Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing in popularity, and for good reasons. AI will create $2.9 trillion in business value and add 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity in 2021. The technology improves processes and unlocks possibilities in almost all facets of work and life. Considering that AI augments, improves, and even replaces human intelligence, the brunt of the impact is on human leadership. This technical blog discusses five ways the growth of AI affects leadership.

1. Focus on Learning and Soft Skills

A typical leader processes facts and information and makes informed decisions. But the sheer volume and variety of data today often leads to information overload. Trying to keep pace with everything soon leads to stress and burnout. Enter Artificial Intelligence. Powerful algorithms process data and generate actionable insights faster and accurately than humans. AI enables using knowledge in new ways. Cognitive techniques such as deep learning, artificial neural network, pattern recognition and NLP mimic the human brain in processing information.

Successful leaders stay relevant by leveraging Artificial Intelligence to their advantage. They:

• Focus on soft skills. AI trumps human leaders in hard skills. But AI engines do not have intelligence, morality, empathy, curiosity, or emotional stability. Successful leaders step in and review AI-based decisions on such considerations.
• Promote learning. The rapid pace of technological development has made experience irrelevant. Relevant, business useful knowledge may come from a 25-year-old upstart who has exposure to the latest technology, then a senior expert working on obsolete models. Effective leaders facilitate reverse mentoring to disseminate the knowledge of team members across the enterprise.
• Train algorithms. The power of Artificial Intelligence depends on the maturity of the algorithm. For AI to analyse data and suggest excellent decisions, humans have to train the algorithm well. Any bias or gaps fed into the algorithm become more acute. Next-gen leaders not only have to manage people. They also have to train algorithms to enable AI.
• Provide a “soul” to AI-based decisions. The essence of leadership is letting people have different perspectives.
  

  2. Focus on Enterprise Vision

Vision is pivotal for the success of any business. A steadfast vision becomes even more important in today’s fast-paced business environment where everything seems transient. Transactions occur at a fast pace. Products have a short shelf life, and customer preferences change constantly.

The data-driven decisions made by AI engines remain relevant only for the short term. The algorithms falter in the long run when too many unpredictable variables come into play. Here, the intuition of leaders honed by years of experience comes into play.

Successful leaders in the AI age remain steadfast to the vision, even as technology unsettles and disrupts. They:

• Make sure AI investments stay on track to further the enterprise vision.
• Constantly engage with their environment. They attune to the signals from technology installations and consciously ignore the noise.
• Implement business decisions without falling under the pressure of short-term gains. 
• Review AI-powered decisions for long-term sustainability.
  

  3. Focus on Adaptability

Artificial Intelligence comes with big disruption. Systems go obsolete at a faster rate than managers or employees can keep pace with the change. The rapid change in technology and business models means less clarity among the workforce. In such a context, some of the traditional traits of effective leadership become irrelevant. Qualities such as domain expertise, authority, and task focus no longer matter much as before. Rather, a new set of qualities, such as adaptability, flexibility, and agility, matters more. Timeless leadership traits such as integrity and emotional intelligence remain important as before.

Successful leaders:

• Become agile, adapting to changing conditions fast. They embrace opportunities and mitigate threats through their ability to make quick decisions. They respond to changes in double-quick time.
• Embrace new ideas and concepts. They learn and unlearn equally fast. They commit to alternative action when the situation warrants, changing their earlier stances.
• Channel creativity the right way. Algorithms scan, analyse and observe trends in data faster than humans and connect information better. They create new combinations quickly. But it still takes humans to assess whether the new combination makes sense to solve problems humans want to solve. Human supervision is still relevant in the higher levels of the creative process.
  

  4. Promote Innovation

Enterprise leaders traditionally spend a lot of time on administrative tasks. When AI takes over such tasks, leaders only have to fill in the gaps, and end up with the free time on their hands. They take up higher-level responsibilities to stay relevant.

Successful leaders:

• Drive innovation. They use the insights thrown up by AI to unlock value for the enterprise. They use AI-generated insights to work in unconventional ways and drive innovation. Innovation differentiates the business from competitors and offers a competitive advantage.
• Take risks. AI is a nascent technology. Many of the recent developments go into uncharted territories with no benchmarks. Successful leaders take risks. They boldly venture into the unknown and embrace the new and sometimes risky procedures.
  

  5. Manage Change Proactively

AI-powered transformation needs an open, silo-free enterprise with free data flow. Such a technology backbone needs a culture of openness and transparency. Successful leaders manage the cultural aspects of digital transformation. They:

• Embrace and celebrate change, motivating teams to do likewise. They show change is not a burden but an opportunity to grow.
• Overcome resistance to change. They offer meaningful answers to questions about change and disruption.
• Promote automation, but ensure investment in AI does not lead to a work culture where people feel supervised by a machine, or treated like robots.
• Bridge the gap between technology and people. They manage the change process proactively and offer practical solutions to end resistance.
• Focus on employee development. They make sure employees develop and grow with the new technology adoption.

The best leaders leverage AI to their advantage. They let algorithms take over what is easy for technology but difficult for humans. They understand the potential and the limits of algorithms. It is a long road until AI can act, think, read, and produce outcomes in a social and ethical context, if at all. Until then, human leaders are not going anywhere.

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