Lead like superheroes and embrace AI

Lead like superheroes and embrace AI

By Jonathan Sharp, CEO, Britannic

Businesses need to change the perception of AI from being the ‘villain’ to the invisible superhero that will augment employees’ roles and create more jobs. McKinsey Global Institute estimates that as early as 2030 AI could contribute to the creation of 20 million to 50 million new jobs globally. Leaders need to change strategies, look at where and why they need AI, re-deploy resources, and focus on re-skilling and educating employees on AI. Leading like superheroes and empowering their team for transformation.

Stronger Together

AI possesses extraordinary powers to transform with its superhuman characteristics such as exceptional speed, invisibility, agility, and genius level intellect beyond human capability. They are more akin to superheroes than villains. Yes, AI can read and interpret data, predict trends and patterns, generate content, become your co-assistant, the list goes on. But it cannot do what humans do best, which is to form strategic, critical thinking, make emotional, rational, creative, and ethical judgements and decisions borne from human intuition. By blending humans and AI together to act for good then you really do have a true superhero with superhuman powers to transform and improve the workplace forever!

“The only way to win is together,” Iron Man.

Know Your Mission

Superheroes set out to make the world a better place, knowing what their mission is before they commence, understanding what their objectives are and seeing the end before they begin. Businesses need to know where in their organisation they want to deploy AI, why and what they want to improve, and what is the success criteria to measure the success of the project. Whether that’s driven by cost-savings, increasing productivity or efficiencies, or improving the employee or customer experience. This can be an overwhelming task, so it is advisable to work with a consultative technology partner to work closely with you on your plan and the deployment of the solution.

“Part of the Journey is The End” – Tony Stark.

Leading with a Superhero Mindset

The deployment of AI requires the management team to fully advocate it and communicate to the business how it will benefit them and deliver improvements all round. They should lead like a Superhero by empowering and supporting employees through the change.

Empower and involve employees in designing an AI solution helping to reduce the fear factor by understanding how they think AI can improve and facilitate their roles and what challenges they are experiencing. By involving them from the offset you will get buy-in which will contribute to the success of the project.

Your Solutions Provider can assist you in re-engineering processes and helping you design an AI solution to meet your objectives, whether that’s a chatbot, data entry and processing, email filtering, data analysis or admin tasks such as organising calendars, writing reports, or managing logistics.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Peter Parker, Spiderman.

Collaborating and Transparent Culture

Businesses need to welcome and champion AI communicating how change is a good by fostering a culture that is transparent, honest, providing the space for employees to make and learn from their mistakes and suggest new ideas and concepts.

AI reveals data insights where employees can identify areas that need improving or changing or spotting new areas to offer new products and propositions. Humans excel in critical thinking and reasoning and have the creativity and imagination to come with up solutions that AI cannot do. Encourage your employees to down tools and stop and think, cultivating a creative culture that presents them with the opportunity to suggest new ideas and improvements.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall,” Batman.

Integrity and Equality

Superheroes are honest with great integrity and are trusted by citizens. It is vital to act with integrity and equality when deploying AI ensuring that your solution ethical and contains no biases and if issues arise, they must be amended immediately so you have agency and transparency.

“There is a right and a wrong in the universe and that distinction is not hard to make,” Superman.

Learning and Growing

AI is new and with all new things we must learn them. Ensure you and your employees are trained in using the AI by providing ongoing education and training sessions, allocate mentors and champions to support and help it roll out. Give them the time to play around with AI, practicing, and testing it out, be patient this will take time.

“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Superman.

Forever Transforming

Through transformation and growth Superheroes are made and an AI deployment is an evolutionary process where humans and AI learn and grow together. Emphasis to your employees that it’s OK to make mistakes when practising and using the AI solution. When we fail, we learn and grow from our mistakes. By testing out AI and learning collectively you will become more comfortable on how to use the new solution and be confident on the benefits it delivers. Resulting in translating the business needs into system design and making what you thought was impossible possible all with the help of your Solution Provider.

“You’re going to make a difference. A lot of times it won’t be huge, it won’t be visible even. But it will matter just the same.” James Gordon, Batman.

Superheroes Unite

AI and humans are the superheroes of the world of work today demonstrating superhuman powers to solve real business issues. AI can analyse and interpret masses of data at a speed and scalability that is not possible for humans, and employees can then take this data and make intelligent creative business decisions that transform processes or the employee and customer experience.

AI should no longer be seen as a complex or scary villain but as an invisible superhero that provides superhuman powers behind the scenes. Human employees will learn how to collaborate with their AI assistants utilising their superhuman powers to make their role easier and more fulfilling and transforming the workplace making the impossible possible.

“We’re better together,” Captain America.