As more Artificial Intelligence (AI) engines and apps enter the scene of modern management, leaders find themselves both excited and apprehensive about the potential influence bots can have over their jobs. While AI in management offers many advantages, with its access to unlimited information, superior processing power, and rapid learning capabilities, one question lingers: Will AI eventually outperform human ability in leadership?
While AI has demonstrated significant capabilities in some areas, such as decision-making, process optimization, and efficiency, it doesn’t surpass the inherent human qualities necessary for effective leadership. A recent survey by Harvard Business Review confirmed that humans still prefer being led by other humans.
AI in management easily masters complex tasks at work, but leaders who embrace their humanity—including their flaws and imperfections— succeed best at leveraging the benefits of technology. According to the researchers, the more human you are in your leadership, the better the outcomes for your teams and your organization.
“We found high levels of confidence in AI when it comes to strategy and decision-making. Notably, 65% of respondents in our survey were “somewhat” to “completely” confident in AI’s ability to develop a strategy,” the study confirms.
AI offers consistency in areas such as planning, work assignments, and work prioritization, where humans tend to be more variable. 43% of the respondents “agree’ or “strongly agree” that AI plays an important role in analyzing their performance and optimizing actions.
However, when it comes to analyzing human behavior and employee emotions at work, 60% of people express concerns about AI taking over those tasks. People generally feel discomfort when AI is in charge of personal matters. Specifically, people fear:
- Discrimination against certain groups when hiring or promoting people.
- Lack of transparency and the “black box” in AI decision-making.
- Uncertainty regarding how AI analyzes human behavior.
- Uncertainty about how AI generates recommendations.
The key here is to find a balance where leaders embrace AI as part of their practice while doubling down on their very human qualities as leaders. Leaders who achieve this balance will see better results in productivity and efficiency and excel at attracting, retaining, developing, and motivating top talent.
How do you know when you need to leverage AI in management or bring your human qualities to a situation? Whenever the situations rely on knowledge, rational thinking, or analysis, AI is your answer. On the other hand, situations demanding social, emotional, or interpersonal skills call for human intervention.
How Many People Are Using AI in Management?
Blanchard asked more than 1,000 human resources and learning and development professionals about their experiences and plans across various areas. The use of Artificial Intelligence emerged as one of the areas to watch in 2024. These are the results of the survey:
- 27% of respondents indicated that AI will impact their L&D work to a large/very large extent in 2024.
- 30% said they were using AI as a learning tool now, and 91% of current users plan to expand its use in 2024.
- Of those who are not using AI, 46% said they plan to start using it as a learning tool in 2024.
In terms of L&D applications, respondents are particularly interested in AI for evaluating learner needs, suggesting content, creating educational materials, and providing real-time feedback through chatbots.
Indeed, the role of AI in management extends beyond efficiency gains—it has the potential to enhance human capabilities, offering new insights and support to leaders at every level. As noted by Christopher Lind during his interview in the Management Development Unlocked podcast, AI empowers new managers by freeing up time so they can spend it with their team and facilitating experiential learning in a risk-free environment. “If we use it right, AI can make us more human and more effective as people.”
At a recent international conference, I attended several sessions on the future of learning and development, work, skills, and management, and naturally, AI was a prominent part of the discussion. The impression I got was: 1) we need to embrace AI—it’s coming anyway, so we better learn how to leverage it—and 2) machines can’t “out-human a human.” Your ability to show genuine care and empathy to your team members that enables higher levels of performance will make the difference between you or a bot managing your team in the next five years.
In an interview about humanizing leadership in the age of AI, Gerardo Segat told me that he asked ChatGPT which skills AI would never be able to out-human a human. ChatGPT summed up the world of self-awareness by highlighting five different human intelligences: Kinesthetic, naturalistic, existential, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. These are the capacities that AI currently struggles to authentically replicate.
The benefits of AI in management and the future of these apps in the world of management development should not make leaders afraid of being replaced. People still want to be led by humans, and there are some qualities and skills that technology will never be able to authentically replicate.