Sanjay Gidwani

Sanjay Gidwani

COO @ Copado | Ending Release Days | Startup Advisor | Championing Innovation & Leadership to Elevate Tech Enterprises | Salesforce & DevOps Leader & Executive

My 2025 Growth Partnership Experiment

Somewhere over Europe, on a December flight from Madrid to Bangalore, I found myself contemplating what personal growth would look like in 2025. As I texted a colleague about upcoming plans, a thought struck me – here I was, using AI to transform organizations, but hadn’t considered using it as a personal accountability partner for my own growth journey. The idea was simple yet powerful: what if AI could be more than just a tool for task management? What if it could be a dedicated partner in personal development?

I had fallen into the classic trap of the cobbler’s children having no shoes. Leading a company at the forefront of enterprise AI adoption, I was using AI in my own work like a glorified task manager. The irony wasn’t lost on me or my team.

The Moment of Truth

The question lingered with me through the holidays. As I reflected on 2024, a year marked by helping enterprises navigate the AI revolution, I realized something had to change. I had spent countless hours thinking about and guiding others through AI transformation but hadn’t applied the same strategic thinking to my own development.

It’s a common pattern in leadership – we focus so intently on organizational transformation that we neglect our own growth. We become experts at implementing change for others while running our own lives on autopilot. The tools we champion for our organizations become mere productivity shortcuts in our personal use.

The Intentional Shift

As 2025 began, I made a decision. Instead of using AI as just another tool in my productivity stack, I would approach it as an intentional growth partner. The shift might seem subtle, but the implications are profound. This isn’t about finding more efficient ways to clear my inbox or schedule meetings – it’s about creating a strategic partnership for personal and professional development.

The approach I’m taking is methodical, drawing from our experience with enterprise AI implementation but adapted for personal growth. Here’s how I’m structuring this experiment:

1. Setting the Foundation

First, I spent time providing my AI partner with crucial context:

My leadership philosophy: A belief in empowering teams through clear direction and support, focusing on outcomes rather than methods. I shared specific examples of how this plays out in daily decisions.

Growth priorities for 2025: I outlined a holistic vision focused on leading with greater clarity and impact. My priorities center on three core areas: empowering teams through improved processes, building deeper trust and collaboration across the organization, and maintaining the self-awareness needed for authentic leadership. This goes beyond typical business metrics – it’s about creating a foundation for both personal fulfillment and organizational success.

Communication preferences: I detailed how I process information best, my decision-making style, and the type of pushback that helps me grow.

This context-setting isn’t just about information transfer – it’s about creating a foundation for meaningful dialogue.

2. Daily Rhythm

My daily rhythm now incorporates AI in three key moments:

Morning Alignment:

Strategic Pauses:

Evening Reflection:

3. Measuring Growth

While some benefits will be intangible, I’m tracking specific metrics:

Decision Quality:

Energy Management:

Leadership Impact:

Early Signs

Just days into this experiment, I’m noticing subtle but significant shifts. Having a dedicated thinking partner has already changed how I approach decisions. The consistent availability of strategic dialogue is reshaping my reflection patterns. Most surprisingly, the structured end-of-day review is creating clearer boundaries between work and rest.

The Journey Ahead

This experiment marks the beginning of what I believe could be a fundamental shift in how leaders grow alongside technology. Leadership in the AI era isn’t just about guiding organizations – it’s about becoming more intentional, self-aware, and effective as individuals.

Over the coming months, I’ll share this journey transparently – the victories, the stumbles, and the unexpected discoveries. What intrigues me most is the potential for AI to serve not just as a tool, but as a mirror for more intentional leadership growth.

Are you using AI for personal development? What opportunities do you see for leveraging it as a growth partner? Share your thoughts or join the discussion below. Let’s explore this new frontier of leadership together.

This is the first in a series documenting my experiment using AI as a strategic growth partner in 2025. Subscribe to follow the journey and join the discussion about intentional leadership development in the AI era.