Lead smarter. Execute cleaner.
You can't grow your business with pre-AI leadership habits.
AI changes how you delegate, decide & deliver.
I help you build the systems that keep up — without losing trust, clarity, or control.
AI is accelerating everything — including what’s already fragile. I help B2B teams get their operations and leadership habits ready for AI.
Every founder wants impact. But the real work of leadership is making it repeatable — deciding what matters, building systems that support it, and then staying out of your own way.
Now, with AI in the mix, the margin for distraction is thinner than ever. I help founders upgrade how they lead — not just how they automate.
Lead smarter. Execute cleaner.
You can't scale your business with pre-AI leadership habits.
AI changes how you delegate,
decide & deliver.
I help you build the systems that keep up — without losing trust, clarity, or control.
AI is accelerating everything 🚀 — including what’s already fragile. I help B2B teams get their operations and leadership habits ready for AI.
Every founder wants impact. But the real work of leadership is making it repeatable — deciding what matters, building systems that support it, and then staying out of your own way.
🤖 Now, with AI in the mix, the margin for distraction is thinner than ever. I help founders upgrade how they lead — not just how they automate.
Ignite Your AI Era
Oh, AI. Every day, another tool! You don’t need more tools. You need systems that protect focus, enable smart delegation, and make AI actually useful — not risky.
Start with these pieces:
🔬 DIAGNOSTIC & STRATEGY SESSION
AI Readiness Audit:
for Small Teams
A founder-friendly diagnostic to determine exactly where AI will pay off, where it might implode (and what to do to make your whole team ready).
Find your highest-leverage, lowest-risk starting points for AI.
🛶 READ THE ESSAY
Upstream Leadership:
How to Make AI Work for Small Teams
AI doesn’t require you to get better at tools. It requires you to get better at leadership. This guide shows you how to shift from founder-as-bottleneck to leader of a business that’s clearer, more equitable — and finally scalable.
Most AI content is about prompts and tools.
This one’s about the real work: shifting the way you lead.
Ignite Your AI Era
Oh, AI. Every day, another tool! You don’t need more tools. You need systems that protect focus, enable smart delegation, and make AI actually useful — not risky.
Start with these pieces:
🔬 DIAGNOSTIC & STRATEGY SESSION
AI Readiness Audit
For Small Teams
A founder-friendly diagnostic to determine exactly where AI will pay off, where it might implode (and what to do to make your whole team ready).
Find your highest-leverage, lowest-risk
starting points for AI.
🛶 READ THE ESSAY
Upstream Leadership:
How to Make AI Work
for Small Teams
AI doesn’t require you to get better at tools. It requires you to get better at leadership. This guide shows you how to shift from founder-as-bottleneck to leader of a business that’s clearer, more equitable — and finally scalable.
Most AI content is about prompts and tools.
This one’s about the real work: shifting the way you lead.
A Bit About Me…
I’m Karen Sergeant. I’m a born optimizer. I’ve rarely met a system I haven’t wanted to deconstruct and rebuild.
This makes me annoying at build-your-own-taco nights (!) but it makes me a valuable partner for founders who are navigating the messy middle of growth and AI adoption.
Over the past decade, I’ve led and managed businesses from 6 to deep 7 figures. I’ve seen what breaks at each stage — and I’ve solved those breakdowns over and over, especially when growth starts to outpace the systems underneath it.
Now, as AI adoption accelerates, I help leadership teams integrate AI responsibly, without sacrificing client trust or team clarity. The tools are evolving fast — but the real challenge is how we delegate, review, and lead in an AI-native business.
🔐 I have a knack for picking the lock on tough operational issues. I’d rather prevent fires than fight them — so I focus on spotting hidden fragilities before they turn into real problems.
🚏I think in systems. I see upstream sources and downstream consequences. This means I solve the problem — not just the noisy one — and I don’t create new messes in the process.
🤹🏼 I keep teams on track. Protecting priorities is the hidden work of leadership, especially when AI is added to the mix. I bring evidence-based tools that help you lead with clarity, not just react faster.
Yes, growth comes with growing pains — but the ceiling shouldn’t be internal. Not your team, not your ops, not your habits.
I can help you simplify team management, develop responsible AI practices, and reclaim the focused, high-trust business you set out to build. Let's get started.
A Bit About Me…
I’m Karen Sergeant. I’m a born optimizer. I’ve rarely met a system I haven’t wanted to deconstruct and rebuild.
This makes me annoying at build-your-own-taco nights (!) but it makes me a valuable partner for founders who are navigating the messy middle of growth and AI adoption.
Over the past decade, I’ve led and managed businesses from 6 to deep 7 figures. I’ve seen what breaks at each stage — and I’ve solved those breakdowns over and over, especially when growth starts to outpace the systems underneath it.
Now, as AI adoption accelerates, I help leadership teams integrate AI responsibly, without sacrificing client trust or team clarity. The tools are evolving fast — but the real challenge is how we delegate, review, and lead in an AI-native business.
🔐 I have a knack for picking the lock on tough operational issues. I’d rather prevent fires than fight them — so I focus on spotting hidden fragilities before they turn into real problems.
🚏I think in systems. I see upstream sources and downstream consequences. This means I solve the problem — not just the noisy one — and I don’t create new messes in the process.
🤹🏼 I keep teams on track. Protecting priorities is the hidden work of leadership, especially when AI is added to the mix. I bring evidence-based tools that help you lead with clarity, not just react faster.
Yes, growth comes with growing pains — but the ceiling shouldn’t be internal. Not your team, not your ops, not your habits.
I can help you simplify team management, develop responsible AI practices, and reclaim the focused, high-trust business you set out to build. Let's get started.
"Karen has made such a difference at our company from the day she walked in.
We had ambitious growth goals, but weren't seeing traction on them — and internally, we didn't have consensus on what the problem was. Karen came in, assessed where we were — and offered both a strategy and new tactics for moving forward. We began quarterly planning sessions and a new meeting cadence, we focused on a handful of metrics that mattered most for our business, and we re-scoped the leadership team positions and found our dream candidate for each.
Now, the business is firing on all cylinders, we just passed an important milestone, and — best of all — I feel so invigorated by our vision and mission once again!
It's like I have the dream team that really understands my vision and what I need, and Karen was such a huge part of making it happen. I'm so grateful for her wisdom, for her kindness, for her good sense of humor, and for sticking by my side during this really challenging time. I could not have done it without her and I'm just so grateful! "
Kelly Notaras
Founder, CEO / KN Literary Arts
"Karen has made such a difference at our company from the day she walked in.
We had ambitious growth goals, but weren't seeing traction on them — and internally, we didn't have consensus on what the problem was. Karen came in, assessed where we were — and offered both a strategy and new tactics for moving forward. We began quarterly planning sessions and a new meeting cadence, we focused on a handful of metrics that mattered most for our business, and we re-scoped the leadership team positions and found our dream candidate for each.
Now, the business is firing on all cylinders, we just passed an important milestone, and — best of all — I feel so invigorated by our vision and mission once again!
It's like I have the dream team that really understands my vision and what I need, and Karen was such a huge part of making it happen. I'm so grateful for her wisdom, for her kindness, for her good sense of humor, and for sticking by my side during this really challenging time. I could not have done it without her and I'm just so grateful! "
Kelly Notaras
Founder, CEO / KN Literary Arts
Business Operations Strategy & Helping Founders Ignite Their AI Era
I help B2B teams get their operations and leadership habits ready for AI. I build systems that protect trust, scale human ingenuity and keep teams on track. You’re in the right place if you want to explore AI in a way that protects your team, your clients — and what already works.
On this Site, We Explore:
• Responsible, ethical AI practices
• Equity-centered business practices
• Scaling smart with AI — without breaking what works
Human in the Loop: Lead Where AI Can Follow
On my Substack I talk about how to lead, delegate, and scale in a world where AI changes everything — but where people still matter most.
© 2025 KAREN SERGEANT • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED