AI Is Raising the Value of Human Judgement Under Pressure

This exclusive interview with Dr James Hewitt was conducted by Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency.

As AI takes on more analytical work, leaders are left with decisions that still demand human judgement: ambiguous data, tense conversations and crises with incomplete information. Those capabilities are often most vulnerable when pressure and fatigue are highest.

Dr James Hewitt is a peak performance expert and human performance scientist. Formerly Chief Innovation Officer for the coaching company behind 19 Formula 1 World Championships, he holds a PhD in Human Performance Science and is the author of Regenerative Performance.

In this exclusive interview with the High Performance Speakers Agency, James explains which human capabilities gain value as AI handles more analytical work, why workplace wellbeing programmes fail, how leaders can build recovery into performance expectations and which practical tools help teams reset between high-pressure moments.

Question 1: As AI absorbs more analytical work, which human capabilities will determine performance in high-pressure decisions?

Dr James Hewitt: “This is the question I think every leadership team should be asking right now.

“AI is getting very good at the predictable, the routine, the complex, the analysable. It can process data, spot patterns, draft documents and generate options.

“Every time it takes over one of those tasks, something really interesting happens to the human role. The more AI can handle those tasks, I argue that the more human value concentrates in exactly the moments that AI can’t handle.

“The obvious question is: what are those moments? They’re the ones when we’re under pressure.

“It’s the board meeting where the data are ambiguous. Even though it’s presented beautifully in that report that the AI tool has generated, someone still has to make the call.

“It’s the client conversation where you need to read the room, not read a report. It’s the crisis where the team needs someone to hold steady, project calm presence and make a decision with incomplete information.

“AI can analyse, predict and recommend, but it can’t step into the room when tensions rise. It can’t make the call when information is incomplete or hold the team steady when everything is uncertain.

“Those are human capabilities, and they’re the ones that break down first when we’re under pressure.

“Formula 1 teams use AI extensively for strategy modelling and data analysis, but the race engineer still has to talk to the driver in the heat of the moment. The car can’t read the driver’s stress level. The AI can’t judge whether to push now or save the tyres, even though it can recommend.

“It comes down to human judgement under pressure. That’s not being replaced. It’s becoming even more valuable.

“AI doesn’t reduce the need for human performance under pressure. It concentrates it. The organisations that train their people for those moments are going to have an enormous advantage over the ones who don’t.”

Question 2: Why does spending on employee wellbeing so often fail to improve performance, and what needs to change in how work is designed?

Dr James Hewitt: “According to some data, organisations are spending $60 billion a year on wellbeing initiatives globally. The results, despite all that investment, are inconclusive at best.

“One of the main reasons is simple. Most wellbeing programmes treat wellbeing as a perk, as a benefit that’s bolted on the edges rather than being built into how work actually works.

“It’s the meditation app that nobody opens. It’s the wellness webinar that felt like one more thing to attend. We know that you’re all under pressure. You haven’t got enough time. Well, don’t worry. You can skip lunch today and join the wellbeing webinar.

“It’s the resilience training that landed while everyone was already exhausted. It’s like putting a plaster on a broken leg and then wondering why people can’t run.

“The deeper problem is that most organisations have this unspoken tension between performance and wellbeing. They often treat them as competing priorities, as if looking after your people means accepting lower standards. That’s not true. It’s a false trade-off.

“My PhD research specifically examined that relationship between wellbeing and cognitive performance in really high-performing organisations. The data are clear. Companies that have got genuinely high wellbeing don’t just have happier people, they outperform commercially in terms of measurable business outcomes.

“The wellbeing has to be real. It’s got to be baked into how teams work, how meetings are run and how recovery is valued, not just performative wellbeing theatre.

“In Formula 1, no one would dream of running a car flat out for an entire race without managing tyres, fuel and engine modes. That’s not weakness. It’s engineering. In business, we run people flat out and call it high standards.

“The fix isn’t another programme. It’s a different model. It’s a model where performing well and feeling well aren’t in competition, and where work itself builds capacity instead of depleting it.

“That’s regenerative performance. When organisations get it right, the result isn’t wellness theatre. It’s genuine competitive advantage.”

Question 3: How can leaders build recovery into daily work while maintaining high-performance standards?

Dr James Hewitt: “This is a question that separates leaders who talk about wellbeing from leaders who actually create it. You can’t bolt recovery onto a system that’s designed to deplete it. You’ve got to redesign the system.

“In Formula 1 and in sport, recovery isn’t optional. It certainly isn’t a reward for good performance. It’s engineered into the race and the performance strategy.

“The driver pushes hard for a stint, comes in for tyres and adjustments, then goes back out. It’s push, recover, push, recover. No one thinks a pit stop is a weakness.

“I teach leaders and their teams a simple loop. I call it prepare, execute, reset.

“Before a high-pressure moment, that pitch, difficult conversation or big presentation, you prepare deliberately. Not just the content, but your cognitive and emotional state.

“Then you execute with full focus, being fully present. Then reset. You don’t charge into the next meeting carrying the residue from the last one.

“Practically, the first thing is leaders modelling it. If the CEO sends an email at midnight and schedules back-to-back meetings all day, no wellbeing programme in the world is going to convince the team it’s okay to rest.

“Your culture isn’t what you say, it’s what you tolerate and what you model.

“Second, build transition time between high-pressure moments. Even two minutes of deliberate reset between meetings can dramatically improve cognitive performance in the next one.

“I give audiences simple, practical reset techniques, like breathing exercises and shorter ones they can use in 60 seconds. Simple, fast methods to clear that cognitive residue and get our best thinking brain back online.

“Third, create team norms that make recovery legitimate. Protect deep-work time, meeting-free blocks and agreed response windows for email. Those aren’t just perks or benefits, they’re performance strategies.

“The teams that I’ve seen implement them consistently don’t just feel better. We don’t just measure better wellbeing, we also record better performance.

“When people recover properly, they perform better. It’s really not that complicated.”

Question 4: What should a keynote change once the audience returns to work?

Dr James Hewitt: “The best feedback I get is when someone emails me three months later and says, “James, I used that 60-second reset before my board presentation, and it completely changed how I show up.”

“Or someone says, “My team started using that shared language, that 5B model for pressure. It’s really changed how we communicate.”

“That’s the goal. Not the applause, the application.

“I want three things to happen. First, I want people to leave with a framework they can actually use. That 5B pressure map is just one tool. I always select the tool and tune the tool for the audience.

“I work with my clients to understand what they want to get out of it, what tools are going to be most helpful and what language is going to land.

“Often, the clients I’m working with have got their own initiatives and their own models. Sometimes it’s more helpful for me to use that language and combine it with my knowledge and approach.

“The key is that it’s not just about inspiration. It’s tools that will work for that audience on Monday morning. That’s the only test that really matters.

“Second, I want them to feel a shift in how they think about pressure. Not “pressure is bad” and not the macho “pressure makes diamonds” nonsense.

“Pressure is inevitable, but performance is trainable. You’re not stuck with how you currently respond to pressure. You can get better. The research says that you can get dramatically better.

“Third, I want them to leave knowing that high performance doesn’t require self-destruction.

“That’s the philosophical point underneath everything that I do because I’ve seen what happens when brilliant people push themselves past their limits. I’ve lived it myself, but there’s a better way.

“Whatever stories I use, the idea is that it makes the science vivid. It brings it to life. The tools, most importantly, make it actionable.

“What do I hope the audience takes away? Not just a pep talk, a playbook. Not just motivation that fades by Monday, something they can put into action and use: a shared language, practical tools and the confidence that they can perform at their best when the pressure is on.”