Going Deep, Playing Wide
Louise Mowbray
Future-Focused Leadership | Executive advisor and coach, keynote speaker, futurist and facilitator | Author of 'Relevant: Future-Focused Leadership'
Diversity in Action
I recently headed to this beautiful location to kick off an eight-part Future-Focused Leadership Masterclass . The cohort of twenty people heralded from around the world, each leading functions or teams in different countries and regions.
As I scanned the faces in the room we were working in, it struck me that I was observing the epitome of diversity. Not the diversity we bang on about in corporate speak. Rather, I was taking in a rich, visceral symphony of diversity in action. An array of dynamic personalities, each of us shaped by our upbringing, education, culture, social norms and a lifetime of experiences. All connecting, contributing, and collaborating with ease.?
The feeling stayed with me as I headed back to London, only interrupted by my news feeds determinedly pushing headlines of conflict, disaster and existential threat. The latter centred around war and AI.
It made me think of Yuval Harari’s new book: ‘Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI ’. Harari makes the point that whilst we must uphold our individual rights to freedom of speech, our platforms should be legally responsible for the AI algorithms designed to curate and amplify ‘engaging’ content.
“AI can process information by itself, and thereby replace humans in decision making. AI isn’t a tool—it’s an agent.” Yuval Harari
Right now, there isn’t much we can do about the runaway effects of amplified dodgy and anxiety-inducing content, except to curate our feeds and create space between what’s going on ‘out there’ and our vast inner worlds.
Later that week, I was having a conversation with a friend who asked me what my new book was about. I told her it's about my experience helping execs and teams evolve and grow, and a series of future-focused lenses needed to create space in our minds and better navigate our world of work.
She looked at me quizzically, and I said, "You know, it's based on the three things I do", and she shot back, with a touch of irony, "I don't really know exactly what you do.”
I was rooted to the spot as a penny dropped, gently clinking as it landed in my mind's eye. I watched it with fascination as it lazily rolled around on its ridged edges until it came to a stop, shining up at me.
I love moments like this. The seeds that land, take root and open doors in our minds to what's missing, what's not clear, and what needs to change. I realised that I assume people know about the three core things I do. They have been consistent over the last couple of decades and as a result, I don't talk about them a great deal.
Going Deep
It reminded me of David Epstein's brilliant book 'Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World '. Epstein suggests the way to succeed is by gaining broad experiences, experimenting relentlessly, taking detours, and exploring many interests.
And yes, we still need a firm foundation of expertise to build on. For me, it's coaching leaders and executive teams, designing and delivering masterclasses, and keynote speaking. Three things I have decades of experience and expertise in. These are the foundations I invest a great deal in, going deep, honing my capabilities, and constantly adapting to better serve my clients.
Playing Wide
When I worked in Executive Search, over two decades ago, organisations were not looking for range - if anything, they were looking for demonstrable skills and a good fit. Executives had a specific job to do in a well-defined structure, and diversity was not top of the list. It made better sense in the business context of the time.
Today, you're unlikely to read a job or corporate culture description that doesn't go wide. People with diverse thinking, perspectives, attributes, capabilities and lived experiences are in high demand, along with the usual prerequisites of skills and expertise. However, many of our corporate structures, cultures and the systems they’re built on are lagging behind the rhetoric. The thinking at the top is often rooted in previous eras.
As a result, many orgs are not set up to utilise the breadth of human capabilities and the creativity and wisdom inherent in their people. Unless they transform, they are likely to simply slide into irrelevance. They will be unable to attract and retain great talent and compete with their creative, innovative competitors in this AI-infused era.
领英推荐
"Economic optimism doubles, yet almost half of CEOs do not believe their businesses will be viable in a decade as tech and climate pressures accelerate." PwC Global CEO Survey
AI is Deep, Humans are Wide
As AI thankfully laps up the mundane tasks in many of our roles, we are fast awakening to employing its capabilities to go deep, very deep. Yet, how we use AI needs an ethical, philosophical approach, and the breadth of uniquely human capabilities.
This calls for us to hone many of our attributes that have been undervalued and overlooked for some time. Attributes that allow us to be comfortable with ambiguity, adapt, get creative and dance lightly with our changing context.?It’s also time for us to be more discerning when thinking of joining a new company or taking on a new client. How an organisation markets itself may be very different to the reality of their culture. And as we all know, culture is slow to change.
Qs Worth Asking Ourselves
What's your depth of expertise?
How much time and energy do you invest in honing and developing it?
Do people know exactly what it is, and what value you deliver? [note to self]
What's your 'wide', and do you get to use and hone it in your current role?
What actions can you take today to develop your much-needed human capabilities in our AI-infused world?
Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to explore more for yourself, your team or your organisation.
Until next time, take good care of yourself.
Best, Louise
Useful Links
More Depth
If you’re reading, Relevant: Future-Focused Leadership , you’ll find more depth on the topics I’ve mentioned:
Nordic Market Unit Lead for Accenture Leadership & Culture | I create space for organisations, teams & leaders to grow | Performance Coach | DM for Coffee & Curious Conversations
1 个月Your wisdom is so valuable Louise Mowbray, reading your book is a must ??
The ROI Guy ? I help DEI Consultants get more warm leads ? Download my ROI of DEI white paper to learn the framework (see featured section)
1 个月AI is a powerful tool, but we must accept its ethical implications in the workplace.?Leaders need to ensure that AI does not marginalize certain groups or boost existing biases. Louise Mowbray How can we use human empathy and emotional intelligence to create a fair and inclusive environment alongside AI systems?
Guiding Wellbeing & Wholeness in individuals & organizations | Building environments that help & heal, not hurt or harm their people -workplaces-classroom-homes. Nervous System literacy. Enneagram. Awakener. ThinkPartner
1 个月Always stop to read what you write. Thank you yet again Louise
I help CEOs and boards fast-track strategies when the stakes are high | Go to Market Strategist |Board Member| Speaker|Author
1 个月“AI is deep, humans are wide”. This idea gives me hope Louise Mowbray . Thanks for this article and so many rich observations.
Exploring the Habitus of The Futures through Technology, Dyslexic, Vegan, CLA user, Managing editor of World Futures Review.
1 个月Great article!