Guest: Georgia Groc | AI Automation & Process Transformation Leader, U.S. Bank

In this Above Center® episode, Georgia Groc shares a grounded, real-world view of what leadership looks like when the pace of change is relentless and the stakes feel personal. Georgia makes the case that leaders don’t need to be experts overnight, but they do need to get in the arena. Her advice: block time to learn, start experimenting, and let AI handle the “nonsense work” so people can double down on what makes them uniquely valuable.

Georgia connects the fear many professionals feel about AI to a fear she knows intimately: a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis at 36. What helped her move forward wasn’t pretending the fear wasn’t there. It was getting informed, building clarity, and choosing a mindset that refused to let a hard season become her identity. The result is a leadership posture that is both resilient and human: acknowledge what’s real, learn what we can, and keep choosing the path that aligns with our best self.

🧠 Don’t Wait to “Be Ready” for AI

The biggest risk is not starting. Leaders don’t need massive budgets or advanced expertise; they need intentional practice. An hour a week of learning and tinkering builds fluency, confidence, and momentum.

🧩 AI Raises the Bar on Human Value

Georgia encourages teams to focus on what can’t be automated: judgment, vision, relationship-building, creative problem solving, and leadership presence. Let AI do the repetitive work so people can lead at a higher level.

🤝 Psychological Safety Is the New Adoption Strategy

Georgia emphasizes creating a team environment where people can voice skepticism, fears, and frustrations without shame. Real progress happens when leaders “double-click” on what’s underneath the resistance.

🧭 Knowledge Reduces Fear

From navigating AI uncertainty to navigating cancer, Georgia returns to one theme: information is empowering. When people understand what they’re facing, fear quiets down enough for clear action to emerge.

🔥 Choose Your Life—Daily

Georgia’s resilience is rooted in choice. When life feels fragile, clarity sharpens. Her approach is to go all-in on what matters: family, impact, career, and presence. Choosing above center is not denial of hardship; it’s ownership of response.

Favorite Quote“What a day, what a life!”

For Georgia, this quote is a reset. The day might be hard, messy, or exhausting, but the larger story is still worth celebrating. It’s a reminder to hold both truths at once: reality can be heavy—and life can still be beautiful.

Georgia Groc is an AI Automation and Process Transformation leader who turns complex problems into scalable solutions. Over the past decade, she has helped highly regulated financial organizations reimagine how work gets done—delivering millions in cost savings and revenue, accelerating operational efficiency, and empowering teams to do their best work.

Today, Georgia leads an AI Automation Solutions Team at U.S. Bank, managing a team of eight and overseeing high-visibility AI and automation use cases across Operations for Consumer, Business and Treasury, Wealth Management, Contact Center, and Transaction Processing & Shared Services.

ABOVE CENTER® is brought to you by REVEL®, an Executive Search and Coaching firm that helps people and companies grow through the power of great leadership.

Our ABOVE CENTER® approach is about staying grounded, clear, and resilient, especially when the stakes are high. In this podcast, we feature leaders in corporate America who share how they navigate the pressures of leadership while living ABOVE CENTER®. We uncover the mindsets, strategies, and personal philosophies that drive high-performing executives to lead themselves and their teams to success. From hiring and retaining top talent to thriving in the first 90 days of a new role, these conversations go beyond leadership—they’re about building a career and a life with purpose, impact, and joy in the journey.