Humanising your leadership approach in a digital world.

Humanising your leadership approach in a digital world.

With the new gold rush toward AI are you chasing the gold or selling the shovels? History tells us the shovel sellers did a brilliant piece of rock solid (pardon the pun) business, while a handful of gold prospectors hit the big time, while most gold prospectors were left broke and disillusioned.

If history is leaving us a lesson here, it might be focus on the fundamental tools to do a job really well. It encourages us to explore the new shiny thing (AI and more broadly tech in this case) and to keep a close watch on what we like to call “doing the fundamentals and doing them extraordinarily well”.

What does that look like in practical terms for you and your leadership team.

Here are the three key nuggets that you can explore with your own leadership approach and that of your leadership team:

1. Curiosity. This can be a superpower when used effectively. Over the past 18 months, we have spotted leaders who have started to hide within themselves, or withdraw, often because they don’t understand or are frightened of AI and new technology.  We have also had the opportunity to work with leaders who have leaned in and really harnessed the power of their curiosity, and here is what we hear them asking:
2. Creativity. Rather than being “stuck” leaders are showing the way by exploring the art of the possible. They are running sessions with their teams, giving permission to explore with an a ”anything is possible” mindset. This short-term removal of rules is driving an entrepreneurial approach in their business, reducing lag time to bringing new ideas to the surface and encouraging a healthy challenge of “well that’s the way we have always done this”. This creativity drives not only innovation, but engagement and energy across a team. It’s the kind of energy and engagement that reinvigorates teams and refocuses their efforts. This happens when teams have input to the progress and engagement in the outcome. It doesn’t mean you delegate and walk away, you empower, support, challenge and coach them to achieve the joint goals and actions agreed.
3. Connection. More specifically in this case the human connection and conversations that have always been the cornerstone of great leadership. Its time to ensure the basics of great connection and communication are flowing from you and your leadership team, and most importantly it’s a two-way dialogue, here are the three most effective and simple tools:

• What went well and how do we improved? Taking a moment to debrief and learn from your activity and your teams activity. We see teams running round feeling like they haven’t got time to breathe let alone review and debrief. Carve out time to reflect and ask the questions to understand what you are already doing well (and how you keep doing it) and being honest about what was done less than well and how it might be improved.  
• Take time for one on one conversations. It’s an obvious one, and I want you to go beyond the obvious quarterly one to one. Go and meet your team where they are comfortable, offsite for a coffee, outside for a stroll. Find a space where they are comfortable and re-engage your curiosity muscle and check in on how they are doing, what their goals, aspirations and challenges really are. You are here to help them be the best version of themselves. 
• Carve out time for a no technology meeting. Create a short, focused meeting where your team can share and be heard. This will only work if you invest in deeply listening to what they have to tell you and you follow up with your curiosity. We are all too easily distracted so create that deep focused time for you and your team to really connect and communicate openly. In a changing and volatile world your team need space to communicate with you as much as you need time to clearly communicate with them about purpose, direction and activity. It’s hard to overcommunicate in this space.
• How do I support my teams growth? Having the honest conversation around skills, goals and gaps allows leaders the opportunity to identify the key tools and resources their people need to not just survive this changing marketplace but thrive and grow with their organisation.  
• What do my clients really want, and how do we best serve them in a changing marketplace? This involves dropping assumptions and legacy thinking and reinvigorating client insight with surveys and deep discovery around their specific needs, looking for patters of changing behaviour needs, and challenges.
• Where can we change our processes and internal tools to make us more effective and efficient? This involves a blend of using technology to automate the transactional part of processes and humanising the high touch, high value parts of your processes.

In a period of change, doubling down on the human connection and clear communications is critical. Being creative in your approach will help you find new opportunities to grow. Curiosity will be a superpower wen you really explore everything that is happening around you.

We hope you enjoy these ideas to help you achieve your own success, but if you feel like you are still swinging your pickaxe and not striking gold, drop us a line to see how we can help you and your team achieve your own New Results.