Relationships in the Age of AI

A mentee recently asked me, “What is the significance of relationships and influence in the age of AI?”

That question stuck with me.

AI makes knowledge easier to access. It can analyze information, suggest options, and help us do in minutes what used to take hours. An NBER study of customer support professionals found that using generative AI boosted productivity by 14 percent on average, with even larger gains for less-experienced employees.

If knowledge and expertise are easier to get, do relationships and influence still matter as much?

I actually think the opposite is true.

I spent 14 years working full-time at a top law firm. The firm had excellent lawyers and partners, many of them experts in their fields. But expertise alone didn’t explain why some people became trusted advisers, attracted new opportunities, or brought others together.

Clients came to them for their knowledge, but they stayed because of the relationship.

These professionals understood what mattered to their clients. They were approachable and connected the right people. Inside the firm, colleagues trusted their intentions and wanted to work with them. Their expertise gave them credibility, but relationships helped their expertise reach others.

This isn’t just important for partners, CEOs, or senior leaders. Individual contributors need support from colleagues and access to information. Managers need people to speak up and take responsibility. Senior leaders need teams to move together in the same direction.

At every level, our impact depends not just on what we know, but also on how well we work with others.

At Leaping Frog, we have six beliefs that shape how we see this.

1. Relationships make expertise useful

Having the right answer isn’t enough. Someone has to be willing to listen, trust, and act on it. Relationships are the bridge between what we can do and what we actually contribute. Without that bridge, expertise can stay locked inside one person.

2. Influence does not require authority

Influence isn’t just about telling people what to do. It’s about creating movement without always relying on your position. If you bring colleagues together, ask tough questions, or help your team see things differently, you’re already leading. Leadership starts long before you get a formal title.

3. Trust makes real conversations possible

People don’t contribute fully just because they’re invited to a meeting. They speak up when they feel safe to disagree, admit mistakes, or share unfinished ideas. Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety is the most important factor for effective teams. Relationships build the safety that leads to better thinking.

4. Influence should build capability, not dependence

Sometimes the fastest way to finish a task is to give the answer or do the work yourself. But leadership isn’t just about getting things done right away. It’s also about helping others learn to think, decide, and act. Real influence leaves people more capable, not more dependent.

5. Generosity strengthens professional relationships

Relationships grow when people know their success doesn’t threaten us. Sharing knowledge, giving credit, opening doors, and celebrating others’ progress builds trust. The real test of influence isn’t how many people know us, but how many become stronger because of us.

6. Influence is earned by being consistent

Influence isn’t about clever persuasion or networking for personal gain. It grows when people see that what we say matches what we do. Reliability, attention, honesty, and respect build up quietly over time. That’s why we can’t build relationships only when we need something.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that leadership and social influence have become much more important among core workplace skills. Technology keeps advancing, but organizations still rely on conversations, trust, judgment, and teamwork.

AI can help us find answers. But on its own, it can’t make people trust those answers, share what they’re afraid to say, work across teams, or take ownership together.

That’s still something only people can do.

Relationships are rarely built through grand gestures. They grow through everyday acts: listening before advocating, staying accessible, keeping people informed, and treating their concerns as important.

Influence also appears in what we make easier for others: removing obstacles, connecting people across boundaries, and turning small individual wins into shared energy.

Leadership isn’t limited to a certain level in the hierarchy. Each of us can lead in our own way through the relationships we build, the conversations we start, and the influence we have.

The real question isn’t just whether people know our job title or recognize our expertise.

It’s whether our presence helps people and possibilities move forward.

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Authored by Sanjay Gupta . Founder and Principal Facilitator, Leaping Frog Consulting Services.