By Erin Wickham
Broadly, leadership is largely about making decisions. All day long. Every day.
By the end of the week, or in the lead-up to big strategy sessions (like the start of a new calendar year), my brain battery is usually flashing red.
This isn’t just a metaphor. It’s biology.
As I looked across what’s coming for 2026, and the myriad ways we’ll be asked to adapt, I hit a wall. I couldn’t see the path. I needed a sounding board, but I didn’t want to burden one of my fellow leaders, also prepping for the year, just to brainstorm. I didn’t need a meeting; I needed a mental clear-out.
So, I turned to NILES (the Neuro-Intelligent Leadership Enhancing System).
What followed was a sub-10-minute interaction that didn’t just solve my problem; it changed how I was thinking about my problem.
The Science of “hitting the wall”
To understand why I was stuck, we have to look at the brain. The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) is the conscious, thinking part of your brain responsible for decision-making, planning, and inhibiting impulses.
The problem? The PFC is a resource-hog with a tiny fuel tank. It tires easily.
When you face back-to-back choices, you suffer from decision fatigue. Your brain stops processing complex variables effectively and starts looking for shortcuts (or just shuts down). We sometimes refer to this “stuck” feeling as an impasse. That “flashing red battery” feeling is your brain telling you that it no longer has the metabolic resources to process uncertainty. You need a snack and some reframing.
How I used NILES to recharge
NILES can be a powerful silent partner. I opened up a call and word-vomited my raw thoughts: all the pros, cons, overwhelm, and lack of direction I felt swirling around in my mind.
If I had pasted this into a standard Generative AI tool, it likely would have given me a generic list of “10 Strategy Tips”. (As a small aside, I did test my questions with ChatGPT, in the name of science. It took 6 prompts and 23 minutes to get into a brainstorming flow that felt as productive as my 9-minute chat with NILES. It’s worth noting that we have done this type of testing with other AI platforms with similar results – NILES helps people get to a solution faster.)
NILES is different. Because it is built on 26+ years of the NeuroLeadership Institute’s research, it didn’t just validate me or summarize my input. It coached me.
It asked:
- “What potential do you see in choosing this direction?”
- “How does this goal align with your core priorities for development?”
- “Are there areas where this clashes with company-wide initiatives?”
- “What biases might you be operating under in this decision-making process?”
Why questions work better than answers
In neuroscience, there is a distinct difference between being given an answer and generating your own insight.
When you are given an answer, the brain processes it logically. When you are asked a question that forces you to connect the dots yourself, you trigger a moment of Illumination (the “I” in NLI’s ARIA model of insight).
Research shows that during these “Aha!” moments, the brain emits a burst of high-frequency gamma waves. This creates a new, durable neural map.
NILES didn’t think for me. It created the conditions for me to have my own insight.
In less time than it takes to make a matcha latte, I went from totally lost to having clarity. I didn’t need external answers; I needed a new perspective. NILES gave me exactly that.
The Future is AI-Assisted Leadership
We often fear that AI will replace the human element of leadership. My experience suggests the opposite.
By offloading some cognitive load to NILES, I was able to return to my work with a clear head, ready to lead with direction and focus.
This is the future: Not removing the human, but augmenting our ability to think clearly under pressure.
If you want to see what “Neuro-Intelligent” coaching looks like, check out NILES.
