. Before entering academia, she spent nine years as a management consultant working with organizations navigating complex strategic challenges, experience that continues to shape how she teaches and designs learning experiences for leaders.

Jennifer holds a PhD in Strategic Management and Organization from the University of Alberta and has joined the University of Saskatchewan as an Assistant Professor. Her research on algorithmic organizing has been published in leading academic journals and she is part of a large-scale field study examining how small and medium-sized enterprises adopt AI tools in collaboration with UCL School of Management and Stanford's Digital Economy Lab.

An award-winning educator, Jennifer specializes in translating research into actionable frameworks for business leaders. She designs and delivers executive programs that are practical, experiential, and grounded in current research to help leaders build the judgment and fluency they need to work effectively alongside AI.

Registration opens two months prior to the session start date.

We are so glad you are interested in our Organizational Development’s learning curriculum! Please note, our training sessions are oversubscribed. If you are unable to attend a session for which you’ve registered, please cancel your registration as soon as possible to open up a space for a colleague.