[#3-Insight] - The future of managers: the ups and downs of AI leadership
What's up in the workplace? 👀
Artificial intelligence (AI) has already automated various business functions, from customer service chatbots 🤖 to inventory management systems. Now, AI is making inroads into management - the ability to make decisions, provide feedback, and allocate resources. AI leadership promises enhanced efficiency, performance, and even-handedness but also poses its share of risks around empathy and transparency 👀
The potential benefits are… pretty amazing 🚀
AI managers leverage machine learning algorithms to take on critical management responsibilities in an impartial manner. By analyzing massive volumes of data, AI managers can:
Continuously and efficiently monitor employee productivity and performance metrics across teams, allowing them to detect inefficiencies and workflow issues 🔎,
Provide personalized and consistent feedback to employees based on quantified metrics instead of subjective judgments 🗣,
Make the best data-based decisions on resource allocation, including assigning tasks and projects based on employee strengths and availability. This is even more efficient when dealing with complex projects that involve a lot of employees and resources 🤓.
When deployed thoughtfully, AI managers can boost productivity, employee satisfaction, and retention. As a matter of fact, AI performance management platform Cogito uses sentiment analysis and other behavioral signals to provide real-time feedback and improve customer service teams’ emotional intelligence. Pretty impressive.
AI’s downside cannot be ignored ☝️
Unfortunately, as powerful as AI might be, the concept of AI managers has its limits:
There is no doubt about the fact that AI lacks human judgment and empathy. Algorithmic systems act based on datasets they are trained on. As I always say, data is king, but so far, no dataset can encapsulate the complexity of human emotions and contexts 🤷♀️,
Biased data can lead to biased and unfair decisions on performance and promotions. This could negatively impact diversity, equity and inclusion 🫣,
Employees may feel monitored and pressured by constant tracking of productivity metrics by an AI system. This can take a toll on mental wellbeing 😵.
AI managers is a black box system. If employees don’t understand how the AI got to a certain performance rating or promotion decisions, it could breed resentment and distrust.
What about AI manager in the workplace?
The modern workplace is primed for an AI management takeover. Many corporate environments already rely on people analytics tools to passively monitor employee productivity through time tracking, and other digital tools. An AI manager could take this granular performance data and provide personalized nudges and recommendations to improve efficiency. For instance, it could remind employees to take breaks after long periods of intense focus work to avoid burnout. Unlike a human manager who may be biased or inconsistent, an AI manager could be dependably objective. It could also take on time-consuming administrative tasks like scheduling meetings and approving timesheets. This would empower human managers to focus on more complex responsibilities like mentoring employees, resolving conflicts, and nurturing workplace culture - the areas where human judgment remains invaluable.
Nermine Kay - NK Consulting 🇫🇷 / NKay Consulting LLC 🇺🇸
I'm Nermine Kay, a communication consultant specialized in the future of work!
Hit reply if you want to work with me on your communication strategy, LinkedIn branding and / or content creation!
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