Yesterday during my board meeting, the topic of AI came up. Let’s be honest, the topic of AI is always coming up. One of my board members asked how are we using AI at the cooperative during my IT guys report about how our primary vendor is folding in AI along with how we are setting up a think tank with employees.
As I came into the the conversation to share how I have been using AI, one of the statements I made is I have cautioned the staff not to let AI replace their voices. I don’t want AI to write our articles, our social media posts, our emails, etc. We use AI to be an editor to help polish, but the rhythms of writing we all use needs to be maintained; the human soul in the machine must remain.
The other story I shared was how I use AI as an executive coach or thought multiplier. I believe I have shared my thoughts of a need for us to have a network of people to bounce ideas, share frustrations, and to seek outside eyes to make us better, and eye is another one of those resources. When I know I am headed into a conversation that might be difficult, in addition to talking to my external network, I do check in with AI to get its thoughts on how to enter, be in, and exit that conversation.
This is just another place where it can be easy to lose the human because of AI, because it is easy to do a prompt, hear what I want and at times what I need; without talking to other humans.
As leaders, we need to know how to use AI; but not let it replace our human in the way we interact with each other. There will be and are leaders I know today that have already lost the balance and it is easy to spot those leaders. They have lost what I believe is the most powerful thing that good to great leaders bring to the table, their own voice. It has been replaced with the machine.
at 27 years - Memories of Leadership, Leadership for the Future 