Work Hack: Prompting – The Right Way
How to Multiply the Quality of Your AI Results with Strong Prompts
Artificial intelligence can support leaders and teams in many ways—from preparing difficult conversations to structuring complex tasks to reflecting on personal leadership behavior.
But for AI models to deliver truly helpful answers, they need strong prompts. A prompt is nothing more than a clear, well-framed task.
The Four Elements of an Effective Prompt
Google Gemini describes four components that make a prompt effective. We’ve adapted them to the context of leadership and collaboration:
1. Persona – Who should the AI “play”?
Specify the role or expertise you want the AI to embody.
Examples:
“Act as an experienced agile coach.”
“You are an empathetic leader.”
“You are an expert in conflict facilitation.”
2. Task – What exactly should be done?
Describe the action as clearly and concretely as possible.
Examples:
“Analyze the problem…”
“Create three options…”
“Give me a conversation structure…”
3. Context – What is the situation?”
The more precisely you describe the situation, the more relevant the answer will be.
Examples:
“I lead a remote team of five…”
“There is a conflict between…”
“We are in the middle of a sensitive change process…”
4. Format – What should the answer look like?”
Specify the structure you need.
Examples:
“In three steps”
“As a checklist”
“Short and clear in bullet points”
A Sample Prompt
Here’s what a well-constructed prompt for a leadership topic might look like:
“You are an experienced leadership coach (Persona).
I want to prepare for a challenging performance conversation (Task).
The employee delivers good work but has seemed demotivated for several weeks and responds defensively to feedback (Context).
Please give me a structured conversation agenda with three guiding questions for each section (Format).”
Now that the structure of an effective prompt is clear, the next question is how to apply this in everyday leadership practice. This is where the Coverdale AI Coach comes in: it becomes especially powerful when you feed it well-structured prompts. The following examples illustrate how you can use the four elements when working with the AI Coach.
Working with the Coverdale AI Coach
The Coverdale AI Coach is especially effective when you feed it precise prompts.
Examples:
For reflection:
“You are my reflection partner (Persona).
I want to understand why my team is so quiet in meetings (Task).
The team consists of… (Context).
Please ask me five reflection questions that move my thinking forward (Format).”
For preparation:
“You are a neutral facilitator (Persona).
I need to design a team meeting around a difficult decision (Task).
The background is… (Context).
Create an agenda with suggested timing (Format).”
For generating options:
“You are an organizational development expert (Persona).
We’re exploring how to improve our hybrid collaboration (Task).
Our current challenges are… (Context).
Please give me three practical solution approaches with pros and cons (Format).”
With the four elements—Persona, Task, Context, Format—you turn AI into a true sparring partner.
Give it a try—especially combined with the Coverdale AI Coach, good prompting becomes a highly effective support tool for leadership and collaboration.
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