Standing Out in the AI Era

Join James from Ctrl+Listen as he interviews Uma Subramanian, founder and CEO of The Limitless Leaders, about standing out professionally in the AI era. Uma shares her innovative HUMAN framework and practical strategies to help tech professionals differentiate themselves when AI skills have become the baseline expectation.

In this insightful conversation, discover why personal branding, storytelling, and authentic human connection are more crucial than ever as AI becomes embedded in every workflow. Uma explains how professionals can leverage their unique human qualities to become sought-after leaders and thrive in today's rapidly evolving tech landscape.

• Connect with Uma here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uma-subramanian-limitless/
• More about The Limitless Leaders: https://thelimitlessleaders.com/

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Transcript

James: Hi, everyone, this is James from the Ctrl+Listen Podcast, brought to you by Octopart. Today we have a special guest for you. This is Uma, founder and CEO of Limitless Leaders. Thank you so much for coming on the show. It's great to have you.

Uma: Thank you so much, James, for inviting me. I'm super honored and thrilled to be here.

James: Great to have you. Before we get into the discussion we want to have today, I’d love to know a little bit about Limitless Leaders and your journey with the company. Can you share some background?

Uma: Sure. After 20 years in tech, specifically at Microsoft and a year at a tech startup, I launched my own company, Limitless Leaders, where I help ambitious tech professionals become sought-after leaders.

James: That's great.

Uma: Sought-after leaders… if you’re curious who they are, they’re leaders who are unforgettable, leaders who are undeniable in value, and highly relevant and in demand in today’s market.

James: Oh, great. And we’re going to get into that later, because I know how you define that has changed in recent years. So first, why is standing out more important than ever, especially considering AI and its role in the market these days?

Uma: As you see, James, AI is embedded in every part of our workflow these days. The people I work with and in my network are usually tech professionals working in tech companies. There’s so much change and innovation happening in the AI space, and everyone’s seeing that shift.

I have so many people around me—and I’m sure you’re seeing this too—signing up for AI certifications at Stanford, MIT, Microsoft, you name it. People are trying to upskill and keep up.

The challenge is that everyone’s doing that. Every product manager I see now is an “AI product manager.” They’ve upskilled or are in the process. Every engineer is trying to become an AI engineer, which is great and necessary.

But because AI has leveled the playing field, if you don’t stand out and make an intentional effort to differentiate yourself, you blend in. We all have access to the same tools and training, and everyone is embracing AI with similar understanding. So making sure you intentionally stand out becomes not just a nice-to-have, but crucial if you want to thrive in this era.

James: From what I’ve seen, it’s similar to when Microsoft Office became the standard and everyone wrote on their résumé “experienced in Microsoft Office.” Now the same thing is happening with AI—people just put “experienced in AI.”

Uma: Yes. And that’s become the baseline. Everyone’s doing that. So “How do we stand out?” becomes the next question.

James: Right. So what are the biggest challenges professionals face when they want to differentiate themselves?

Uma: First, the rapid pace of change. There are new tools, frameworks, and models released every day. How do you keep up?

On top of that, if you want to differentiate yourself, you now have to focus on building a personal brand and think beyond just the technical foundation. There’s no clear strategy or guidance for most people.

So I see people taking on the weight of upskilling and reinventing themselves without a clear strategy. That, I think, is the biggest challenge.

James: That makes total sense. On the reverse of that, what skills and qualities make someone irreplaceable in this age?

Uma: I could name many, but to keep it simple I’ll share my five top skills and qualities that I think tech professionals need in this era.

I call it my HUMAN framework. AI can do a lot, but how you differentiate yourself depends on leaning into your human edge: communicating clearly, thinking clearly, showing your authentic self—all the things AI cannot truly do.

HUMAN is a five-pillar framework:

• H stands for Holistic thinking: strategic thinking, seeing the big picture. AI can do analysis and even suggest strategies, but we need a human to put it all together and connect the dots. Holistic thinking is a key quality for thriving in this era.

• U stands for Understanding: understanding humans and understanding others—emotional intelligence, empathy. Reading the room, sensing what’s going on—AI can’t do that. These “soft skills” become very important.

• M stands for Magnetic communication: AI can generate scripts and polished content, but it’s on the human to take those, tell compelling stories, inspire people, and move them to action. Storytelling and magnetic communication are critical.

• A stands for Adaptability: we need to keep up with what’s happening in our industry. We need to be adaptable, continuously learning, and have an experimentation mindset—not aiming for perfection, but treating things as experiments and learning from them.

• N stands for Navigating complexity: resilience, not getting overwhelmed by options, knowing how to laser-focus on what truly matters. These skills are very important right now.

That’s my HUMAN framework, and I believe these pillars help individuals really differentiate themselves in this time.

James: That’s great. Very practical. It makes a lot of sense. I’ve noticed with AI that on paper something might seem like it makes total sense as a decision, but AI can’t look at it and say, “This audience might not view it that way.” It doesn’t naturally take those nuances into account. So what you said really ties into that. You really need a human touch in that space.

Uma: Yes, exactly. I see this on LinkedIn. People are realizing they have to build their brand, so they’re posting more and using AI tools. But because we sometimes over-rely on AI, the output often looks like standard AI-generated content and doesn’t have the impact it deserves.

So we should use and leverage AI, but still bring our human voice in and make it ours. That’s critical.

James: Definitely. How can professionals build a strong personal brand? What does that process look like?

Uma: To me, personal brand is the anchor from which everything else stems. You can think of it as the roots of a tree.

If you build a strong brand—within your organization and in your industry—and you do it intentionally, everything else becomes easier. You’ll be able to attract opportunities and recognition more easily.

How do you build it? First, think about what you want people to feel when they think of you. For me, personal brand is not about a logo or job title, but about the feeling people get when they think of “James” or “Uma.”

Start there: what do you stand for, and how do you want people to feel? From there, gain clarity on your message and then be consistent in how you show up—at work, in meetings, on LinkedIn, at events, in networking.

Show up consistently in alignment with that message. Live it. Be truly who you are.

And, as I mentioned earlier, put in your authentic voice. Lead with your human voice and make it about the human behind the expertise. That’s really critical and forms the foundation of a strong personal brand.

James: What I take from that is that relatability and authenticity are two of the key points.

Uma: Yes, I totally agree.

James: I have a follow-up on that. Over time, brands change. Is pivoting your personal brand something people should do? Should they reevaluate where they’re at regularly?

Uma: I think so. Right now, especially with the people I work with, I see a lot of that already happening. People aren’t just upskilling; they’re having to reinvent themselves to position for the new reality in front of them.

So yes, when the timing is right and the environment changes, you need to reinvent yourself. Sometimes it’s an ongoing process.

James: Another term I hear thrown around a lot in this space is “storytelling.” What role does storytelling play in helping professionals stand out?

Uma: Storytelling has been huge for me.

When I launched Limitless Leaders a couple of years ago, I really embraced storytelling. I shared my story on LinkedIn, at events, and in sales conversations. Slowly, I started seeing something magical. People I didn’t know began telling me that my story resonated with them.

People started buying my services, recommending me to others, and all of this was driven by storytelling. It’s been pivotal in earning people’s trust and connecting with them.

Within a year or so of starting my company, I realized I needed to make storytelling central to how I help my clients as well. Now one of the core skills I help clients with is storytelling, so they can have similar impact at work and in their industry.

Stories are the most human, most magnetic form of connection you can have with another human. I’ve seen the power of storytelling, and it’s something I constantly work on myself and love helping others with.

James: That’s great. I actually came from an anthropology background before I did all this, and storytelling is one of the earliest forms of human communication. It’s been around since the very beginning. There’s a reason it’s stood the test of time.

Uma: Yes, of course. If we think about our grandparents and ancestors, the stories are what got passed down through generations. They stick.

James: Definitely. What shifts in mindset do you think are necessary to thrive in this new environment—specifically in how people view AI and their role interacting with it?

Uma: One of the biggest mindset shifts is: instead of fear, embrace AI with curiosity. Try it out. See how you can use it to your advantage.

The other is not aiming for perfection, but approaching things with an experimentation mindset. Try something, see if it works for you, learn, and iterate. Those shifts help a lot.

James: I’ve noticed it’s also not one-size-fits-all with AI. Everyone can use it differently, in different ways, to benefit themselves.

Uma: Yes, totally. I agree.

James: How can mid-career professionals leverage AI? I know it’s a bit different depending on where you are in an organization.

Uma: That’s a broad question. AI can now write code, draft content, generate ideas. You can brainstorm with it, create marketing content—there’s so much it can do.

Depending on your role, look at what’s available. I work with tech professionals in big tech companies, and everyone is innovating in AI. The people I work with—AI engineers, AI product managers—are at the hot seat of “what’s next.”

It’s an exciting time. If people upskill, position themselves well, and differentiate, they can really succeed. A lot of the monotonous, boring tasks are automated, which frees up time and mental space for strategic, high-value work.

Even for me personally, ChatGPT came out right when I launched Limitless Leaders—literally the same month I announced my company. I use AI for so many aspects of my business. It has been such a blessing. It saves me time and energy so I can focus on coaching my clients and creating higher-value, transformative experiences.

James: That’s great. The space where I’ve seen the biggest help from AI is data analytics. We had all these data silos and so much data, but what were we doing with it? How were we analyzing it? Now it’s actually become valuable because we can break it down and apply it practically.

Uma: Yes.

James: What strategies do you recommend for professionals who want to future-proof their careers?

Uma: First, upskill yourself. The technical baseline is needed. Learn what’s useful in your domain on the tech side.

But know that this is just the baseline. On top of that, you differentiate by how you think, how you communicate, and how you create value beyond the tools.

You do that by building a strong personal brand, leveraging your network, and focusing on how you uniquely add value. Think about how to stand out with your unique strengths and the unique human you are.

James: That’s great advice, thank you. Why do you think thought leadership has become such a critical asset in this time? I’ve noticed a massive rise in thought leadership and the value placed on it.

Uma: I’m seeing that too. Information is everywhere now, especially with AI accelerating access to data. There is so much content at everyone’s fingertips.

Thought leadership shows a person’s perspective and how they think. That’s why it’s so important now to go beyond generic content—“This is what emotional intelligence is”—and instead talk about how you apply it.

How do I, as Uma, think about emotional intelligence? How is it playing out in my life or with my clients? How am I using it to help someone?

That type of content—sharing your thought process and point of view—is key. People are craving that.

James: Something personal, something to connect with.

Uma: Exactly.

James: I think we’ve gone through everything I wanted to ask. It’s been a really well-flowing, informative discussion.

The last thing I wanted to cover is: if people want to learn more and follow what you’re doing with Limitless Leaders, what’s the best place to do that?

Uma: LinkedIn. I’m usually there almost every day. Connect with me on LinkedIn, DM me, and I’d be happy to connect and explore.

James: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for your time. It’s been very informative.

Uma: Thank you so much, James. I really appreciate you having me. Thanks a ton.