New AI tool helps leaders tackle workplace friction

A new AI-powered leadership tool designed to help leaders handle difficult conversations and strained relationships has opened its beta test to Midlands organisations.

Ask Opus was developed by Chamber member Jude Jennison, founder of Leaders by Nature and a Chamber member, ahead of a wider launch later this year.

Most teams have at least one working relationship under strain and a conversation someone has been putting off, the tool’s creator says.

Jude believes that, left unresolved, these situations erode trust and slow down productivity and wellbeing.

Ask Opus is designed to help leaders change their own behaviour in these moments, rather than trying to change others.

“Most leaders come to me wanting to change someone else's behaviour," said Jude.

“But you can't change other people. You can only change your own behaviour. When you do that, you change everything.

“Ask Opus helps a leader see their own behaviour clearly and change one thing at a time, which is how difficult situations begin to change.

“As our use of AI increases, we need to hone the human skills that enable us to think critically on our feet and work collaboratively with others.

“That requires us to handle tricky relationships, and AI can't do that for us. Leaders need to upskill now.”

Ask Opus builds on Jude’s existing leadership business, Leaders by Nature, which works with blue-chip organisations and fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses on leadership behaviour in times of uncertainty and change.

The new tool extends that work to leaders who cannot attend in-person sessions, offering support in the everyday moments between formal development.

Each day, Ask Opus presents users with a short, true story matched to the challenge they are facing, along with coaching questions and a simple way to track the behaviour they commit to changing.

Users spend a few minutes reflecting in confidence, with accountability built in.

The stories are drawn from 15 years of Jude’s work with a herd of horses, whose nonverbal behaviours, she says, reveal much about how people lead.

Every story is true and taken from her own experience, with the AI matching the right story to the moment a leader is facing.

Early beta users have praised the tool, with a manager in the telecommunications sector saying: "This is a brilliant resource. I love it! I love the opportunity to go a bit deeper and the prompts to confidentially journal my thoughts."

A manager in the motor industry said it was “helping me handle some of the conversations I need to have with my new team,” while a director in telecommunications praised “the speed of learning and turning to practical application.”

Ask Opus is inviting Midlands organisations to take part in its beta test ahead of a wider launch later this year, with the first 50 places offered free of charge.

Organisations and leaders interested in taking part can contact Jude Jennison directly on jude@leadersbynature.com