Can Artificial Intelligence Help Lead People?

BY: JOHN SPILLSON

With all the buzz lately around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it will improve efficiencies, streamline operations, and generally make our lives easier, one question is obvious: will companies ever use it to lead the most complex piece of equipment in their operations—the human being? While most facilities have extremely complex pieces of equipment, nothing rivals the human brain. People make thousands of decisions each day. They balance a myriad of tasks, doing what’s right, doing what’s best, doing what they’re told, and doing what’s most efficient, all while facing challenges like job insecurity, personal issues, family pressures, and even health concerns. Regardless of what products a company produces, leaders are, first and foremost, in the people business.

So how can leaders use AI to increase their influence and more effectively lead their teams? Some of the best ways to lead and influence teams include improving communication, managing risk, increasing employee engagement and retention, and using data to drive decisions. Surprisingly, AI can support leaders in all of these areas. 

• Improving Communication: One of the top problems in companies today is poor communication. Utilizing AI can make creating better work instructions easier, including offering real-time translation and analyzing feedback. These capabilities are crucial, especially when leading a diverse or multinational workforce with staff members who speak a non-English primary language. AI’s ability to quickly develop and translate work instructions can accelerate the learning process, reduce mistakes, and boost efficiency across the workforce.
• Managing Risk: Identifying and mitigating risks can be easier when using AI, as the technology can process data and identify risks to products, operations, and the workforce. Once potential risks are identified, AI can help monitor them in real time and provide feedback to leaders to facilitate decision-making. AI can also support scenario analysis and help plan for contingencies and possible solutions.  
• Recruiting and Retaining Employees: Companies today must focus on improving employee engagement and retention and fine-tuning their recruitment practices. AI can quickly analyze trends and offer suggestions that align with the expectations of today’s workers and appeal to candidates most likely to meet position criteria. AI-driven sentiment analysis can also gauge employee satisfaction, identify concerns, and determine when employees might be at risk of leaving a company, and subsequently offer retention strategies to implement before it’s too late. Finally, AI can be used to identify skill gaps and recommend targeted training programs that will help employees, teams, and the overall company succeed. 
• Analyzing Data: AI has made it easier and quicker to use data to drive decisions by identifying trends in the marketplace and workforce that help leaders plan for near- and long-term operations. Understanding future market trends can help plan staffing, identify knowledge and skills gaps, and allow leaders to optimize resource allocation. 

Integrating AI isn’t about speeding up processes or replacing people with robots—it’s about using technology to access and analyze massive amounts of information to help humans make the best decisions possible. No matter how far technology progresses, the human being will remain the most complex piece of “equipment” in our companies. When we ask the right questions, collect the right information, and proceed with trust, respect, and empathy, we can truly engage our workforce and build a culture where technology can complement the work of our employees and propel our companies and manufacturing industry to the next level.

Learn more about how AI and other Industry 4.0 technologies can help your company tackle challenges and harness opportunities—contact MMTC to request a free Technology Opportunity Assessment today.
 

Since 1991, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center has assisted Michigan’s small and medium-sized businesses to successfully compete and grow. Through personalized services designed to meet the needs of clients, we develop more effective business leaders, drive product and process innovation, promote company-wide operational excellence and foster creative strategies for business growth and greater profitability. Find us at www.the-center.org.