San Francisco, Where’s Your Disco? Rethinking Leadership in Tech

Master tech's new leadership dance in minutes by following proven steps to lead with humanity and adaptability in the AI era.

In the bustling AI-powered San Francisco's tech scene, the music is changing faster than ever. Yet many leaders are out of sync with the new beat of AI, rapid innovation, and evolving user needs. It's time for a new approach in leadership.

This post explores modern leadership's essential balance between human connection and tech advancement, challenging traditional top-down approaches. Success will come from fostering collaboration and maintaining human wisdom, not from adding 'AI' to company names or over-relying on chatbots.

What is Modern Product Leadership?

Modern product leadership requires leaders who can hear the changing rhythms, adapt their steps quickly, and guide their teams through the intricate choreography of the evolving tech world.

Consider these examples of outdated leadership practices:

• While Notion perfects its note-taking waltz, users are left stumbling through a chaotic AI-powered billing conga line.
• As chatbots take center stage, leaders are treating humans like machines, pushing people to the breaking point.
• Leaders whose 1:1s consist of a nod or quick slack miss out on the diverse viewpoints that fuel innovation and create exceptional teams.

Today’s rapid pace of change demands leaders who foster team collaboration and build environments where rapid decisions benefit from collective wisdom. As Harvard Business Review notes:

“Polishing yesterday’s work isn’t useful if the world is in flux. When we focus on improving the efficiency of our current plan, we inevitably miss the opportunity to develop a new strategy in response to new conditions.”

This quote underscores the need for leaders to continually reassess and adapt their strategies to remain effective.

Why is Adaptive Leadership Needed?

When I was at E.piphany, CMO Steve Blank added a dot between the E and p to identify us as part of the dot-com boom. Today companies are following the same strategy - adding “AI” to their name like a digital merit badge.

'AI' in your name won't deliver wins - success requires thoughtfully rethinking how you operate. Just ask Yahoo and BlackBerry. While they celebrated short-term wins and past successes, the market transformed.

Take Notion. They excel at note-taking, but are losing touch with user needs. I saw it happen first-hand when my billing question received a bot-driven response politely starting with “so let me clarify a few things for you..” No thank you!

At a recent ChiefX event, Kristen Berman, co-founder of Irrational Labs, said, “with great uncertainty comes great distraction.” AI is a shiny distraction.

Want better customer service? Don't rely solely on AI chatbots. Savvy companies understand when to use AI and when to maintain personal interaction. Pushing customers to AI when your support is lacking is a damaging, short-term strategy.

My recommendation is to think like a human. Forgetting how to do so? Practice the Elephant-Rider-Path analogy. It helps you map out short and medium-term emotional and rational drivers while creating clear longer-term paths. Chip and Dan Heath, expanded on this model of human behavior in their book “Switch“.

Let’s redesign the Notion AI scenario.

• Motivate the Elephant (emotions): Keep humans involved in high-stakes, emotionally charged situations like billing disputes. While AI handles the routine, people need people when stress levels peak.
• Direct the Rider (rational thought): Delegate routine tasks and straightforward inquiries to AI, freeing your support team to tackle complex problems that require human judgment, empathy, and creativity.
• Shape the Path (environment, context): Give customers a choice, in this case between AI assistance and human support. Let AI excel as the quick responder, while those seeking consideration can wait a few beats for the human touch.

This approach works with kids and meetings too.

• Jacket time? Don't ask if they want one (yes or no). Seek out which one they prefer. It's not about the jacket; it's about having choice.
• Want fewer meetings in 2025? Don’t play favorites (yes / keep or no / remove). Clear your entire calendar and start fresh. Then, add back only what is needed.

How to Develop Adaptive Leadership Skills

Leaders who prioritize themselves miss the symphony of their team's collective talent. Author Keith Ferrazzi shared via Coaching.com, we are over-indexing on one person, a single leader. We are not spending enough time on the role of the team in leadership.

In focusing so heavily on what it means to be a great leader, companies have often lost sight of what it means to be a great team.

The solution? Embrace the leadership potential in each individual. Adaptive leaders create an environment where every team member contributes, fostering growth and enabling rapid scale by practicing techniques such as the following.

Embrace a Human-Centric Approach

Even in the age of AI, the most memorable performances are still human. Here's how to keep the human element center stage:

1. Prioritize face time: Regular, unrushed 1:1s aren't a luxury; they keep you and your team in step. (link)
2. Listen actively: Don't just hear the words; acknowledge the importance of what is left unsaid - especially today when stress and anxiety are dialed up to 11.
3. Empathize: Understand the human impact of changes and decisions. A team isn't just a collection of roles; they're individuals with valuable, unique perspectives.
4. Foster psychological safety: Create an environment where team members feel safe to express ideas, concerns, and even mistakes without fear of backstabbing.

The wise leader doesn’t just engage in lots of one-to-one dialogue, but engages also in group dialogue, and thinks about who else needs to be engaged in dialogue and when.

Foster Collaborative Teamwork

Replace top-down control with team-driven approaches, which by their vary nature support growth and scale more flexibly than a single individual.

• Team Energy Check: Have each person rate their motivation from 0-5 and share what would boost it. Your teammates might have the perfect solution.
• 3-Minute Update: Share wins and roadblocks in 3 minutes. Share what you did, where you’re stuck, and what’s next. Help’s on the way.
• Grow Together: Exchange ideas and skills with your peers. Focus on uplifting everyone's work through shared learning and open feedback.

Don’t believe a team can reshape an organization? One person sparks the change, like a pebble creating ripples in a pond. Teams adopting new practices set the pace for others. Check out the approach in this previous article.

Balance Technology with Human Wisdom

Are we trading human wisdom for computer logic? Our instincts and emotional intelligence, risk fading as we spend more time with digital companions (link).

As we become accustomed to quick, seamless, conflict-free interactions, we may become more frustrated in our relationships with real people… In the long run, repeated interactions with chatbots may diminish our patience and ability to handle conflict and accept the natural imperfections in interpersonal interactions.

Remember, while AI offers quick solutions, it doesn’t create genuine human connections. Toxic behavior from top performers? Address it rapidly, don’t let if fester or outsource feedback to technology. Prioritize a healthy team dynamic where individuals feel valued and supported to contribute their best work.

Encourage Diverse Perspectives

Find your team on different sides of the dance floor? Find a common beat using a ‘slow down to go fast’ approach called “Think, Write, Share”.

Everyone first thinks about a problem or question silently for 60 seconds. Only after this quiet time do people write down their ideas. Sharing happens last, ensuring both introverts and extroverts contribute equally.

Assign owners to the actions and use coaching techniques to address individual areas of improvement.

Strategic Questions

Clear questions reveal your team’s true gaps and gains, so you can stop chasing surface-level fixes and focus on what matters. Another Keith Ferrazzi tactic is using “brainwriting“ to answer the following questions as a team.

• Do your team members agree on which problems to fix first?
• Are we solving the real problem?
• What will you sacrifice to solve this challenge?
• How will your team evolve to reach your goals?
• What changes will this plan bring to your partnerships?
• How will this plan reshape your daily operations?

In Summary, Keep Dancing, Keep Adapting

Tech’s rapid evolution demands a new kind of leadership - one that's adaptive. Today’s effective leaders don’t leave their teams guessing. Instead they leverage innovation, user-centric thinking, and collaboration to elevate their team. They do the following:

1. Embrace a human-centric approach, prioritizing empathy and connection in an increasingly AI-driven world.
2. Foster collaborative teamwork, transforming hierarchical structures into dynamic, innovative ensembles.
3. Balance cutting-edge technology with timeless human wisdom.
4. Encourage diverse perspectives, creating an environment where every team member can contribute their unique rhythm to the company's success.

Remember, in the ever-changing dance of tech, it's not about perfecting a single routine. It's about staying light on your feet, attuned to your team's needs, and ready to adapt your steps as the music changes. Need a partner? Book a complimentary spot.