A Vision for Change: AI and ChatGPT

Vision is my favorite topic in change management. Vision is a critical leadership alignment strategy for any change program, particularly when done early and with intention. It's also a compelling way to drive employee adoption.

I've been writing with ChatGPT through creative pursuits, and accordingly interacting with it in many ways – specifically through dialogue & creativity. Both tactics can help bring a program or company Vision to life.

Why Vision goes wrong

Leaders often skip the Vision stage of a program, for forgivable reasons. Here are three reasons why:

• Leaders confuse having a Business Case for being a compelling Vision. Business Cases are typically fact-driven and objective, while a Vision needs to strike an emotional chord. A Vision should inspire and motivate, giving team members something to rally around.
• Additionally, leaders might hold back from expressing their own emotions. This restraint can create a disconnect that prevents team members from aligning with the Vision. Emotions are potent drivers of action, and a vision that doesn't engage them can fall short of its full potential.
• Moreover, crafting a compelling Vision often requires an investment of time and creative energy, commodities that leaders often find in short supply.

This is where AI, specifically ChatGPT, can significantly ease the process.

We can use strategies to help leaders tap into a creative and emotional mindset, without compromising efficiency or consuming excess time.

The result of AI? A more "human" and compelling vision.

Yes! We can make Vision more human by leveraging ChatGPT (and other AI) in various capacities. There are a few roles that AI can play during the Visioning process – by giving it a “seat at the table", we can uncover keywords, exciting benefits, or even hidden agendas.

Here are 3 methods that will help you leverage ChatGPT and get started:

1. As partner to the Change Manager:

ChatGPT can be your partner, generating questions for deep reflection among leaders and summarizing key points for alignment. It encourages thoughtful consideration beyond the Business Case, giving you insightful questions to ask and dive deeper into.

Example Prompts: "How can we ensure all leaders are aligned with this vision?" "What emotions do we want to evoke with our vision statement?"

Going Further: As you gather data from leaders, you can ask ChatGPT to help test, "How inspiring is this vision?" or "What keywords can you suggest that draw out the emotion of this program?"

2. As a Multi-Faceted, Simulated Leader:

By simulating various leader personas, ChatGPT provides you with a rich array of perspectives that can uncover blind spots and ignite new insights. Want to hear from a visionary CFO? Or a financially-minded CFO? Maybe a people-focused CFO? ChatGPT can emulate these voices, leading to a more holistic visioning session.

Example Prompts: "As a visionary CFO, what long-term impact do you see this change having?" "As a people-focused CFO, what potential benefits do you foresee for our staff?"

Going Further: These personas can be used to augment what your actual leaders are saying, especially what they might not be wholly equipped to tap into. For example, many CFOs may not be able to consider emotions beyond the bottom line. In which case, a simple prompt such as, "What words will help a CFO convey emotion within their areas of expertise?" can even be helpful as a leadership development tool.

3. As an Employee:

If we use ChatGPT to simulate an employee's perspective, we can surface and anticipate potential questions and concerns that might arise. It's best to keep the Vision focused on benefits and excitement, but realistically we should anticipate questions or resistance that may surface when we share the Vision.

Example Prompts: "What exciting benefit might employees receive from this change?" "Without using jargon, what will appeal to [department/employee group]?"

Going Further: Though the Vision exercise was "positive" – driving benefits and enthusiasm for the Vision – we can begin anticipating HOW employees might react when we begin sharing the Vision. "How should we message this to [department/employee group] to facilitate two-way feedback?" "What reaction might [department/employee group] have to this vision?

This may begin to surface resistance! The good news? AI can also help us mitigate and answer these employee questions throughout the change, through a targeted Change Impact Assessment.

Adopting a Constructive Mental Model

AI doesn't work if we don't know what we are doing. Integrating AI into Vision sessions requires a deep understanding and appreciation of the process. These are some mental guidelines to keep in place:

1. AI as a Credible Teammate: Viewing ChatGPT as a trusted teammate can help change professionals to shed the 'touchy-feely' stereotype. Instead, AI can be leveraged to generate evidence-based, yet inspirational, visions.
2. AI as Generative: Just like impactful visions, ChatGPT is generative. It can explore a range of potential visions and expand on those that resonate with the team. We must be able to prompt and expect (almost demand) it to be generative; to take us beyond jargon and business case-speak, into something more aspirational.
3. AI as a Resource: AI is a tool, not a replacement. Its true power lies in supplementing human creativity, intuition, and emotional intelligence, making the vision crafting process more efficient and comprehensive.

Conclusion ... Living the vision

As in my first article about ChatGPT and change, I've asked it again for a closing paragraph. Here is an aspirational closing which relates to all of us change leaders, change practitioners and impacted stakeholders:

Once we've shared the Vision, how do we use AI to help our teams "live the vision"? Here's what ChatGPT has to say!

"We stand on the edge of a brand-new era* in change management. The AI-enhanced vision we've crafted is only the seed. Imagine taking a virtual stroll around the office of the future, or experiencing the pulse of our organization real-time through sentiment analysis. Are you ready to live the vision? Are you prepared to not just observe, but fully immerse yourself in this vision? Buckle up, as we are about to venture into the realm of the extraordinary!"

(*Rachana's note: I'd say we are already IN the brand new era of change management ... I've already taken that up with ChatGPT :-))

Note: If you would like a follow-up with example Vision statements through a case study, please reach out! I focused this piece on "how to integrate ChatGPT into your methods" rather than a full picture of a Vision workshop, as a Vision workshop uses many methods in addition to ChatGPT.