Many companies are adopting artificial intelligence (AI). Leaders are excited by the potential of AI in streamlining workflows, analysing data and optimising decision-making. In many cases, this promise is a reality.
A critical assumption, which has been unspoken in this rush to adopt new technologies, is that AI may not only improve the operations of an organisation but could also affect its culture.
AI has a great potential to achieve these goals. However, without the human element at its core, AI will not be able to do so. Technology cannot lead with integrity, establish trust, demonstrate courage in conflict or show compassion to someone who is suffering. We still possess these qualities, which define healthy workplace culture.
In my new book, More human: How the power of AI can transform the way you lead, I explain that the future of leadership does not involve resisting AI. It’s more about embracing AI and enhancing our humanity. It’s how we respond that will determine the real opportunity – staying human when we lead.
AI: The Promise and Risks
If used correctly, AI can be an ally to leaders. It can be used to gather feedback from employees, identify trends in employee sentiment or tailor individual development paths. It can also synthesize information and suggest ways to phrase sensitive messages. All these uses cases can save time.
What we do with this time is what really matters. Spending time on tasks or connecting with others?
In one instance, I saw a leader who was told he wasn’t very empathic, so he asked AI to craft his emails. The emails were beautifully written, full of warmth and caring. No one believed that they really came from him. The attempt to simulate empathy did not build connection; it broke trust.
This story illustrates something very important. You can’t automate compassion. You have to feel compassion. While AI can help you to express your feelings more effectively, it cannot generate the human touch required for strong leadership. Use AI to help you look more compassionate, but don’t use it for that. Use it to bring out your true compassion.
Culture is not automatic, it’s built.
We investigate at Potential Project what makes a healthy and high-performing culture. It often comes down to the way leaders act every day, with wisdom and compassion.
- Awarenessis essential for staying in touch with yourself, your team and the wider context.
- Wisdom helps leaders balance competing needs and see the big picture.
- Compassion is the ability to offer support, and have difficult conversations with compassion.
Leaders who bring these qualities into the mix can make cultures more resilient and trusting. No AI can help you with that.
Leaders who rely on AI too heavily will see their capabilities erode. AI is like an exoskeleton that supports your decision-making, communication and workflow. Without care, your leadership muscles will begin to atrophy. You may eventually lose the skills that you most need.
What HR does right and what it doesn’t
AI is being used in a useful way by many HR teams. We are seeing a new issue emerge.
AI was used by one of the organisations we work with to create job descriptions, screen applicants, and evaluate applications. Applicants were also using the same tools. This resulted in a flood similar applications, which checked all the boxes but did not identify the individuals who could truly stand out. The company decided to restore human judgment into the interviewing and hiring process.
AI can be both efficient and uniform. It can eliminate the subtleties that make someone fit into a culture. We believe that humans should always be kept in the loop when making decisions that affect people’s careers and lives.
Leadership is a real opportunity
They won’t be delegating their leadership to AI. They will use it to do the tedious work, free up time for meaningful connections, and lead with more thought. They will then reinvest this time into the work that only they can do: building trust, leading teams through difficult conversations, and demonstrating care. In this AI-era , they will safeguard workplace relationships.
It will take a different kind of leadership to achieve this. AI literacy is a part of this, but it’s also important to improve our human literacy, the ability to lead in a way that is compassionate, aware, and wise. HR professionals have a unique opportunity to make this change. They are not only responsible for managing the adoption of new technology, but also for ensuring that human culture doesn’t get lost.
AI is a powerful tool for performance, but not as a substitute for culture. We should and can embrace the tools of the future. If we want to create more human organisations, then we need more leaders.
The real question for HR and us all is not whether AI will be adopted. The real challenge is whether we can continue to grow in ways AI cannot.
