Written by Carole Stizza, Executive Leadership Coach
Carole Stizza, PCC is an expert on the leadership ripple effect and resiliency. She is an executive leadership coach, speaker, author, and military spouse who has been able to study military and corporate leadership in real-time.
Let's face it: leading in the AI age is like trying to teach your grandmother to use TikTok. It is hilarious, slightly terrifying, and full of unexpected plot twists.
Take this gem of a story: A CEO friend of mine (let's call him "Mr. Efficiency") decided to let AI write his annual company motivational speech. What could possibly go wrong, right?
The AI's masterpiece began with: "Good morning, employees! Let's cut to the chase. You're all behind schedule, and your KPIs are, quite frankly, disappointing." (Because nothing says "team spirit" like a digital overlord telling everyone they're slacking off!)
The speech went on to suggest that everyone should work 25% harder for 10% longer hours to achieve a 43% improvement. I'm pretty sure I heard the ghost of every HR manager collectively gasp. As a former HR person, I find this resonates!
The good, the bad, and the binary
Here's the thing about AI: it's like having a super-smart intern who never sleeps, never complains, and never asks for a raise. It can crunch numbers faster than you can say "quarterly report" and spot trends that would make Sherlock Holmes jealous.
Fun fact: AI's IQ is predicted to double every six months. At this rate, it'll be solving quantum physics while we're still trying to figure out why the office printer is jamming.
But this is a big "but" AI that has the emotional intelligence of a potato. Try asking it to give someone a pep talk, and you might as well be asking a calculator to write poetry. Sure, the math adds up, but the heart? Not so much.
Leading with heart (because robots don't have one yet)
As AI takes over more of our technical tasks, we humans need to double down on what makes us special: our ability to empathize, connect, and occasionally share embarrassing stories at office parties.
Think of it this way: AI is like having an efficient GPS. It can tell you the fastest route from A to B, but it can't appreciate the view, stop for ice cream, or laugh when you take a wrong turn. That's where human leadership comes in.
The new leadership playbook
Today's leaders need to be more human than ever. While AI handles the numbers, we need to focus on these 4 things:
Building relationships (that don't involve binary code)
Showing vulnerability (without bluescreening)
Being creative (beyond random number generation)
Displaying empathy (something AI understands about as well as cats understand quantum physics)
The bottom line
Leadership in the AI age is like dancing at a wedding; you might not know all the steps, but if you're authentic and don't step on too many toes, you'll be fine. While AI crunches the data, we humans need to focus on what we do best: connecting, caring, and occasionally making fools of ourselves in the name of inspiration.
Remember, when all is said and done, AI might be able to write a perfect report, but it can't give you that knowing to look across a conference room or share a laugh over coffee. And that, my fellow humans, is our superpower.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go explain to my AI assistant why "optimizing human resources" doesn't mean replacing everyone with robots. Again.
And yes, I know this is tongue-in-cheek, yet when I coach leaders, and they get caught up in the AI and automation efficiency race, I must repeatedly remind them that people are their most important asset. Therefore, leadership training is an ongoing investment in optimizing what AI can offer in collaboration with people’s talent.
Carole Stizza, Executive Leadership Coach
Carole's first awareness of any type of ripple effect came after she experienced the loss of several family members from a reckless driver, only to see her father never regain his love of life, his spark, or his ability to lead as he once had. The ripple effect was profound. Equally profound was experiencing brilliant leadership via several employment roles. Taking note of the ripple effect of each type of leadership now allows Carole to coach clients to recognize the ROI.
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