Leading in the Age of AI

Using the right tool for the right job gets the best out of people and machines

No matter how sophisticated a technology becomes, we need to remind ourselves that it’s a tool. It can help us do a job more quickly and efficiently, but ultimately humans lead the process and make the decisions. It’s no substitute for human connection and human ingenuity. So as generative AI, LLMs, and automation become a bigger part of how we get the job done, it’s incumbent on leaders to find the best uses for the tools and build relationships with the people whose work relies on those tools.

“I think if you have a human-centric leadership style, you’ll be more successful,” technologist Brad Englert, author of “Spheres of Influence: How to Create & Nurture Authentic Business Relationships,” told Reboot. “If you hide behind a screen, you’re not going to get that.”

The Power of Caring

Brad Englert

There can be a temptation to rely more heavily on AI for things humans are better suited to, such as those who use ChatGPT as a therapist. But while it might be able to regurgitate information, it misses what makes each human unique. Cultivating an individual’s talents is still the job of leaders.

“If you’re trying to help someone achieve their goals, you need to talk with them,” Englert said, “and you need to ask what are their goals and aspirations, whether that be your boss, a direct report, or a customer or vendor.”

Not only do leaders need to understand what someone’s goals are to help reach them, they need to set and manage expectations for that process. And while AI might be able to help with those steps, it certainly can’t take over perhaps the most important role of a leader in help people reach their goals. It can’t care whether they’re successful. Leaders can, and the best make caring a central part of their leadership.

In the internal sphere of influence, that means helping employees find use cases for new tools that make their lives easier rather than seeing those tools as a threat. Once they see how it can make them more efficient in one aspect of their work, they’ll be more willing to see in what other areas an AI tool might help.

“Being very strategic and intentional and starting small then that helps build trust over time,” he said.

In the external sphere of influence, success again comes down to understanding what your customers are trying to achieve and which tools are available to help.

“Having that ongoing dialogue and visibility into what is their one-year road map to three-year road map is a way to really get ahead of that curve.”

Doing that means being directly invested in your customers’ success, making their goals your goals. That relationship is built with direct communication over a long stretch of time. That’s not something AI can do, but by putting it to work on tasks it does excel at, leaders can free up time for more personal interaction. That’s the way to optimize tech and human resources in concert, let them each do what they’re best at.

Time is a Scare Resource

“Time is a scarce resource,” Englert said. “So anything that can help you save time is going to free you up to do more important things like building relationships, so anything that can help you write a report, draft a letter, draft an e-mail, do some research” is a valuable tool when used correctly.

He and a client were searching for an upgrade to the security system for 60 million square feet of buildings. Using AI, they were able to research market trends and select a next generation system in a fraction of the time it might have taken to do all the research without assistance.

Solutions like that leave more time for building a strategic partner relationship with vendors like the security company that have a major influence in the success of your endeavors. Englert recommends, for example, quarterly business reviews with key contacts in the strategic partnership to discuss what’s working well, what needs improvement, and what products are in the pipeline.

“What I would encourage my direct reports to do, and I’ve modeled this behavior, was I would go out and meet with my peers and influencers on campus, and I would encourage them to do the same,” he said. “Put it on the calendar, you know, once a month you go either virtually or in person and talk about what’s going on. ‘How can we support you?’ etc.”

One direct report met monthly with counterparts in a department that was predisposed to disliking Englert’s department based on the relationship with the previous regime. Over the course of seven or eight months, the leaders in that department became advocate’s for Englert’s.

“If we hadn’t taken the initiative to get out there and build those relationships, that would not have happened.”

It’s easy to get booged down in work, and it’s easy to lose sight of the need for relationship-building. Using technological tools to do the dirty work while you make personal connections with those in your spheres of influence is the optimal use of the tools at a leader’s disposal. It’s the perfect match of human and machine, each playing to their strengths in harmony. Automate what you can, while being sure to check the work, and use the extra time to, as Englert put it, “get out of the office and let people know you care.”