AI Is The Key To A Competitive Workforce. But First, Leaders Must Be Willing To Model Its Use

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When I joined the workforce in the early 1990s, I started using Mosaic, one of the first web browsers. I told my boss that the internet was going to transform the world. He said I didn’t know what I was talking about.?

Fast-forward and I’m now seeing history repeat itself with AI. I talk with so many leaders who are still skeptical. They say AI is untested. A flash in the pan. Too good to be true.?

They’re wrong. More than 80% of workers who use AI say it improves their productivity and the quality of their work. And among businesses that expected to cut costs by using AI in 2024, about half anticipated savings north of 10%. If anything, I think that number will be considerably larger. Ultimately, AI is a time- and money-saving tool with almost limitless applications. But to reap those benefits, leaders need to actively model AI usage — not stand in the way. That means having a growth mindset about the technology.?

So, how can you harness AI as a leader? I lead a global company with teams around the world and thousands of customers. Here’s how I use AI — in basic and advanced ways — to get more out of my day and my workforce.?

AI as a workflow booster for leaders

For this time-strapped leader, AI has quickly become a best friend. By now, many of these uses are old hat, but it amazes me how many Fortune 1000 executives in my network still aren’t taking advantage of them.??

For example, I used to spend hours each week listening to recordings of critical sales calls, to understand customer objections and pinpoint where we might be going astray. That’s a task tailor-made for AI. Now I instantly get call summaries that let me use keywords to jump to specific places.

Because English isn’t my first language, I turn to AI for writing assistance too. It fixes my grammar and makes me sound more conversational. AI can also tackle the repetitive writing tasks that are a leader’s worst enemy — emails, company messaging, newsletters, reports and presentations.?

It shrinks my reading time at work, as well. Besides unpacking complex topics, this digital assistant can translate legalese into plain language.

Before a meeting, we use it to summarize notes for a project, creating an update that everyone can read in advance to get up to speed. That way, the meeting itself is more productive.?

Fortunately, when it comes to adopting AI, younger leaders are getting with the program. In a survey of knowledge workers under 40 who hold or aspire to leadership roles, 70% said they use AI for tasks like drafting email responses, writing challenging messages and helping overcome language barriers.?

For leaders and companies willing to invest in AI, the payoff is real. About 75% of businesses using generative AI reported ROI within the first year, a global survey found. More than 85% of that group boosted revenue by at least 6%.

AI for better understanding your workforce?

But AI’s role extends well beyond personal productivity. For executives, it can be a true strategic partner offering unparalleled insight into your business. Here are several key ways I use AI every day:

• A real-time window into team performance: Every leader asks themselves: What are my people doing today? What did they do last week? The latest AI tools can gather and interpret the digital footprint of departments, teams or even individual employees. Let’s say a sales rep did 10 calls last week. AI can provide a quick sketch of how many were for prospecting, maintaining customer relationships and exploring opportunities.?
• Connecting people with business results: Historically, people data (team members’ performance and contributions) and business data (metrics such as revenue, customer satisfaction and profitability) have been siloed. When info isn’t walled off in individual departments, it’s trapped in dense spreadsheets. AI bridges that gulf. For example, a luxury retailer I work with used AI to integrate people and point-of-sale data. That lets it see which of its hundreds of locations worldwide perform better than others, along with each store manager’s training history. Armed with that knowledge, the company can gauge which sales training worked best and apply it where needed.
• Planning for a shifting workforce: Anticipating talent movements and shortages is another emerging AI strength. Let’s say several team members in one department just quit. The right AI can flag the downstream impacts — critical skills lost, even deadlines that may be missed.??

• Unpacking and contextualizing key metrics: AI excels at identifying the “so what” behind dense charts and graphs. (Yes, even the C-suite can use help here.)?

For example, a CEO might want to know if the company will close enough deals to meet its annual revenue target. Next-gen insight boards show best- and worst-case scenarios — interpreting analytics in plain language that anyone can understand.

For leaders and companies willing to invest in AI, the payoff is real. About 75% of businesses using generative AI reported ROI within the first year, a global survey found. More than 85% of that group boosted revenue by at least 6%. Among organizations posting a revenue gain, roughly 90% with robust C-suite support for AI crossed that threshold.

The opposite is also true. Thanks to “digitally illiterate” bosses, employees are already losing six hours a week to tasks that could easily be automated if their company had AI. No wonder one in five workers is now an “underground” AI user.

Like my former boss who didn’t believe in the internet, anyone still on the fence about AI risks making a big mistake. As leaders, we set the tone for our organization. That starts with incorporating AI into your daily workflow. If you’re like me, you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you’re seeing in your own industry, so please share your thoughts into the comments below. For more news and ideas around people data in the workplace, be sure to subscribe.