Will Managers and Leaders be Replaced with AI?

 As technology becomes more sophisticated, some activities previously completed by employees can be handled by computer programs.  HR professionals have already found that AI can perform candidate searches and determine best matches for jobs.  Using technology can help make candidate reviews more manageable.    AI can even monitor email to determine if employees are engaged at work and notify leaders of those who may be ready to leave the company.  Some companies already offer some AI-related assistance to track candidates or monitor workers. Some examples include SAP, Entelo, Veriato, and Bluvision. It is possible to receive alerts if employees have poor performance or if they are not where they should be at work.

Why continue to have employees when computers can do all the work?  AI can have its biases.  It may make decisions based on past information.  It has no gut instinct.  There is no way to determine if AI is more effective than the human choice yet because it has been unchartered territory.  However, AI has offered some insight into things managers and leaders may not have time to track.  That is not to say there are no issues.  Privacy is something that jumps to the front of the line as companies track people’s online footprint.  Some argue that AI reports may lead to incorrect assumptions by leaders.  While leaders want to determine the best way to predict success in their employees, the current software options available may not have the level of sophistication required.  There may be important pieces of the puzzle left out in the process.  How can a machine grasp the human emotional aspect of performance?  Instead of using AI as a replacement for employees, it may be more of a tool to use in addition to personal insight, gut instinct, and common sense based on experience.

If blue and white color jobs are already at stake, will leaders soon be replaced by AI?  Sydney Finkelstein from Dartmouth argued that middle management is already virtually extinct. Frey and Osborne’s (2013) study “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerization” predicted that 47% of workers will be replaced by machines.  Accenture (2015) found leaders lack some basic human skills including social networking, people development and coaching, and collaboration.  The Accenture results indicated that “84% of managers believe AI will make their work more effective and interesting. Manpower performed a survey of 18,000 employers in 43 different countries, which found 82% expect to maintain or increase staff levels because of automation.”

Perhaps it is not a question of if leaders and managers will be impacted, but more a question of how much and when.  Disruption continues, and all levels of management cannot escape some impact.  Leaders and managers will need to keep pace with advances, communicate to keep the human component indispensable, be creative, and design organizations that utilize human and AI talent to take advantage of both.

Related Articles:

• Soft Skills: Critical to Employee Success
• First IQ, Then EQ: Leaders Must Now Have CQ
• What Leaders Need to Know About Engagement
• Managing Millennials Requires Understanding Their Values
• The Cost of Engagement and How to Improve It
• How to Develop Soft Skills Not Learned at Work or School
• Forbes: Generational Issues in the Workplace: Millennials vs. Boomers
• Determining Personality Type for Team-Building

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First IQ, then EQ: Leaders Must Now Also Have CQ

If IQ is a measure of intelligence, EQ a measure of emotional intelligence, then what is CQ? In each of these cases, the Q stands for quotient, which means a measure or degree of that characteristic. The Cultural Intelligence Center defines CQ as, “the capability to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations. It goes beyond existing notions of cultural sensitivity and awareness to highlight a theoretically-based set of capabilities needed to successfully and respectfully accomplish your objectives in culturally diverse settings.” Companies are becoming more culturally diverse, and that means leaders must adapt.

If leaders have positions where they have considerable involvement with foreign cultures, it is critical that they truly understand that culture.  It is not enough to just read about cultures.  It may be challenging to determine a level of CQ. To be a cultural master is different from being culturally competent according to Ricardo Gonzales at Bilingual America.  To develop a level of mastery is a journey.  Leaders continue to develop.

Some important skills to develop to have true cross-cultural awareness may include things associated with EQ, such as adaptability and empathy.  Just like EQ, CQ can be developed.  One way to do this is through experiential learning.  Immersing oneself into a culture can be challenging.  However, it may be helpful to develop a true understanding of cultural norms.

Leaders may work with people in foreign cultures and have little appreciation for what is embraced in that society.  It may be important to know about their favorite sports, their appreciation for different artists, musicians, etc.  Some leaders may know historical information, but not truly be mindful of what is popular, or what employees hold dear.  To connect with others at a cultural level, leaders need to dig deeper and strive to have a greater understanding of those things that give the people with whom they connect meaning.  This has been referred to as cultural metacognition or cultural mindfulness.

It may be important for leaders to work on their cultural mindfulness.  To do this, it may help to consider past successful and unsuccessful interactions.  Echo Yuan Liao of IESE Business School explained that in addition to reflecting, paying attention to other people’s reactions can help as well.  Bilingual America offers cultural training for help with interacting with the Latino culture.  This may be helpful to all levels of leaders and managers who manage Latino workers.

As organizations grow into emerging markets, increasing their CQ becomes paramount to their success.  The Cultural Intelligence Center found, “Fortune 500 companies expect that their greatest revenue streams over the next decade will come from emerging markets, and top universities are recruiting students from around the world and from groups previously underrepresented on campus. Organizations with culturally intelligent students and staff are more likely to accomplish their mission in today’s multicultural, globalized world.” Those leaders who have the foresight to embrace the importance of CQ will benefit, just as those who have embraced the importance of EQ.

Related Articles:

• Soft Skills: Critical to Employee Success
• What Leaders Need to Know About Engagement
• Managing Millennials Requires Understanding Their Values
• The Cost of Engagement and How to Improve It
• How to Develop Soft Skills Not Learned at Work or School
• Forbes: Generational Issues in the Workplace: Millennials vs. Boomers
• Determining Personality Type for Team-Building

How to Develop Top Soft Skills Not Learned at School or Work

Job listings often describe the skills needed to perform in a position. However, many of the skills required for success fall under the category of soft skills.  Many employees may be hired for their knowledge and yet may end up being fired for their behavior or lack of social skills.  Forbes reported that 46% of newly hired employees will fail within 18 months.  Mitchell Communications Group found that companies lose $37 billion a year in the United States due to miscommunication.  Research from Adecco Staffing considered what the C-suite thinks about the type of skills employees lack. They found that the C-suite believed 44% lacked soft skills including communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.  This has led to missed growth opportunity, low productivity, and reduced profits.

The good news is that we can improve these social or soft skills.  The first step is realizing that there is always room for improvement. It can help to observe others who have strong skills that may need development.  To determine areas that may need improvement, start by considering some questions.

• Do you listen more than you speak?
• What verbal and non-verbal cues do others receive from you?
• Do teams on which you serve have personality conflict issues?
• Do recognize your emotions as well as those in others?
• Are you adaptable to change?
• Do you find problem-solving and decision-making difficult?
• Do you manage your time well?
• Are you motivated to go above and beyond at work?
• Do you rush to judgment before knowing the facts?
• Do you seek an inordinate amount of attention for your accomplishments?
• Do you recognize your weaknesses and are you willing to work on them?
• Do you become upset easily if things do not go your way?
• Do you blame others when things do not go your way?
• Do you remain calm in difficult situations?
• Do you apologize directly if you hurt someone’s feelings?

It may be critical for people to develop empathy by considering how they would feel in another person’s position.  When making decisions, consider how those decisions will impact others.  Most of the issues that employers deal with are communication-based.  Once you can recognize your own emotions and empathize with how others feel as well, that is a big step to building emotional intelligence.  Emotional intelligence and emotional commitment to one’s job (aka engagement) are two important pieces of the employee success puzzle.

There are two fascinating TED talks that may help.  Amy Cuddy’s talk “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” and Susan Cain’s The Power of Introverts may provide some insight regarding how to truly know your strengths and weaknesses and learn to embrace them.  Personality and preferences play a big role in how we interact at work.  It is important not to under-estimate the impact of interpersonal skills.  Rather than waiting for schools or employers to help, individuals can learn a lot from:

• Read more about emotional intelligence, listening, problem-solving, teamwork, collaboration, adaptability, persuasive techniques, and conflict resolution.
• Watch TED talks like the ones listed above and others that touch on these important topics.
• Find a mentor who embodies the skills that require development.
• Volunteer to help others and learn important lessons about being humble.

As with any learning, it takes time to develop soft skills. The U.S. Department of Labor created a great workforce readiness soft skills training downloadable PDF for youth ages 14-21. Although that is intended for young adults, older workers could benefit from many of the activities as well.

Related Articles:

• Soft Skills: Critical to Employee Success
• What Leaders Need to Know About Engagement
• Managing Millennials Requires Understanding Their Values
• The Cost of Engagement and How to Improve It
• What Can We Learn from Billionaire Ken Fisher About Introverts and Extraverts
• Forbes: Generational Issues in the Workplace: Millennials vs. Boomers
• Determining Personality Type for Team-Building