Leaders have a lot on their mind. A lot. I say this with empathy because it’s incredibly hard to be a leader and the amount of noise can be overwhelming. In a single conversation, there are many factors at play:
- Reports, facts, and figures, that are often shaped to meet a certain agenda.
- Relationships and politics influence how people think behind closed doors.
- A whole bunch of psychological factors that often prevent leaders from being inwardly sound and outwardly focused.
You can show up with a strong business case, be highly credible, and flash up fancy reports, but often that’s not enough to change the way leaders think.
In the era of artificial intelligence, leaders are deciding the fate for humanity. They are deciding how much humans drive AI and how much they keep humans in the loop. There are ways to use AI for good, and ways to use it for bad. The way leaders think today is more important than ever.
Today’s conversation about artificial intelligence is usually narrow, focused on cost reduction, automation, and workforce rebalancing. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are ways to influence tomorrow’s leaders to think differently and put humans first when making decisions about AI. Here are some approaches you can use to have a more comprehensive conversation about all the impacts, opportunities, and challenges.
Use regulation as a lever
- Look, it’s effective. When government bodies are stood up to research and mandate changes for safety, leaders will pay attention. No leader wants to find themselves in front of a regulator, defending the choices they made that had negative consequences. It’s embarrassing and potentially humiliating.
Connect AI decisions to leadership legacy
- All humans want to feel they left the world net better off in some way. What is the legacy this leader wants to leave behind? And how will the choices being made impact that legacy? Are they a parent? Is there a purpose they want to get behind? We all want to feel our life has a positive impact on others.
Use storytelling to change perspectives
- Everyone likes to hear stories about others who have made the choice, and either succeeded or failed. Collecting stories and using them at the right time and place is one of the most effective ways to influence thinking. We can use lessons learned to fast-track our own decision making and impact.
Bring risk into the room
- I recently read that insurance companies are requesting to limit liability if and when clients use artificial intelligence. Because no leader wants to be exposed to risk, these sorts of appeals will influence more responsible choices about when and how artificial intelligence is used. Or, it hits you where it hurts – your bottom line.
Make the impact of AI real and tangible
- Don’t just tell leaders something is going to happen, show them. Give them opportunities to see, touch, and feel the impacts of their decisions. Provide opportunities to use artificial intelligence for growth, innovation, and creativity, not just automation and cost-reduction, and ask them how it feels.
Finding a new way forward means all leaders have to think beyond “can I do this?” to “should I do this?”. If you’re working to shift how your leadership team or board thinks about AI, we’d love to help. Reach out to start the conversation.