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For leadership teams

Strategic AI for Leaders

A one-day programme for leadership teams setting AI direction for their organisation.

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The challenge

Strategy without grounding is risky

Leaders are being asked to set AI strategy without a clear technical foundation. The risk is making strategic decisions based on hype rather than substance, or paralysis from over-caution.

This programme gives a leadership team enough technical grounding to make informed strategic calls without becoming AI specialists. The point is to give leaders the briefing they need to govern AI inside their organisation. It isn't a tools workshop, and it isn't a vision-deck exercise dressed up as one.

Who this is for

  • Leadership teams driving cross-team AI adoption
  • Boards and senior managers responsible for AI policy, governance, or investment decisions
  • Founders and CEOs who need to set direction before the team commits to a tool stack
  • Heads of expertise-heavy practices (legal, professional services, advisory) where governance is non-negotiable

Format detail

  • Onsite delivery preferred for the full-day and two-day formats
  • Pre-programme briefing call to scope content to the organisation's sector and current AI state
  • Half-day variant available for boards and senior governance groups
  • Tailored to the leadership team's specific challenges - we adjust the worked examples to fit your sector

What participants learn

  • A leadership team that can have specific, grounded conversations about AI rather than abstract ones
  • Clarity on the two or three places where AI is most likely to pay back for your organisation - and where it shouldn't go
  • A working understanding of governance, data, and risk specific to your sector
  • Strategic options framed in trade-offs, with the marketing dialled out
  • A clear sense of whether AI investment is right for you now, or whether it should wait
  • Shared language across the leadership team for the next 6-12 months of AI decisions

Sample one-day agenda

A typical structure for the full-day format. The two-day variant extends each working block. The half-day briefing concentrates on the strategic and governance content only.

  1. Block 1

    Where AI is, where it isn't

    Current state, capabilities, and the gap between marketing and reality.

  2. Block 2

    Three Circles applied to your organisation

    Leadership / People / Technology, framed against your specific situation.

  3. Block 3

    Pattern recognition

    Where AI typically pays back for organisations like yours, and where it usually doesn't.

  4. Block 4

    Working session

    Highest-value AI opportunities specific to your team, with first-pass scoring.

  5. Block 5

    Governance and risk

    What you need to commit to before going further - data, policies, and roles.

  6. Block 6

    Decisions and next steps

    Whether to commit to a pilot, a Launchpad, or hold for now - and what each path looks like.

Case study

IRDG Skillnet leadership engagement

Over 100 senior leaders across consecutive cohorts

Through IRDG Innovation Skillnet, we've worked with leadership teams from a range of member organisations on AI strategy and governance. The programme deliberately keeps leaders out of the tooling weeds - the goal is strategic clarity, not hands-on training.

Where the Team AI Adoption Programme builds practical skills across the team, this version concentrates the leadership team's time on the decisions only they can make.

Trusted by

IRDG Skillnet Ireland Chambers Ireland Local Enterprise Office Connected Hubs Údarás na Gaeltachta Mayo County Council University College Cork Atlantic Technological University Voya Jennings O'Donovan Xerox

Common questions

How does this differ from the Team AI Adoption Programme?

This is for the leadership team specifically - the people setting direction, not the people doing the work. It focuses on strategy, governance, and decision-making. The Team AI Adoption Programme builds practical AI skills across the wider team. Most organisations benefit from running both.

Can we run the half-day board briefing as an alternative?

Yes. The half-day variant is designed for boards and senior governance groups who need strategic clarity but don't have a full day. It covers the strategy and governance content from the full programme, condensed.

Do you deliver this onsite?

Onsite is preferred for the full-day and two-day formats - leadership programmes work better in the room. The half-day briefing can be onsite or online, depending on the geography of the board.

What does it cost?

Investment is tailored, typically €4,995 to €19,995, depending on the format (from a half-day board briefing through to a two-day workshop), the size of the leadership group, and the depth of customisation. We give you a specific quote on a Focus Call.

Is funding available?

Funding is often available through Skillnet, IDA, Enterprise Ireland, or LEO - typically covering up to 50% of training costs, depending on eligibility. We'll work through what fits your situation on a Focus Call.

Alastair McDermott, founder of HumanSpark

About the trainer

Alastair McDermott

Founder, HumanSpark

Alastair McDermott advises leadership teams on AI direction and strategy. He's the author of the Human-First AI Series and a regular keynote speaker at industry events including IRDG Amplify.

His work focuses on the strategic decisions leaders need to make about AI, not the technical implementation details that follow.

Last updated: April 2026

Discuss bringing this programme to your leadership team

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For the full adoption service that follows on from the strategy work, see our AI Adoption page