Leadership in a World of AI
June 2024
As AI advancement continues, tools like OpenAI’s GPT-4 draw an impressed gaze and talk about the applications of AI in the workplace grows, the question many businesses are asking is “what does this mean for how we lead our teams?”
AI automates many processes and simplifies decision making for leaders through data analysis, pattern recognition and user customisation to name a few. This can support businesses that utilise it with fast decision making and personalised customer experiences, but there are fears that it can take away the ‘human touch’ from many activities and many decisions. Recruitment processes is a hot topic in this area right now. Recruitment takes time to do properly, reading CVs and sifting candidates, responding to candidates, and providing meaningful feedback is a timely process and that is before the interviews begin. It can be tempting to automate this process and removing this step to streamline a recruiter’s job is an obvious gain for any organisation, but already we are hearing loud and clear how the removal of the human element disengages applicants and makes them feel like more of a number than an individual in this process than ever before.
The steady progress towards more streamlined, more effective processes will continue, learnings and developments in the areas which utilise AI will set the standard for the future. Organisations need to face into the feedback users share when interacting with AI driven systems, and where that feedback is about a lack of a human element, organisations need to focus on dialling up that element.
Workforces are aware of this importance. In a recent survey carried out by Wiley Workplace, 80% of respondents said that ‘their soft skills are more important than ever with the evolution of AI’.
The Human Element
Large businesses have started to bring this element into their core value structure. A few years ago, I saw Sainsbury’s introduce ‘Be Human’ as one of its 3 Valued Behaviours, which it weaved into every aspect of the business. How it assessed colleagues, how it wanted its leadership teams to lead and how the business measured its success. It’s time to make sure leaders of the future are doing the same, as AI and algorithmic systems help improve processes and reduce workload, leaders must embrace the human element of their roles, the part which AI can’t do.
Businesses should develop their leaders and focus on recruiting those with the fundamental human skills to compliment AI’s strengths, not work against it.
In the same survey from Wiley Workplace, respondents ranked communication (34%), leadership (23%) and adaptability (12%) as the skills most needed in the workplace. As the survey report puts it, ‘these are skills that AI bots likely cannot replace’.
Listening, coaching, empathy, recognition, communication, colleague wellbeing, colleague engagement and motivation will be crucial for leading a workforce who might be sceptical of AI’s involvement in workforce management. And whilst AI can present information, highlight trends and identify potential risks, the decision-making process, the important judgements made by leaders must remain. There is a risk that leaders allow AI to replace the decision-making processes as a time-saving exercise by relying on information and guidance from these systems. Whilst leaders can work to improve the workplace, be available for their colleagues, listen to their concerns, coach, and support them, they must ensure that any decisions made are based on their own judgement, that their colleagues trust that decisions are made with a human element in mind.
These human elements, or soft skills, are things that come more easily to some than others. Workplaces should focus on their development programmes to ensure that future leaders really experience leading a team in this way, and when bosses are checking in with their leaders in training, focussing on discussing what interactions and conversations they have had with the team and how they’re developing their human element.
One thing is for sure, leadership roles are relatively safe from AI replacement but the future of leadership will have to look a little different. But using AI as a supporting tool to free up leaders to focus on the human element, that future might just make the best leaders we’ve ever seen.
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