Sarah Rozenthuler: The Psychology of Purpose in the Age of AI

Six extra hours a week. That's what AI has reportedly handed back to people using it well. The real question isn't the time, it's what they do with it. Chartered psychologist Sarah Rozenthuler has spent nearly two decades studying how humans talk to each other about what actually matters, and she's noticed something: more people are turning to AI to think out loud about their purpose, their leadership, their next move.

Sarah is a leadership coach and the author of three books on purpose and dialogue, including Now We're Talking, shortlisted for the Business Book Awards, and Powered by Purpose, with a foreword by former Unilever CEO Paul Polman. Her clients include Standard Chartered Bank, BP, and Saïd Business School at Oxford.

In this conversation, Ivan and Sarah test whether talking to a machine can genuinely help someone get clearer on their purpose, or whether it just becomes a comfortable way to avoid the real conversation.

In this episode:

• Why AI can be a legitimate rehearsal room for a hard conversation, and the exact moment it turns into a hiding place instead
• The difference between AI as a clean reflective mirror and an echo chamber that just agrees with you
• Why 70% of managers avoid the difficult conversation, according to Sarah's own research, and whether AI makes that better or worse
• What "crucible moments" are, and why the clearest sense of purpose usually comes out of the hardest experiences, not a chatbot
• Why some leaders say AI is freeing up hours while others feel like they've lost time policing AI's mistakes

This one is for the leader who's already talked to AI about a hard decision and isn't sure if that counts as cheating or just good preparation.

Connect with Sarah Rozenthuler:

Website: https://sarahrozenthuler.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-rozenthuler/

Books: Now We're Talking and Powered by Purpose

📅 Join Ivan on 10th September: a free live session, The 7 Fears: What Employees Actually Think About AI, decoding what 36,165 employees actually said about AI at work, across 5,000 companies. Limited to 40 senior HR leaders, recording sent to all registrants.

Register: https://luma.com/x10qnpqq

Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino