In this article we identified five practices that successful leaders will need to master, to strengthen their capacity to lead in AI, including how to mitigate risk without inhibiting innovation.
1. Be open to change.
Artificial intelligence is transforming all sectors of the economy, and is becoming good at many “human” jobs—diagnosing disease, translating languages, providing customer service—and it’s improving fast. Many alarms have sounded on the potential for (AI) technologies to upend the workforce, especially for easy-to-automate jobs. In fact, research, involving 1,500 firms in a range of industries, shows that the biggest performance improvements come when humans and smart machines work together, enhancing each other’s strengths. Managers at all levels will have to adapt to the world of smart machines. The fact is, artificial intelligence will soon be able to do the administrative tasks that consume much of managers’ time faster, better, and at a lower cost.
2. Embrace Technology.
AI will redefine management. Think of AI as an opportunity for agency/ business growth and productivity, and a way to boost our analytic and decision-making abilities and heighten creativity. Prepare yourself and your organizations for the kinds of human-led work that will gain prominence as technology takes on more routine tasks.
To get the most out of AI, companies and their leaders need to reimagine business processes; embrace experimentation; actively direct AI strategy and redesign work to incorporate AI and cultivate related employee skills.
3. Develop training and recruitment strategies for creativity, collaboration and human skills.
Leaders should develop a diverse workforce and team of managers that balance experience with creative and social intelligence — each side complementing the other to support sound collective judgment. Reimagining a business process involves more than the implementation of AI technology; it also requires a significant commitment to developing employees with “fusion skills” that enable them to work effectively at the human-machine interface.
4. Adopt new key performance indicators to drive adoption.
AI will bring new criteria for success: collaboration capabilities, information sharing, experimentation, learning and decision-making effectiveness, and the ability to reach beyond the organization for insights. Leaders need to navigate in an uncertain future, and experiment with AI and apply their insights to the next cycle of experiments.
5. Invest in Culture.
Leaders need to create a safe and inclusive work environment where people’s opinions, feedback, and work are valued. In this AI area, it is necessary to be a leader who actively listens and values the contributions of their team. At the same time promote collaboration and innovation. A company without collaboration does not generate innovation and it is necessary to allow people to experiment, exchange ideas, and learn from their mistakes.
Leaders in the AI age need to be humble about others’ contributions, adaptable to the challenges that get thrown into their paths, steadfast in their vision of the ultimate destination on this path, and constantly engaged with the changing world around them.
ALSO READ: FASHION MEETS LITERATURE: ANTHONY VACCARELLO AND PRINTED MATTER UNITE FOR A UNIQUE BOOKISH AFFAIR.
