TPC Leadership develops leaders with a heart for leaders AND their organisations. They are engaged and passionate in what they do. They focus on the individual, but will always keep the vision and objectives of the organisation into account.
Janna Kramer, Learning & Talent Development Leader
EY – NETHERLANDS
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As technology evolves, machine learning is becoming the new tool in the hands of computer scientists, social media and governments. Businesses and healthcare organisations too are increasingly making use of algorithms and automation. But how prepared are we for the next technological boom: the singularity?
The singularity is an idea that was alluded to back in 1965 when the British mathematician Irving defined an ultraintelligent machine as one that “can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever.”
He said this would be a technological revolution because, “the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities,” and therefore, “the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make.”
How far along the path to singularity are we?
The idea that humans could create an AI that is able to create more intelligent AI can sound a little like science-fiction. But machine learning is everywhere now. And jobs that were thought to be too sophisticated for machines are becoming achievable.
While there is quite a difference between current levels of machine learning and artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is the required level of machine learning to achieve the singularity that Irving predicted, acceleration may occur faster than we imagine. This is because of the speed at which machines learn once they are given the right starting point.
Stuart J. Russell, a computer scientist and AI expert, says in an interview with Martin Ford that, “once an AGI gets past kindergarten reading level, it will shoot beyond anything that any human being has ever done, and it will have a much bigger knowledge base than any human ever has.”
“Because AI will have language programming it’ll be able to simulate relationship,” says Hilary Harvey, an Associate Partner at TPC UK. “And eventually creative-thinking because it’ll be able to learn. So leaders need to ask: “If there are so many human tasks that AI will be able to do, what are the skills we need to develop for the future?”
The kind of leadership required
Although robots can already simulate a level of emotional intelligence, it is still a simulation. “Leaders need to invest in the key leadership skills of empathy and creative thinking,” says Hilary, “of building relationships, leading others through complexity – and developing a coaching mindset and skills.”
Robots are still a way away from displaying authentic vulnerability to inspire trust. Or interrogating their own unconscious biases to benefit the world around them. Or building meaning and purpose into their leadership systems.
In July last year TPC founder Charles Brook wrote, “As more responsibilities are passed into the hands of technology… the world will still need adventurers, dreamers and leaders with the tenacity to take on the status quo… the emotional intelligence of the internally agile leader will not be replaceable.”
“A smart machine will be always smarter than you are, a machine can never be wiser.” said Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba. ”When smart people learn how to care about others, how to care about the future, how to be human, then a company becomes warm… [it has] soft power. Otherwise, you have a group of gangsters.”
The greatest need for leadership
Artificial Intelligence is “the conversation about the collective future of all of us, so it shouldn’t be limited to AI researchers,” says Max Tegmark, author of Life 3.0. “Leaving aside speculations about superhuman AI, how would you like our tale to begin?”
“We’re facing such huge challenges globally that we need a high level of shared human interconnectivity to tackle them,” says Hilary. “We need a sense that ‘we’re all in this together.’”
“Tech can be a part of the solution – but it needs to be for the good of all, not just the global north… we need to develop qualities that transcend culture.”
As unconscious mindsets hinder leaders from tackling the climate crisis and unconscious biases are finding their way into machine learning [ link to blog 3 of series ]. There is increasing urgency for leaders to access the higher self and to work together. [ could link to UN Global Compact post-event webinars once live ]
And as we look ahead to how AI will change the landscape of leadership, we need to invest in our future global leaders – and we need to learn from them. There are initiatives set up to help us begin this journey, from the Global Shapers to the WYSE foundation, which is supported by TPC Leadership.
The future of leadership will ultimately become what we make it. Whether we reach singularity in a decade or in 150 years, we need to tackle the questions AI poses soon – and we need to tackle them together.
Looking for insight on how to move forward?Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.
In the 2nd of our Technology and Humanity blog series, we talk to Hilary Harvey about the leadership required as tech advances.
Technology has been rapidly advancing in every sphere of life for decades. The conversation has long shifted from the capabilities of hardware to the innovations of software and onto the power of the algorithm and AI. As these developments change the way we work, they also cause us to question the way we lead.
In this time of global crisis, the most obvious manifestation of technological progress is that our interactions have shifted online. It is the fulfilment of Scorsese’s Zuckerberg who predicted, “We lived on farms and then we lived in cities and now we are going to live on the internet.”
But this has had a fallout effect. Both in general life and at work. “It’s not just that people have to work differently but that they’re doing so in the context of a general feeling of fear and anxiety,” says Hilary Harvey, an associate partner at TPC UK.
Without the advances in technology that have taken place in the last ten years, organisations would have struggled to function during this time. But the danger is that we will mistake the functionality our tech affords us for an all-encompassing solution.
Adaptive leadership
“Leaders have needed to adapt this year,” says Hilary. “To think of themselves as managing change programs.” The work has been to put new structures in place, to give vision in a time of uncertainty, and to coordinate teams through what might be an entirely new way of working for an organisation.
“It’s hard because people step into a role because they want to lead this team, to do this job, in this way,” says Hilary. “But now they have been forced into a remote situation. How do you build morale when it wasn’t their decision to work remotely? How do you support motivation and performance on an individual and team level?”
Leaders cannot just rely on software and internet provision and automation to hold everything together. They need to have a critical eye of the situation and take real measures of how people are doing.
“The biggest risk is that people will burn out,” says Hilary. “Under the psychological burden of constant stress, unless they are supported how can we expect people to have the same level of motivation and performance as before?”
Human-centric leadership
Leaders seek to move an organisation forward. Because technology appears to be always advancing, it is easy to look for it to be the answer to progression. But unless our tech is pulling our teams closer together, it might only be dragging us sideways.
“The need to be, not tech-centric, but human-centric is fundamental,” says Hilary. “And that has to be a decision from the top of the organisation that affects all levels.”
Usually it’s middle managers who are closer to the real issues. They have the potential to have a better grasp of what’s going on than those in senior positions. But they can’t notice these issues or communicate them if they are distracted by other priorities.
“Modelling human-centric leadership at the top is not enough to ensure it permeates the organisation,” says Hilary. “If, when it filters down to middle management, those managers are still pressured into delivering results, they can slip into not paying attention to the human relationships. Unless they are challenged to have a human-centric view of the situation, it’s so easy for middle management not to.”
How do we treat people? What do we really care about? It is easy for leaders, especially while face-to-face to face interaction is limited, for false priorities like efficiency to take prominence over people. And if we’re not careful, technology can be a gloss of progressive paint that hides the slowly deteriorating material underneath.
Leadership that facilitates team
For most organisations right now there is a struggle to maintain a sense of team. And we should be careful not to interpret technological provision as authentic connection.
“Just because you have the tech in place – like Slack or Trello – and a lot of traffic doesn’t mean there is a quality of relationship,” says Hilary. “The risk is that leaders mistake quantity for quality of interaction.”
The same principle applies to video calls, Hilary says. “Being present in a team meeting doesn’t necessarily mean there is a sense of team. That’s the same logic that inspires businesses to believe ‘you’re on video at your desk’ equals ‘you’re doing a good job.’
Presenteeism is not a measure of engagement. “It’s the responsibility of leaders to be holding the view of how we are doing as a team. And to invest in it.”
Hilary explains how a professional service company has done just that – and has doubled down on it since the pandemic. “We train their consultants as team coaches so that when there’s a project team working for a client, each team will have access to a team coach.”
“Each team coach is tasked with supporting them with how they’re doing as a team, what their learning is, what’s working and what needs to happen to make it even better.”
We may be responsible for systems change, but unless relational leadership and team leadership permeate our mindset, we’ll soon find technology isn’t enough. As technology advances, we need to be careful not to lay to one side these more fundamental aspects. We are not leaders of technology after all but leaders of people.
For insight on how to build trust, engagement and collaboration in a virtual environment, check our virtual teams training.
Leadership development changes with the world it is a part of. It’s well-established that everything is going digital, and the best leaders must adapt to it.
Anywhere, anytime
“They say, in real estate, success is based on location, location, location. Well, in coaching, we will be saying technology, technology, technology.” – Brad Federman, F&H Solutions Group
The model of coaching as a one hour sit-down every Wednesday doesn’t match the working lives of many leaders. Increasingly, coaching is becoming a remote experience snatched from whatever minutes happen to work that week. The rise and rise of video calling means that distance and time zones matter less and less. Coaches can be on-call when you need them.
This is pretty useful for as-you-need-it support, but there’s also a limited amount of introspection that can occur in fifteen minutes between two other mind-demanding appointments. If coaching is going to bring out the deep potential of leaders, intentional time will still need to be carved out.
There’s an app for that
“Gamification works by making technology more engaging, and by encouraging desired behaviours, taking advantage of humans’ psychological predisposition to engage in gaming.” – Jon Radoff, Game On: Energize Your Business with Social Media Games
An old limit of leadership development used to be, ‘How do you keep learning between training/coaching sessions?’ It was easy for learning to be forgotten in the everyday, or forced out by the pressures of the next deadline.
With the rise of technology, there are now digital coaches like Everskill and AI programs like Volume to fill in the gaps. Especially when it comes to team development, these resources can increase engagement by a significant degree. Digital coaches can embed learning via nudges during ordinary office hours – prompting the practice of new habits. Whereas other AI programs can teach specialised training or reinforce an organisation’s culture via app.
There’s also the video game factor. Leadership development processes don’t exactly look like Call of Duty but they have more in common with it than you might think. Static forms of learning are going through gamification and are developing teamwork and key skills in a surprisingly effective way. Such a shift naturally attracts scrutiny because it appears the company budget is being channelled into ‘fun’. But as the digital age keeps spiralling upwards, traditional development strategies will have to embrace gamification.
What kind of leaders will we need?
“A lot has been written about…artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, etc. Some describe a future where most of the work still done by human beings will require strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.” – Kathy Bernhard, KFB Leadership Solutions
As more responsibilities are passed into the hands of technology, many forms of traditional expertise will depreciate in value. But the importance of being creative, daring and resilient as a leader will only increase. Processes may require less attention, but leadership will be as essential as ever.
The world will still need adventurers, dreamers and leaders with the tenacity to take on the status quo. People who can ask better questions and stay steady in the face of the unknown. And while there is speculation about the possibility of imbibing robots with emotions, the emotional intelligence of the internally agile leader will not be replaceable.
The continuing rise of technology could kill off poor leadership coaching by natural selection. It will certainly force leadership development to move away from old models. When so much is being done for us, the power to make a real difference as a human being will depend increasingly on how deep we are willing to go to do the work on ourselves.
Want more insight on how to move forward? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help
