Hey Exec: Are you Paying Attention to Artificial Intelligence in 2023?

2023 is the year of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It doesn’t matter where you are in the corporate ladder, you need to be paying careful attention to this technology now!

Why? To scale your resources and leverage breakthroughs, such as ChatGPT (an AI assistant), especially in a year like 2023 where organizations are scaling back because of the economic downturn. If you don’t, you’ll be left behind as your competition gets ahead, way ahead!

Investing in your AI infrastructure will be a springboard to you being able to unlock capabilities within your organization. As you build your AI foundations, pay careful attention that you do so responsibly. What does that mean?

Your AI needs to be developed in a way that is ethical and benefits people and society. More specifically, be prudent in taking the necessary steps that ensure that your systems:

  1. Do not discriminate against people because of their backgrounds
  2. Explain to your users how decisions are being made and why
  3. Respect people’s privacy and personal data
  4. Function consistently in the face of unexpected inputs and consider unintended consequences
  5. Are governed by policies that maximize benefit and curb negative impact

Can you develop your AI infrastructure without investing in the five areas above? Yes, AND you’ll be opening yourself up to lawsuits from your users and regulatory bodies. Moreover, instead of unlocking potential you’ll be firefighting and sapping org. resources because you didn’t invest the time or effort to be build the right AI infrastructure. At that point in time, it won’t matter how many patches you put on your wound, it will continue to bleed profusely.

So why is 2023 so special for AI? OpenAI released ChatGPT late last year and this AI assistant will revolutionize the way businesses operate and people interact with AI systems. How?

Here are a number of ways ChatGPT can be used:

  1. Chatbot – can answer customer service questions
  2. Idea generator – can provide new material based on data it is fed
  3. Task supporter – can generate tables, write code, etc.
  4. Recommendation system – can provide recommendations on things to read, watch, buy etc.
  5. Translation tool – can help businesses and people translate material (think google translate)
  6. Information provider – can answer any questions you have
  7. Conversational partner – can engage with you in a conversation on any topic
  8. Learning tool – can teach you about any topic
  9. Writing tool – can generate original content in the form of posts or essays

How powerful is this tool for your organization? Extremely! The most powerful thing about it is that it takes context into account. In other words, it remembers what you asked it earlier and can personalize advice and recommendations in light of your conversation with it. Companies invest a ton of money to get a signal to personalize content (or ads) to their users, well, ChatGPT will become one of the strongest contenders in this race! As opposed to providing a data dump such as one generated by a search engine, ChatGPT can provide a well-crafted and detailed argument. Ask it why technology benefits or harms society and it will give you an argument for and against it. Companies are starting to feel a pinch in the face of ChatGPT because it is a threat to their business and how they operate. It will be interesting to see how things unfold over the course of the year!

In closing, wherever you are in the corporate ladder, pay attention to AI this year, and build your infrastructure responsibly. You’ll be thankful you did!

 

Karim Ginena, PhD
Karim Ginena, PhD
Senior UX Researcher, Meta AI

Executive Development Methods

Highly skilled executives are key for organizations to continue delivering better-than-expected results. With these challenging times, executives need to keep looking to develop their competencies and skills to deliver results year-over-year.

“Those in leadership positions seek to understand what skills, competencies and behaviours will support them in carrying out these demanding roles, both for the benefit of their own aspirations and those of the organizations in which they operate.” (Claire Collins, 2012)

Executive development will continue to be one of the upmost priorities in any organization. Growing and developing leadership skills is mostly centred on learning the knowledge and skills required for current and/or future roles for the executive.

Learning and development methods, including guidance on professional development, whether short or long term, varies from self-learning, training, supervision, coaching and mentoring. This article will highlight the different methods of executive development and briefly position them for a better understanding on which method is best to use based on individual development needs.

Self–learning

Self-learning is any deliberate, planned action taken by the person to acquire and apply certain knowledge and/or skill without the assistance of someone else, by intentionally reading, listening, or watching someone perform an action. The effectiveness of this method is based on the ability of the person to choose what to learn, when to learn it, and on how easily the content can be understood and/or applied. The challenges of this method are about having access to relevant content; the amount and quality of time that needs to be allocated to that content; and last, and most important, it requires self-commitment, self-motivation—and a significant degree of self-discipline.

Training

In business training, the trainer is the source of information and knowledge. Trainees receive information from the trainer through lectures and/or skill-based activities. Attendees are usually assessed through written or verbal tests and/or other assessments. This type of development method is effective and has a more positive impact on junior-level positions, where employees are in the primary stages of acquiring basic knowledge related to role and/or field.

Business Supervision

Supervision, most of the time, comes with authority and tends to be more focused on observing the person’s behaviour and their skills. Supervision usually has limited focus on self-learning and is more focused on translating knowledge into practical hands-on experience. It helps the supervised person to put their knowledge into practice.

Business Coaching

Although Business Coaching is generally for a short period of time, it is recognized as a process for developing leaders. The biggest priority for the coach is helping the coachee to be self-aware and to be able to manage themselves to improve performance related to the role. There is an increased focus on specific skills required to excel in the role as well as the skills needed for working and interacting with others, particularly on changing behavioural issues to drive improvement.

With the coaching methodology, it is necessary for the coach to be neutral, listen, and ask questions in order to develop certain skills. The coach might not need to have hands-on experience, depending on the kind of industry the coachee is engaged in, but the right coaches provide leadership knowledge and experience, to provide the coachees with a fresh perspective, and strategy to deliver results.

“Coaching is a helping relationship formed between a client who has managerial authority and responsibility in an organization, and a consultant, to achieve a mutually identified set of goals to improve their professional performance and personal satisfaction, and, consequently, to improve the effectiveness of the client’s organization.” (Kilburg, 2000).

Business Mentoring

Mentoring is a long-term process based on mutual trust and respect. The role of mentors evolves as the needs of their mentees change over time. In addition to what coaches do in being neutral, they listen and ask questions to develop certain skills, affording them, as mentors, to be more interactive and engaging. They develop the mentee’s skills that are not just relevant for the mentees, themselves, in their present roles, but also for their future roles and careers, in general.

Mentoring covers various aspects to guide executives in running a successful business. Mentors play a crucial role, from framing and expanding a mentee’s thinking, to building confidence and skills, to providing fresh insight, to boosting the overall performance of the mentees.

The relationship developed between the mentor and mentee allows mentors to help mentees explore their career options, and provide them support about their career trajectories and growth. Since they have faced the same challenges as their mentees, and they are more empathetic toward their needs, they are always willing to share their experience, skills and knowledge with the mentees, and serve as a professional advisor and role model.

Conclusion

“Increasingly, organizations are turning to individual development techniques to supplement or replace traditional training methods” (Collins, 2012).

It is dangerous and misleading for an executive to claim they know everything, especially if they were newly promoted to an executive role. It is expected they have enough information and knowledge related to the job, but it is still necessary to have support in carrying out and implementing their relevant knowledge in a skilled way, to become a top-performing executive.

For maximum efficiency and benefit, executives need to be clear on what their priorities are and what kind of support they are looking for.