Effective Leadership in an AI World

In the last issue of Med One to One, my esteemed colleague, Bob Gross, did an excellent job of discussing the issue of change and transitions. It is often said that “Change is inevitable…Growth is optional.” Bob concluded in his article with a checklist for leaders. Perhaps the biggest technological change we are facing today is AI (artificial intelligence). I want to build on that list and address this statement: “AI is inevitable…Effective Leadership is optional.”

Let’s start by talking about AI. Depending on who and what you read, AI is going to either take over the world, eliminate everyone’s jobs, start a nuclear war, replace the need for leaders, make us more efficient, or be a fad. I have been in the technology business for over 30 years, and quite honestly, similar comments were made about mainframes, PCs, servers, networks, ERP systems, Blackberries, the internet, mobile phones, the cloud, etc. Each of these had tremendous business potential. For example, mainframes allowed companies to fully automate their billing process, providing major cost and time savings. ERP systems provided a ready-made and efficient business process, greatly reducing rework, cycle time, and cost. Cloud computing gave us access to computing resources in minutes rather than weeks, providing tremendous business agility. If implemented well, each of these would greatly improve customer service.

"Depending on who and what you read, AI is going to either take over the world, eliminate everyone’s jobs, start a nuclear war, replace the need for leaders, make us more efficient, or be a fad."

Although the business potential was obvious, a lot of people (and companies) did one of two things with these technological changes: they experimented and used them primarily because other companies did, or because these technologies would force major organizational or personal change, they ignored/delayed them in the hope the hype would die down.

As we all know, these technologies did not go away. Instead, they got better, cheaper, and faster. They could not be ignored. Unfortunately, the folks in the second scenario were late to the game. In their haste to catch up to their competition, they tried to quickly implement each technology, often resulting in major project cost overruns, large ongoing operating expenses, and few, if any, tangible business benefits. In some cases, it put them out of business. Kodak was an example of that with digital cameras.

AI is no different. It is also not going away, and like other technologies, will get better, cheaper, and faster. It has the potential for major efficiency gains in the areas of communications, computer programming, marketing, etc. Given the fact AI is a learning technology, it has great potential to materially improve business processes, customer call center service, analytics, and other operations we have yet to envision. So, how do we make sure AI’s business potential is not ignored and is realized sooner vs later? Two words – effective leadership. Note I did not say leadership but rather effective leadership.

If that answer is accurate, it begs the question “What does effective leadership look like?” In my experience, effective leaders routinely do the following:

• They wake up every morning with two questions on their mind. First, in my area of responsibility, how can I help the organization get better – operationally and strategically? In essence, how can my area of responsibility do everything possible to contribute to those results and keep us secure? This could include implementing major process improvements, making sure employees receive continual skill development and feedback, or acting on new competitive analytics. Second, how can I personally get better today? This could include regular attendance at leadership conferences, receiving regular feedback from staff, or utilizing a personal mentor.

• As they go about their day, effective leaders continually remind their staff/project teams/various operations/employees of the business problems they should be solving. Given the proliferation of data and prevalence of cybersecurity attacks, solving these business problems ALWAYS includes secure systems and processes, and accessing clean and accurate data. Some obvious examples are:

• “We are installing this system to improve sales from X to Y”
• “We are installing this system to improve sales from X to Y”
• “We are taking too long to respond to customer questions. We need to cut that cycle time in half.”
• “This process is inefficient and costs too much money. We need to reduce the errors by 50% and achieve a 20% cost reduction.

It is critical that not only the problem be defined in business terms, but that the success target is explicit.

• As an effective leader touches base with their staff and employees, they discuss, provide feedback, and reward great performance. In my experience, great performance has three dimensions:

• The results being achieved relative to the success target.
• The process followed in achieving those results.
• The behaviors exhibited during the process.

Great performers excel in all three dimensions. Effective leaders consistently role model these three dimensions, and regularly provide feedback on all three - individually and to their team. This includes the fun stuff (rewards) and not so fun stuff (timely and constructive criticism). I have not found one effective leader that looks forward to the latter, but none of them shied away from the conflict conversation, even with top performers.

• Because the world is getting more complex by the day, effective leaders excel at participative management. They and their organizations cannot thrive without utilizing the unique skills and abilities of everyone in the organization. Participative management done well entails well defined business problems and success targets, as well as a process whereby effective leaders engage those closest to the problem to help solve it. It could include individuals or teams, but it is not a delegated abdication of responsibility. Unfortunately, few companies do this really well.

• Finally, effective leaders also excel at communication. Being good at this has a lot of nuance and subtleties. Not only does the content need to be timely, accurate, and make sense, it is absolutely critical that it is tailored to the targeted audience (the organization as a whole, an individual, the management team, one’s direct reports, the Board, etc.). In other words, it needs to be delivered in a media and a way that is as easy as possible for the targeted audience to understand. This may require multiple versions of the same content. The nuance is making sure the messaging implicit in the communication answers the typical audience’s questions.

For example, let’s consider a critical business/technology project status report. There are at least four audiences for that report (senior management, the business sponsor of the project, the line management of the team members, and the team members themselves). Senior management typically wants to know if it is going well or not, why, and any major issues. The business sponsor wants to know if the project is on time, on budget, and on target to deliver the projected business benefits. Line management wants to know the status of their resources/people on the project. Is everything going according to plan, or will more resources be needed? Finally, the team members want to know what was accomplished this week, and the plan for next week so they can get their assignments done when needed. As you can see, these are four different reports are on the same topic, but use different language that’s best suited for it’s audience.

Equally important to these five skill areas is HOW they are practiced. To be an effective leader requires:

• Being sensitive to and truly understanding the feelings of others.

• Genuinely hearing and valuing what others have to say. However, valuing does not necessarily mean agreement.

• Being comfortable with taking personal accountability, even when it is unfair.

• Being openly committed to the growth of people. Not only does this include feedback, but placing a priority on putting staff in positions that matches their unique skills and passion (even if this requires a job change or demotion).

• A relentless focus on team chemistry and “having each other’s backs.”

In some literature regarding effective leadership, these “how” bullets are often equated to servant leadership. In my view, they are just requirements for effective leadership. One example of effective leadership was in the movie Hidden Figures. Dorothy Vaughan supervises (without the title) the computer area which does mathematical calculations on paper for NASA. The computer area was all African American women. When an IBM mainframe is purchased and installed, Dorothy can foresee the day when the women will no longer be needed to do calculations. Even though she is not the formal supervisor, she takes the initiative to learn Fortran and encourages her computers to do the same. Because of this, she is the only one who can start and use the mainframe. Through her effective leadership, she helped the organization get better, got programming jobs for her team, and created a formal supervisory role for herself. Effective leadership often results in a win for everyone involved.

In conclusion, it is my view that effective leadership is critical (not optional) in an AI world. We should wake up every morning asking ourselves, how can we use AI to make the organization better and safer – now and in the future? Before we implement AI, we should always ask what business problem are we trying to solve with AI and be explicit on what success means to us. As Med One deploys AI solutions, evaluate people and projects on the three dimensions of performance. As problems are identified and AI solutions assessed, determine how well the employees closest to the problem are consulted and utilized. Finally, make sure everyone in the organization understands what we are trying to accomplish with AI, along with the benefits, risks, and future opportunities.

As Bob said in the summer/fall issue of Med One to One, change is never easy—for individuals and organizations, especially the potential change that AI can enable. But with effective leadership, we on the Board are confident AI and other changes will provide a bright and exciting future for Med One and its customers.