Leadership in an AI world
“As the world becomes more complex, the importance of leaders will only increase. Even quantum leaps in artificial intelligence are unlikely to provide the personal will, moral courage, and compassion that good leaders offer.”
— General Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell, Team of Teams
It’s not always true that "the best strategy wins". Usually, organizations best able to adapt to their environments win.
As organizations adopt generative AI and continue to pivot towards speed and agility, leadership must undergo a corresponding evolution. The AI transformed economy will need a new kind of executive - motivators, innovators and social experimenters - those that have, paradoxically, developed their distinctly human skills. AI’s Achilles heel today is emotional intelligence. AI can brainstorm ideas and analyze information, but it cannot yet understand, motivate, and inspire people.
Another flaw in AI is the current lack of credibility of its output. Here’s why this may be the biggest opportunity for humans...
Moving Faster
AI can accelerate specific processes and provide a a real-time understanding of what is happening in the world, but people inside your organization must have a clear and unambiguous sense of "mission" and purpose to navigate an uncertain world with directional clarity.
As leaders, we must foster the right environment for our people to react in real-time. In the battle for relevance, the ability to react swiftly becomes the ultimate differentiator. Senior leaders, instead of dictating top-down plans and actions, must cascade trust, purpose, and focus.
The highest-performing leaders are master communicators, capable of building strong cultures, hiring and elevating the right people, and aligning teams toward a common goal. Likewise, some of the best employees anticipate leadership’s needs, build trust, and relate to others. I expect these skills to become more vital as AI takes over more of the technical workload.
The right AI mindset shift will involve self-awareness. Every professional should be asking themselves: what do I bring to the table that AI cannot? Conversely, what weaknesses do I have that AI can help mitigate? Understanding your unique human value — whether it’s creativity, the ability to build relationships, or the capacity to lead and inspire others — is key to staying relevant.
Summary
The role of a senior leader must shift away from command and control. Leadership today requires skills analogous to a "gardener" and an empathetic crafter of culture. A gardener cannot actually “grow” tomatoes, squash, or beans — they can only foster a fertile environment for the plants do so themselves.
- Compass - sets the direction
- Coach - gives feedback
- Gardener - creates a fertile environment
- Culture - sets the "tone at the top" and crafts the culture they expect.
References
Image Credit: General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur received 13 awards for bravery, including the Medal of Honor. Perhaps the most gifted wartime soldier America ever produced, he orchestrated remarkable victories in France, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Korea. He often led from the front, sharing the dangers of the battlefield with his men, which earned him accolades for bravery and the loyalty of his soldiers. His tenure was marked by the challenge of leading the Army during the Great Depression, a period of limited resources and low morale. Despite this, he advocated for a modern, mechanized army, foreseeing the changing nature of warfare.