Authentic Leadership in the Age of AI

The so-called “Age of AI” is already transforming the way we work. The jury is still out, however, on whether it is for the better or for the worse. Its benefits of unprecedented speed and wide accessibility and reach are becoming increasingly complicated by its potential dangers, some of which are still yet to be revealed.

We find ourselves, then, at a turning point for leadership, filled with both great potential and uncertainty. 

AI will be of enormous benefit to many professionals in medicine, law, business, and finance as well as writers and academics, and people relying on numerical calculations. 

On the downside, it will replace the need for millions of people doing routine work in these fields. In this sense, it will have an analogous impact on white-collar workers to the impact of factory automation, robots, and computers had on blue-collar workers the past 60 years.

No longer will promotions go to the smartest people in the organizations as effective use of generative AI will be faster and smarter in so many instances. 

To flourish as a professional and a leader in this new era you need to develop the skills of an authentic leader who leads with your heart as well as your head. If you develop the qualities of emotional intelligence (EQ), not just IQ, and lead with passion for your purpose and your organization’s purpose, compassion for the clients and customers you are serving, empathy for your fellow workers, courage to make bold decisions based on your intuition and experience, you will have a bright future ahead of you and a fulfilling career.

In my judgment, AI will never replace these qualities of your heart. Nor will it replace the need for human interactions that are authentic, sincere, and genuine. 

But it will expose people who are faking it to make it (ever heard of Sam Bankman-Fried?), toxic people who cause others harm, and ego-driven managers only out for themselves, as I describe in greater depth in my new book, True North: Emerging Leader Edition.

To thrive in this new world, here are 7 qualities you should focus on developing:

Vulnerability

Embracing vulnerability and seeking support from our teams becomes crucial when facing uncertainty. By openly sharing challenges and inviting ideas and support from others, you are able to navigate the unknown and rocky terrain together.

Here you could embrace vulnerability with a simple acknowledgment that you don’t know what the development of AI will mean for the future of your company, people’s jobs, or the world at large, and that you recognize that these uncertainties may surface feelings of discomfort and fear. 

Explore these feelings with the people you lead. It probably won’t surprise you to hear a shared sentiment, but providing a space to feel seen and be heard can bring you closer and create opportunities for solution-driven thinking. 

Growth mindset

Adopting open-mindedness with humility and an open heart helps foster a culture of transparency and continuous learning. 

There will be many opportunities for growth as you learn from your successes and failures in real time. Recognizing these areas of growth will help leaders adapt and grow alongside AI’s advancements, and provide clues about where your teams need additional support and grace.

Empathy

As I learned from my days at Medtronic, adopting any new technology requires comprehensive buy-in and engagement across teams. 

Only with empathy are leaders able to draw the highest level of engagement from colleagues from different cultures and empower them to achieve exceptional performance. This requires humility and the capability to engage people personally, rather than judging them. 

Allowing all members of your team to “fail forward” without judgment will be an important part of learning and evolving the way you work with AI. 

How can you provide a sense of safety to fail and cultivate an openness to learning amongst your team? 

“We” leadership 

To adapt the way you lead and leverage new technologies, leaders must focus their energies on how these technological advancements can help them meaningfully serve their people.

Adopting this mindset requires you to transform from an “I” to a “We” Leader. 

As you grow in any area of your life, on the climb to the mountaintop you will face obstacles that cause you to tumble down into the valley. With time, many leaders process these setbacks and move their sights from success to lasting significance. That’s when the shift from an “I”-centric worldview to a “We”-centric approach of servant leadership occurs. 

Seeking to serve, rather than command and control, will unlock your passions, values, and capabilities to address meaningful problems and make a lasting difference. Whether you are CEO of a large company, founder of a small non-profit, or leading an inside team, peak leadership is finding your stride as you lead others to achieve a fulfilling purpose.

Ask yourself: What is your purpose as a leader? How can you harness new technologies in service of the people you lead? 

Courage

As with anything new and evolving, leaders will undoubtedly face crises and hardship on the path ahead. 

You can prepare by testing yourself in lower stake situations. Only then will you feel confident taking on greater responsibilities when the stakes are higher. 

My advice is: seek these opportunities; don’t hold back from them. When greater crises emerge later in your career, you will be prepared not only to lead your team through them but to have the courage to make bold moves that enable you to emerge as a winner.

What low-stakes moves can you make right now to help build your courage for bigger crises down the line?

Values

Ethical concerns about the use and misuse of AI are already permeating our discussions around how we adopt this growing constellation of technologies. 

This raises questions about how our individual and shared values will shape our organizations’ use of AI.

The most challenging test of your leadership is when you have a great deal to lose by staying true to your values. Upholding your values requires moral courage by taking action for moral reasons despite the adverse consequences. 

When adopting AI technologies into your organization, I encourage you to reflect on the ethical dimensions of its use: 

• Are there moral values you would stand up for that could cause you to lose everything you worked for your entire life? 
• Where will you draw the line between the actions that are acceptable and those that are not? 
• What lines will you refuse to cross?

Spirit 

Narratives and fears surrounding artificial intelligence have been unfolding since the 20th Century. These fears have accelerated in recent decades as AI technology has shifted from existing only on the pages of science fiction novels to an evolving yet still uncertain reality. 

Unsurprisingly, this has raised a profound sense of existential dread, prompting many of us to unpack the essence of what it is to be “human” and question what this technology means for the future of humanity as a whole. 

A healthy way to reframe these fears is to view this as an opportunity to reflect on the most personal—and spiritual—area of our leadership development: understanding our purpose in the world.

Nurturing your spirit requires asking profound questions such as, “Why am I here?” And “What is the meaning and purpose of my life?” 

For most of us, it is hard to address these deep questions by ourselves. That’s why we need trusted people in our lives whom we can be fully open with as we share our deepest dilemmas, ask questions, and discuss different points of view. As I have learned over many years, having a close group of friends outside your work, as well as a True North Group, is invaluable. 

While you continue to reflect on the questions above, allow me to leave you with one closing thought: 

Leading an authentic life requires openness to all that life has to offer and a willingness to go with the flow of life. It is important to seek this richness early in life when you are in a formative stage and open to the breadth of your experiences. 

After all, AI will never replace our spirit. 

Instead, as leaders it is our responsibility to protect the people we lead—and the world we live in—by not losing sight of the essence of what makes us human: our innermost qualities of the heart.

All the best, 

Bill George