Joe Hart is CEO of Dale Carnegie and a leadership authority providing guidance around management AI practices and mindsets. Hart has considered how leaders are already falling short on AI implementation, and he has shared these ideas with Digital Journal. This based on the question:
Why are so many leaders struggling with deficient workplace adoption and employee upskilling opportunity loss?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force that holds the potential to revolutionize the way we work, make decisions and interact with technology. AI promises greater efficiency, data-driven insights, and enhanced productivity, making it a valuable tool for businesses across various industries.
Despite the promises of this cutting-edge technology, many leaders find themselves grappling with the challenges of effectively implementing AI in the workplace.
While AI offers a plethora of advantages, from automating routine tasks to uncovering hidden trends in data, the road to successful AI integration is far from straightforward.
According to a Harvard Business Review report relating to C-Suite AI failures, too many companies “are set up to fail by poor alignment, lack of trust, not enough focus on business opportunities, and how their job is understood internally.”
These are among the reasons McKinsey’s State of AI survey found that less than one-quarter of companies using AI realized a significant bottom-line impact—deficiencies eluding impact at scale it suggests might be caused “not only because of the technical challenges but also because of the organizational changes required.” Changes that many leaders simply are not making—whether intentionally or unknowingly.
Businesses are increasingly understanding AI’s utility for many of their more mundane, or even complex, tasks yet are struggling with effective and scalable implementation—particularly in a fashion that fruitfully engages employees in the process.
Hart provides the key truths about AI that every leader must know, and heed, right now in order to help ensure successful AI and machine learning adoption in the workplace.
These are:
Change management is critical for successful AI implementation.
Says Hart: “AI is transformational to businesses. But successful implementation takes a solid change management plan to ensure leaders are communicating, building trusting relationships, and encouraging employees in their training and use of AI.”
AI significantly impacts employee engagement.
Hart notes: “You can’t take people out of the equation when it comes to AI, meaning maintaining person-to-person interactions is critical. When it comes to the employee-manager relationship, leaders need to inspire trust in AI and teach employees to utilize it to the best of their abilities.”
Employee attitudes will make or break your AI strategy.
Employees are the ones pressing the buttons to make AI work, so they had better have a healthy attitude toward it. Trusting in leadership, having transparency surrounding the programs, and earning confidence in their skills are all ways employees can take a more positive attitude toward changes involving AI.
Employees need to be confident about using AI.
Here Hart observes: “A Dale Carnegie survey found that 65 percent of employees are concerned that AI will take their job. The best way to inspire employee confidence in AI is to train them not just to use it, but also train them in soft skills that only a human can master.”
Senior leaders must inspire employee confidence.
Hart makes the point that: “Directors have strong confidence in senior leaders, but this decreases as we travel down the chain of command. Managers have about half as much trust as directors. And employees have about half the trust that managers do. Senior leaders must inspire trust and confidence to successfully implement AI.”
Preparation for human and machine partnerships is key.
With this, Hart expresses: “Employees and companies better adopt AI when there is proper preparation (we all know what that prevents). This includes readying employee mindsets to work with AI, modifying job descriptions or task lists, and much more.”
Don’t overlook the details when using AI.
Hart also advises: “AI will affect everything from employee workload to end-user experience. So, as leaders embark on “The AI Revolution,” they need to think of every angle and every detail. In the end, AI is only useful and successful when integrated with your workforce properly.”
Generative AI is making big waves.
Hart recommends: “With generative and predictive AI (like Chat GPT), it’s more crucial than ever that leaders help employees remain agile, be resilient, and positively work with AI to enhance their success.”
AI enhances on employee training.
Hart concludes by saying: “AI can be particularly beneficial for learning and development (L&D) or what we might today call “upskilling.” Employees need to continue learning and development to remain proficient at their jobs and keep performing at higher and higher levels. Workers may need to be trained in leadership techniques for the possibility of future advancement. There are plenty of applications of AI for upskilling.”
In a follow up article, Hart looks at how business leaders need to engage employees in order to successfully implement AI in the workplace.
