When leaders first think about the ROI of AI, they often focus on a simple metric: time saved. While this is easy to measure, it misses the bigger picture and can even create the wrong incentives, making employees feel like their jobs are at risk.

A more powerful and forward-thinking approach is to shift the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) from "time saved" to "new value created." The fundamental question you should encourage your team to answer is not "How many hours did you save?", but rather:

"What were you able to accomplish with the time you freed up?"

This reframes AI from a cost-cutting tool to a capability-expanding one.

Examples of "New Value Created"

Here's how this looks in practice across different departments:

• For a Marketing Manager:

  • Time Saved: "The AI drafted five blog post outlines in 10 minutes, which would have taken me 2 hours."
  • Value Created: "With the 2 hours I saved, I was able to analyze a competitor's marketing campaign and develop a counter-strategy we can launch next week."

• For a Project Manager:

  • Time Saved: "The AI summarized our one-hour meeting transcript in 60 seconds."
  • Value Created: "Because I didn't have to write meeting minutes, I had time to have a one-on-one coaching session with a junior team member who was struggling with a task."

• For a Salesperson:

  • Time Saved: "The AI drafted 10 personalized outreach emails in 15 minutes."
  • Value Created: "With the extra time, I was able to do deeper research on our top three target accounts, uncovering a key business challenge that I can now address directly in my pitch."

How to Implement This Shift

As a leader, you can drive this change through the questions you ask in your team meetings and one-on-ones.

• Instead of asking: "Are you using AI to be more efficient?"

• Ask: "How are you using AI to work on higher-value strategic tasks?"

• Instead of asking: "Show me how much time you're saving."

• Ask: "Show me an example of something you accomplished this week that you wouldn't have had time for without AI."

By focusing on "value created," you send a clear message: AI is not about replacing people; it's about augmenting their capabilities, freeing them from low-value administrative work to focus on the strategic, creative, and human-centric tasks that truly drive the business forward.