This both is and is not just another post on AI, but it’s interesting, so let’s get right to it.

We live in tenuous times where uncertainty is high, and anxiety is increasing. Our economic landscape is shifting ever farther away from people-centricity, and we see more than ever that the drive for value creation (of the mighty dollar) reveals questions about where we really fit in the organizational paradigm. “What will happen to my job, my career, my future? Am I so replaceable by the bot? What value do I add today?” These are the questions that mill around in amongst the day-to-day monotony.  

It’s unavoidable to acknowledge that the continuing digital evolution has drastically transformed the landscape of business operations, but we see more than ever a need to spotlight the risk to our organizational cultural paradigms if we continue down the path of maximizing shareholder value unchallenged. Regardless of which camp we might fall into regarding the increasing reliance on AI, technology and digitization of our work, we must believe that people hold the power to bring a true competitive edge to an organization. This goes beyond efficiency and productivity gains (which we shouldn’t ignore, but we’ve got AI to help us there) - it focuses squarely on the tinkering, innovation, customer and people centric dynamism that still requires human cognition.

For the past decade we experienced the glory days of focus on people as reflected in the investment many modern organizations made towards empowerment, self-organization and engagement. The dedication to this cause was spurred on by the movement towards agility and the beautiful values and mindset it espoused, and then later fueled by the pandemic where attitudinal shifts (at least in the early days) to community and reliance on one another in crisis were evident. Whether it was driven purely by optics or by a more generalized belief that living in unprecedented times required true leadership, we can’t be sure, but we can be sure of one thing – and that is that those times are done. At least for now.

Today’s buzzwords are all about AI. We hear the stories of organizations cutting marketing copywriters, only to realize that the AI generated blather can’t sell anything, and acknowledging they might have made a mistake. An MIT study published earlier this year suggests that AI won't replace as many jobs as earlier predicted or threatened, and as AI falls towards the trough of disillusionment the conversations we have internally must equip us with clear boundaries about the domains that AI can exist in, and where we still truly need the skills and creativity of the human body and mind.  

Some may argue that the human mind is flawed, but those generating the code for large language models are inadvertently biasing the models as well. We’ve heard stories of AI running screening interviews for companies, which is truly something out of a horror film for anyone who is neuro-divergent or not a native English speaker (for interviews that are handled in English).  

A recent article from HBR posits that rather than jumping in with senior leadership to manage AI, we should lead from the frontlines. This is no different to the original thoughts around Agile in the early days, and we can’t help but agree emphatically. As leaders in this new age, recognizing and harnessing the complexity of scenarios before us is of critical importance, and leadership in this time means more than ever setting clear and intentional guardrails and then getting out of the way. We at every level of organization will have areas where our work will benefit from AI adoption, but outside of determining policy and governance around how AI is used, we should really be allowed to determine for ourselves how we can best bolster efficiency and productivity.

David Marquette's seminal work, Turn the Ship Around, serves as a beacon to those seeking extra guidance in this realm. The book beautifully articulates that the essence of impactful leadership lies in decentralizing authority and bolstering empowerment. Marquette's philosophy of "intent-based leadership" provides a roadmap for fostering a culture where team members are not just passive executors but informed decision-makers, operating with autonomy, responsibility, and, most importantly, confidence.

Today's fast-paced environment characterized by constant change and uncharted challenges provides us with a choice. Do we wish to harness the opportunity to exhibit quintessential visionary leadership that is grounded in championing the human spirit? Or do we choose to blunder along pretending that maximizing return on investment means putting people last? For many of us, it won’t be quite so black and white, but when you are faced with this complex choice, however it shows up for you, we recommend engaging with your people and leading with curiosity, integrity and empathy.

For those seeking to implement AI with an eye on transformative leadership practices, IncrementOne offers specialized guidance and support. Reach out to us for assistance in your journey towards people-centric leadership.