Leaders and the AI Organization

 

For decades, business writers and experts have provided a variety of ideas, theories, and processes to help business leaders manage and lead change in their organisations. These prescriptions, while valuable at the time, may pose a challenge to leaders who are currently planning and implementing AI changes. The difference is that business leaders must be able to seek out ways to transform their organisations rather than simply implementing change on a regular basis.

The Merriam-Webster definition of transform is as follows:

... to alter the composition or structure of; to alter the outward form or appearance of; to alter the character or condition of: convert

For leaders, this entails fundamentally altering the way their organisation operates. In a workplace where AI applications serve as implementation tools alongside human skills, strategic transformation is required. According to the authors of Fast Future, Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells, and Alexandra Whittington,

Employees' soft skills will become even more important as AI becomes more common. As rule-based thinking and automation become more prevalent in businesses, skills such as sensitivity, creativity, verbal reasoning and communication, empathy, and spontaneity may become more valuable. HR or a new Department of Humanity can help with this aspect of personal development, ensuring that businesses make the most of the interaction between human and artificial intelligence.

What behaviours should we expect from leaders as their organisations embark on this journey, if these authors are correct?

Motivated to learn new things on a regular basis.

The authors of Deloitte's Insights 2019 report, Leading the Social Enterprise: Reinvent with a Human Focus, discovered that,

Faced with the relentless acceleration of AI, cognitive technologies, and automation, 86 percent of respondents to this year's Global Human Capital Trends survey believe they must reinvent their ability to learn. Despite a pervasive corporate focus on digital transformation, 84 percent of respondents said they need to rethink their workforce experience to improve productivity after nearly ten years of economic growth. And, in the face of new pressures to move faster and adapt to a much more diverse workforce, 80 percent believe they must develop leaders in a new way.

As the workforce's demographics change and the baby boomer generation retires, there will be a significant need for leadership skills transfer. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the leader's skill challenge multiplies. Leaders must continue to develop their own skills while also exposing their teams to ongoing training and development. Being exposed to challenge-based learning will provide leaders with unique opportunities to develop their skills and increase their flexibility and adaptability. Leaders should continue to network, invest in courses, and conduct research to stay current on trends and new developments in their fields of expertise. It is critical to reverse mentor by trusting that younger team members may know more than them. All of these practises are essential for developing relationships both within and outside of the organisation. AI contacts and colleagues.

A readiness to share. Dynamic leaders recognise the importance of teamwork, knowing that as some team members' skills decline, others improve. This occurs in the world of artificial intelligence. Technical skills that were once considered critical may become obsolete, but the need for emotional intelligence skills will be the strength of the leader and the team. AI lacks empathy and compassion, whereas human skills entail leaders caring for their teams and coworkers. Chatbots must be accepted as new team members and can be used to orient and train new team members as well as assist them with some of their processes and activities. This will free up more time for the team's human members to address more complex issues through critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.

Leaders must share their enthusiasm for AI while also demonstrating commitment to the new processes and practises and communicating effectively with all stakeholders to ensure that everyone moves forward together. As a brave change agent, they rely on others and continue to support team members as well as colleagues from other disciplines. These leaders broaden their team to include a broader range of skills and participants, thereby breaking down any organisational silos. a strong desire to create and innovate Leaders must be flexible, adaptable, and agile in order to foster an innovative environment. Adaptable leaders are not afraid to try something new when the situation calls for it, and their adaptability allows them to face challenges. When it comes to strategies, this is exactly what is required. include AI applications.

Leaders must remain engaged with their teams, as well as with other members of the organisation, customers, and the communities in which they live and work. As leaders develop their innovation skills and expertise, they ensure that their teams do as well. Adaptable leaders are required in agile organisations. Leaders train their teams to be agile by staying informed about changes in the competitive landscape and community, trends in the value chain, and trends in customer or client bases. The courage to question current assumptions. To be successful in the world of artificial intelligence, leaders must constantly question/change their mental models, challenging assumptions about the business, customers, and the future. They increase performance by focusing on purpose and strengths.

They must concentrate on the actions and processes that unleash the team's creative potential and, as a result, the power of AI. This will help with decision-making and problem-solving abilities in difficult situations driven by customer needs and desires. The ability to recognise and overcome obstacles. This is all about keeping everyone interested. What is obstructing their progress? It is critical to keep the team's talents and strengths aligned with the company's vision and purpose. Engaging them in collective decision-making, exploring creativity tools like brainstorming, or implementing pilot groups, project teams, and member rotation will allow teams to contribute in new ways. Chatbots and virtual feedback platforms cut down on the amount of time humans spend on repetitive and non-value-added tasks. What hasn't changed with the introduction of AI is the importance of having a clear goal in mind. Leaders and their teams should collaborate to develop performance goals before being given the freedom to meet or exceed them. The impact of this leadership development will be minimal unless it takes place in the right environment. For transformative actions to take place, the right environment is required; organisations must also 'change in composition or structure.' Organizations must be filled with diverse teams; cross-functional, collaborative, multi-skilled, multidisciplinary teams. There are no silos. All members of these teams must be involved in the design of new processes, procedures, and practises in order to foster a culture that encourages front-line decision-making and problem-solving.  These teams are encouraged to be creative and innovative by following a try-test-measure-review-learn cycle. Organizations with leaders who appreciate and embrace the value of AI will be able to transform their cultures; cultures built on a foundation of complementary AI applications and human strategic expertise. Donna Stevenson has extensive leadership experience as both a senior corporate executive and an external consultant to large organisations. Donna is now the owner of Boomer Match to Business (BM2B), which specialises in matching boomers with businesses that require business expertise. She also creates leadership development and training courses for a variety of clients.