The Real AI in Leadership

Full disclaimer: The only artificial intelligence (AI) used in this article is the spell check—to which I am eternally grateful!

You do not have to look hard these days to see the penetration of AI into just about everything we see, do, and read. AI has disrupted the entire ecosystem and there is no slowing it down at this stage. I have to admit, I held out on using ChatGPT for a good while but have come to appreciate the value it brings when I do need help vetting my thoughts on something strategic.

I am always one of the last in my family to adopt the latest and greatest technological trends, as noted when I speak and brag on the number of working iPODS I still use for my musical listening pleasure (they do produce the best digital sound ever!). My first iPOD was a Father’s Day gift that remained in the box for three years! I am listening to one as I write this.

Now, having said all that about my lack of technological advancement interest, I do embrace what it can do to help make the lives of our staff and customers better. As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Health Center, I have led strategy efforts built on transforming our system of care. We heavily invested in modernizing all of our technology, including diving headfirst into AI-oriented solutions—I am all in for this.

Yes, there are so many ways we will see AI show up now and in the future. It is exciting and scary at the same time. It can certainly serve as a valuable asset in every leader’s toolkit; however, it cannot and should not replace true, authentic leadership effort and excellence. A good example here is something I experienced last year when reviewing a leader’s end-of-year evaluation and realized pretty quickly that it was written with heavy assistance from one of the ChatGPT-type helpers. This did not bode well with me but did open my eyes to where to start when talking about what real AI is when it comes to leadership.

If you are going to lead and be great at it, you cannot substitute authenticity for artificial—not in any way. You can only get by with fake authenticity for so long. Leadership is about driving influence and inspiring others toward a shared vision and helping them be successful as well. It is about having heart-to-heart conversations that are difficult at times but filled with empathy and humility. AI can tell you what to say, but it cannot say it for you.

As a leader, you cannot become complacent and lazy, dependent on technology to do the work for you. Once you start leaning into and depending on that, you have lost your way. This is not to say that leveraging AI and all the wonderful things it has to offer should be avoided; however, it should be used sparingly when it comes to truly leading others.

This is why you can count on all the imperfections of this and all my future blogs—it was truly written with AI: Authentic Intelligence (the good, the bad, and the ugly of that). Go make that authentic impact, everyone!