Office Steve Is Using AI to Get Promoted—Are You?

Beat the bias and earn like the Steves

TL;DR: Men are adopting AI tools much faster than women in the workplace—26% faster, according to McKinsey. That gap is already showing up in performance and promotion data. But many women still hesitate, worried they’re cheating, doing something wrong, or not "good enough" to use AI well. This issue breaks down the perfectionism traps that hold us back and gives you a simple, high-value framework for using AI confidently, ethically, and effectively—without losing your voice.

Hey there 👋

Office Steve has already knocked out three report drafts using AI this morning. You’re still wondering if using ChatGPT is cheating.

You’re not alone.

I hear this all the time from women friends. That hesitation, that instinct to second-guess ourselves? It’s costing us.

While men are embracing AI with “Why wouldn’t I?” energy, many women pause—worried it’s inauthentic, unethical, or not something they’re “supposed” to do. But the longer we delay, the wider the gap grows.

📊 According to McKinsey, men are 26% more likely to use AI professionally than women. The World Economic Forum shows women are underrepresented in AI-augmented roles and overrepresented in those most likely to be disrupted.

This isn’t about learning to code. It’s about protecting your time, output, and visibility—starting now.

My Before/After

The first eBook I wrote, I did the “right” way—reading, outlining, drafting, revising. It took me a week.

There was just one problem: it didn’t work. I’d never written an eBook before, and I missed by a mile. Too long, too dense, too off-target.

The second one? I started with Claude AI. I fed it my audience, resources, and goals—then asked it to draft something aligned to EdTech eBook best practices. It gave me a strong first pass in four seconds. I edited for clarity and voice. Total time: 3 hours.

Same author. Same topic. Way better result.

Guess which version stood out to the boss reviewing my performance?

Original artwork for Still Ticking by Victoria Aronoff. Find her at @stupidslothcards & Etsy

The Problem Pattern: The AI Hesitation Trap

The AI advantage gap stems from several familiar patterns:

• The Authenticity Freeze: Believing that using AI assistance somehow makes your work "not really yours" (despite the fact that we've always built on others' ideas and tools)

• The Ethical Overthinking Loop: Getting stuck in philosophical concerns about AI while your colleagues simply use it as a tool to get ahead

• The Perfection Paralysis: Waiting until you "fully understand" AI before implementing it (while others learn by doing)

• The All-or-Nothing Fallacy: Assuming AI either does all the work or none of it, rather than seeing it as a collaborative tool

• The Impostor Spiral: Fearing that using AI will eventually "expose" you as less capable (when in reality, effective AI implementation demonstrates advanced strategic thinking)

What's striking is how these patterns mirror the same perfectionism traps that have historically held women back in the workplace across all technologies.

How Most People Try to Solve It (And Why It Fails)

When women do decide to approach AI, they often make these crucial mistakes:

The Completionist Approach: Trying to learn everything about how AI works before using it, which delays implementation indefinitely while others gain practical advantages

The Hidden Experimentation: Using AI secretly and downplaying its role in their efficiency, which prevents them from getting recognition for their strategic tech adoption

The Undersell: Using AI for minimal, low-value tasks rather than leveraging it for work that could significantly impact their visibility and advancement

The Apology Prefix: Starting discussions about AI use with "I just used this a little bit to help with..." which undermines perception of their tech fluency

These approaches fail because they treat AI as either a threat or a guilty pleasure, rather than what it actually is—a powerful professional tool that smart, strategic professionals are increasingly expected to use effectively.

A Strategic Approach: Practical AI Implementation

Here's a straightforward approach to start using AI professionally without falling into the hesitation traps:

Step 1. Reframe It

Think of AI as a smart assistant not a replacement. It’s your intern, not your brain. You still provide:

• Judgment

• Voice

• Strategy

• Quality control

Step 2: Start With 3 High-Value Uses

1. Meeting Prep:
   Paste the agenda or topic into your AI tool. Ask: “What are 3-5 thoughtful questions I could ask to demonstrate strategic thinking?” This builds confidence and visibility.

2. First Draft Support:
   Got an email, report, or presentation to write? Ask AI for a draft based on your goals and audience. Then edit heavily. Cuts your time in half.

3. Research Summaries:
   Upload or paste in articles and reports. Ask for a summary in bullet form. Use that as a starting point for your analysis.

Step 3. Use This 3-Step Process for Quality Control

The secret to effective AI use is maintaining your own voice and expertise through this simple process:

• Direct: Give clear, specific instructions about what you want (including tone, format, and complexity)

• Review: Critically evaluate what the AI produces, identifying gaps or misalignments

• Refine: Customize the output with your own expertise, examples, and voice

This ensures the final product truly reflects your unique value while still benefiting from AI's efficiency.

4. Write Prompts That Work

The key is specificity. For example:

Instead of: "Write me an email about the project delay."

Try: "Draft an email to our client about the two-week project delay. Use a professional but warm tone. Acknowledge their potential frustration, explain that the delay is due to supply chain issues beyond our control, and emphasize that this will result in a higher quality final deliverable. End with a specific next step."

The first prompt will give you generic content. The second will give you something you can actually use with minimal editing.

5. Address the Ethics

Using AI isn’t the issue. The question is how you use it.

Problematic: Submitting AI work with no edits or oversight
Strategic: Using AI to save time, while applying your own expertise

Being transparent, responsible, and thoughtful about how you use it is the ethical path.

👉 Power Practice for the Week

• Monday: Sign up for a free AI tool if you haven't already (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.). Just creating an account is your only goal.

• Tuesday: Before your next meeting, ask the AI to suggest 3-5 thoughtful questions about the topic. Review them, select the ones that resonate with you, and have them ready.

• Wednesday: Take a routine email or document you need to create and ask AI to draft a first version. Then edit it heavily to match your voice and add your expertise.

• Thursday: Find a complex article or report related to your work. Ask AI to summarize the key points in bullet form. Compare its summary to your own understanding.

• Friday: Reflect on which tasks felt most valuable when using AI assistance. Note where it saved you time and where you still needed to apply significant expertise.

• Weekend: Consider one high-visibility project coming up where AI could help with the initial heavy lifting, allowing you to focus your energy on the truly creative or strategic elements.

The Short of It ⚡

• Men are adopting AI at higher rates, and it’s impacting workplace output and promotions

• Women often hesitate due to perfectionism and self-doubt—and the gap is growing

• You can start with three simple, strategic use cases: prep, drafts, and summaries

• The Direct-Review-Refine process helps keep your voice and values intact

• Using AI well isn’t cheating—it’s the new baseline for smart, visible work

With you all the way,
Kara

P.S. Next week: Digital Presence as Career Currency. how your online professional footprint impacts your visibility and advancement opportunities. I'll share what I've learned about using LinkedIn and other platforms strategically—and how to use AI to help build a compelling digital presence without feeling like a self-promoting robot 🤖