Where Humans Beat AI

Happy Thursday!  Here’s what you need to know in tech in under 2 minutes…

What tech leaders should be thinking about this week:  To win in the age ofAI, tech teams need to be prioritizing the very human skills of communication, storytelling, and influence.  It’s counter to how many tech professionals are thinking about AI – they believe more technical acumen will create stability during this transformational time.  While having a sense of how AI tech works, I’ve seen the opposite to be true – focusing more on the human stuff is actually how tech teams will win. It’s ultra-clear communication. It’s understanding and articulating why something is important. It’s influencing key stakeholders within an organization to move in a certain direction. These are the skills tech leaders should be prioritizing for themselves and their teams.

Why this is important:  Artificial Intelligence has the “what”figured-out.  What are the options. What is the best path for success. What is the likely impact. What competitors are doing.But this is just half of the battle we’re all facing every day in tech – to win, we need team-specific stories around why/how this stuff is critical and unique skills to influence decision makers within an organization. The best tech companies will prioritize AI and humans through more training, mentorship and opportunities to practice communication, storytelling, and influence.  Writing will also become critical as we continue to consume information everywhere.  Bottom line – tech leaders need to prioritize and build performance metrics around curiosity, agility, imagination, and(frankly) critical thinking in the age of AI.

Where you’ll see impact:  Even if your team isn’t directly impacted byAI right now, it’s only a matter of time. Pushing your teams to go back-to-the-basics with their how/why skills will create lasting impact including deeper + more strategic partnership with internal decision makers, clearer written and verbal communication, better employee engagement scores, improvement to CSAT by thinking about broader customer impact, reduced “bad” attrition since employees will feel a stronger connection to the organization.  

Value Add – Additional ways to show-up as a leader:  Are you sharing how YOU are trying to get better professionally with your team? Books you’re reading.Podcasts that keep you motivated. Other sources of information?  Don’t forget – your team is (probably)looking for ways to improve (and bond with their manager).  A casual “Here’s what I’m reading this month…” or “I can’t stop listening to…” Reply to me with your favorites andI’ll check them out too!

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Here’s to your Engaged Pursuit!