To lead with AI, you need to understand AI
For the past few decades, the world of business technology has seen endless spectacle of organisations investing thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, euros, rupees or pounds in the latest technology, deploying it to their employees and hoping for some miraculous overnight boost in productivity and growth. But nothing happens, and things get worse.
It all comes down to a question of insufficient leadership, or even lack thereof, especially when it comes to AI. Unfortunately, AI seems to rather paralyze business and even technology leaders into inaction. They either don't understand the impact of the new technology, or they simply refuse to immerse themselves in it. But immersion is what you need to do to help your organization realize AI's potential and navigate its pitfalls.
Those are the words of David de Cremer, dean of Northeastern University's business school, who urges business and technology leaders to overcome their fears and step forward to learn the methods and tools of AI. In his latest book, The AI-Savvy Leader: Nine Ways to Take Back Control and Put AI to Work, de Cremer points to one of the many failed AI projects that have been abandoned: “Leaders walked away from the project. They seemed paralyzed by the introduction of this new worker called AI. They couldn't explain how and why AI would help them achieve their company's goals.”
The rapid growth of AI “puts leaders in the awkward position of simultaneously learning what to adapt to and learning to adapt,” he writes.
As a result, “leaders are less confident about what their role should be in adopting AI.” At the same time, employees and colleagues expect more, much more: “They expect leaders to be proactive in governing AI so that employees can work more effectively.”
A lack of understanding about AI actually leads to a sense of inadequacy among business leaders, De Cremer points out. “If you feel inadequate, you're not going to be able to proactively lead your organization's AI efforts.”
Executives in the senior leadership class that de Cremer teaches at Northeastern University “are feeling the pressures on AI so much that some are questioning loudly whether they need to transform into professional programmers to be effective leaders in the field,” he said.
The answer is no. Business leaders don't need to become AI experts, but “understand that they need to know enough about AI to be able to recognize the benefits,” De Cremer argues. This consists of identifying opportunities in the workflows of their teams and their projects, and staying abreast of developments in the AI field.
He recommends promoting internal workshops and hands-on training to deepen management and staff understanding of AI. Invite experienced industry colleagues, professors, and consultants to lead this learning.
Importantly, to succeed in AI efforts, de Cremer says it's essential that leaders make it their mission to promote AI as a way to improve how people work, rather than replacing people with automation. Do business leaders see AI as “a way to automate tasks and thereby augment human capabilities for newly designed jobs, rather than replacing humans entirely”? “I'm not sure.” Unfortunately, he adds, many see AI as an augmentation strategy, and not a replacement, deeming it “too expensive and risky.”
“What is the value of a business world where humans have nothing to do but mindfully execute the same streamlined operations that AI follows? What happens when organizations experience volatile industry change that requires employees who can think creatively, actively participate in innovation, and interact with customers with empathy?”
This requires a high degree of emotional intelligence and technical competence on the part of leaders. “Accept that soft skills are the new hard skills and put them into practice,” says de Cremer. “To become an AI-savvy leader, invest in developing your own emotional intelligence skills. You need to move beyond the technology manager template and start acting as the transformative, human-led strategy required for any organization involved in AI adoption.”
