The Scout to Sage Framework™ is an AI leadership development methodology that helps IT leaders and their teams navigate disruption—not by fighting it, but by developing the human capabilities that make them irreplaceable.
The Leaders Who Thrive Won't Out-Think the Machines.
They'll Out-Human Them.
Bring This to Your Organization
The Leaders Who Thrive Won't Out-Think the Machines.
They'll Out-
Human Them.
The work that matters most.
The Scout to Sage Framework™ is a four-phase AI leadership development methodology that helps IT leaders and technical teams navigate AI disruption by building human capabilities artificial intelligence cannot replicate. Developed by executive coach Deborah Guy, the framework guides leaders through four distinct phases—Scout (awareness), Stabilizer (adaptation), Architect (innovation), and Sage (wisdom)—each requiring different leadership skills and emotional capacities.
You've seen the statistics. You've attended the conferences. You know AI is changing everything.
But here's what I've learned after 25 years of coaching leaders through major transitions:
AI isn't your problem. You are.
The leaders struggling with AI disruption are the same ones who've always struggled with letting go of control. With tolerating ambiguity. With moving before they have perfect information.
AI didn't create those patterns. It just put a spotlight on them.
So the real question isn't "How do we manage AI disruption?"
The real question is: Do your leaders have the internal capacity for what leadership actually requires now?
That's a very different conversation. And that's exactly what the Scout to Sage Framework™ addresses.
What's Really Holding IT Leaders Back During AI Disruption?
Leadership development for AI transformation
The Scout to Sage Framework™
Your leaders will move through four distinct phases of AI disruption over the next five years. Each phase requires different capabilities—and each has a predictable pitfall that derails even smart leaders.
Phase 1: The Scout — Quiet Disruption
1
THE FOUR PHASES:
AI is still being treated as a productivity boost. The future is in the building—you just haven't named it yet.
The Scout scans the horizon while others focus on what's right in front of them.
Pitfall: Awareness without action. Hiding behind data gathering instead of moving.
2
Phase 2: The Stabilizer — Visible Upheaval
Entire business models reshape overnight. Traditional structures break down.
The Architect stops adapting and starts reinventing. They design the future, not optimize the past.
Pitfall: Clinging to what worked before. Tweaking old systems instead of building new ones.
Phase 3: The Architect — The Void
3
AI capabilities are exploding. First wave of displacement hits. Your team is facing real fear.
The Stabilizer brings calm to chaos and helps others regulate, regroup, and reframe.
Pitfall: Control instead of influence. Creating gatekeepers instead of guardrails.
4
Phase 4: The Sage — Hybrid Wisdom
Stabilization around new human-AI collaboration. Clear separation between AI-optimized and human-optimized work.
The Sage guides others across the bridge they've already crossed.
Pitfall: Thinking you've arrived. Losing curiosity about what's next.
The work that matters most.
In 2020, the hiring question was: Can they do the job? Technical mastery was the filter.
Today, the question is: Can they lead teams through change?
By 2030, the question becomes: Can they out-human the machines?
What Skills Will IT Leaders Need For
According to research from Stanford, Harvard, and the Carnegie Foundation, 85% of job success comes from well-developed people skills, while only 15% comes from technical knowledge. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum projects that 44% of workers' core skills will be disrupted in the next five years. (Sources: National Soft Skills Association; World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2023)
Hard skills don't disappear—they become specialized. Your leaders still need technical comprehension to evaluate AI, ensure quality, and maintain credibility.
But their ability to lead with emotional intelligence, move through fear with courage, and apply timeless principles in chaotic times?
That's their competitive advantage. And it's exactly what the Scout to Sage Framework™ develops.
LinkedIn's 2024 Workplace Learning Report confirms this shift in AI leadership development priorities: 9 out of 10 executives now agree that human skills—communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence—are more important than ever as AI reshapes the workplace. The leaders who thrive won't out-credential the machines. They'll out-human them.
85% job success comes from well-developed people skills
44% of workers' core skills will be disrupted in the next five years
Research from Stanford, Harvard, and the Carnegie Foundation
the World Economic Forum projects
15% comes from technical knowledge
AI Transformation by 2030?
The work that matters most.
TIER 1: KEYNOTE
Permission to Go Big: Leadership for the Roles You Can't Imagine Yet
Your audience will leave with:
- A clear understanding of where they are in the four phases of disruption
- The real question that determines whether they thrive or get stuck
- Practical actions they can take within 48 hours
Ideal for: Leadership conferences, all-hands meetings, management offsites, industry events
TIER 2: WORKSHOP
How Can Organizations Develop IT Leaders
Your team will leave with:
- Personal assessment of which tasks are at risk
- Decision framework: evolve the task or evolve the role
- 90-day action plan for their highest-priority evolution
- Manager's guide for supporting their direct reports through the same process
Ideal for: Management teams, department offsites, leadership development programs
Automation Vulnerability: Lead the Shift, Don't Chase It
TIER 3: TEAM COACHING
Scout to Sage Team Engagement
Your organization will gain:
- Sustained leadership development (not a one-time event)
- Confidential 1:1 coaching for key leaders
- Group sessions for shared learning and peer support
- Real-time support for the difficult conversations, decisions, and transitions
Ideal for: Organizations committed to developing their leaders for the long game
A keynote presentation on AI leadership development that helps IT leaders reframe their relationship with disruption—addressing the internal leadership shifts required to guide teams, influence stakeholders, and make bold decisions during technological transformation.
for AI Transformation?
The work that matters most.
THE AUTOMATION VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT
Tools That Drive Action
Takes 15-20 minutes. Creates immediate clarity. Sparks the right conversations.
THE MANAGER'S IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE
Includes: suggested communication templates, discussion frameworks, common objections and how to handle them.
Included with Workshop and Team Coaching engagements
THIS IS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION IF:
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF:
You want a technical deep-dive on AI capabilities (this is about human leadership, not technology)
You're looking for someone to predict the future or promise certainty
Your culture isn't ready to have honest conversations about fear, change, and what's really holding people back
You want a motivational speaker who tells people what they want to hear
Your IT leaders are sensing the shift but haven't named it yet—and you want them ahead of the curve, not reacting to it
You're navigating AI transformation and need your managers to lead their teams through it, not just survive it
You want leadership development that addresses the internal obstacles to change, not just tactical skills
You're looking for a speaker who delivers substance, not hype—someone who's actually coached leaders through major transitions
You need practical tools your leaders can use immediately, not just inspiration that fades by Monday
Who Is This For?
Frequently Asked Questions
About AI Leadership Development
The Scout to Sage Framework™ is an AI leadership development methodology created by Deborah Guy that helps IT leaders and their teams navigate AI disruption through four distinct phases: Scout (sensing change), Stabilizer (managing uncertainty), Architect (building new systems), and Sage (guiding others). The framework focuses on developing human capabilities that AI cannot replicate—emotional intelligence, adaptive decision-making, and trust-building across stakeholders.
Leadership development through AI transformation is an ongoing process, but most leaders begin seeing meaningful shifts within 90 days of engagement. Keynotes deliver immediate reframes. Workshops create 90-day action plans. Team coaching engagements typically run 6-12 months to support leaders through multiple phases of organizational change.
According to LinkedIn's 2024 Workplace Learning Report, 9 out of 10 executives agree that human skills—communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking—are more important than ever. Technical comprehension remains essential, but the differentiating skills are now the human capabilities AI cannot replicate: building trust across skeptical stakeholders, leading teams through ambiguity, and making courageous decisions with incomplete information.
The AI leadership development framework serves IT managers, directors, VPs, and CIOs navigating AI transformation. It's also valuable for HR and L&D leaders seeking keynote speakers or development programs for technical teams, and for organizations implementing AI systems who need their leaders to guide change effectively.
Each offering serves a different need. The keynote (45-60 minutes) reframes how leaders think about AI disruption—ideal for conferences and offsites. The workshop (half-day or full-day) is interactive, where leaders assess automation vulnerability and create evolution plans. Team coaching is ongoing (6-12 months) with real-time guidance through multiple phases of disruption.
Technical AI training teaches how AI works. The Scout to Sage Framework™ teaches how to lead while AI transforms everything around you. This AI leadership development approach focuses on human capabilities—analytical thinking, creative thinking, resilience, and leadership—specifically for the context of technological disruption.
Why Organizations
Trust This Work
Twenty-five years ago, I was handpicked by the Chairman of a Fortune 100 company to direct their executive coaching program. Since then, I've coached leaders from Denver to Dubai—brilliant people held back not by what they don't know, but by what they're afraid to trust about themselves.
As a certified fear mastery coach, I don't help people eliminate fear—I help them move through it. Because every leadership breakthrough requires stepping into territory that feels uncertain. And the leaders who thrive are the ones who've learned to trust themselves in that space.
The Scout to Sage Framework™ isn't theory I read about. It's built from decades of watching what actually works when capable leaders face transformational change.
CREDENTIALS
I'm Deborah Guy. I spent a decade in IT at TIAA and Prudential, building systems and training leaders through technological transformation. I know what it's like to navigate disruption from inside the organization.
leadership background
What IT Leaders Are Saying
"Deborah's skill of question-asking is IMPRESSIVE. She asks the questions to force me to think and approach an opportunity from a different perspective, but most importantly... to answer the question for myself."
— Rebecca Bowman,
Managing Director, Global Process Owner, The Clorox Company, Atlanta, Georgia
"Deborah coached me through the process of developing my authentic leadership style as I worked to grow into the position of CIO. I don't know that I would have gotten the promotion without her and she continues to be a valuable asset as we we learn to lead through this AI era and beyond"
- Susan Hollabrough,
CIO RadNet, Ownings Mill, MD
- Rachel Stone,
Sr. Business Intelligence & Research Analyst, Washington DC
- James Wanke,
Vice President, Lexus Nexis
"Deborah e has been a coach and advisor in two distinct phases of my career. She is s a true expert in listening, organizing our ideas, and facilitating our discovery of a more purposeful path and effective methods. I could not have achieved nearly the same results by talking to colleagues. friends or family on the same subjects. Deborah understands this like a science. I have recommended her to others, and they have likewise been impressed and grateful."
"My life felt like it was in shambles—divorce, conflict at home, disenchantment at work. Everything was out of alignment. My career became the scapegoat for everything that ailed me, and I was at the brink of quitting. A friend suggested I work with Deborah. I was dubious, but I had nothing to lose. Today, you wouldn't recognize me. My personal life is happy. My professional life is reinvigorated. Instead of treading water until I was fired, I'm leading large teams and smiling every day.
This isn't therapy. It's proven methodology. And it works. I'm proof."
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