Walmart CEO Doug McMillon recently addressed a workforce conference at Walmart headquarters with an opening phrase that has all leaders on edge. “It’s very clear that AI is going to change literally every job,” he said. McMillon said this to a room full of Walmart executives and leadership teams from other organizations.
What he meant, and what was restlessly perceived, is that leadership isn’t safe from the reach of AI. He went on to say that there may be a job that AI won’t change, but he has not yet heard of it. It is reported that the room fell silent after McMillion’s words sank in. I’ve recently witnessed the same holding of breath with my own leadership clients.
The thing that McMillian didn’t hit on, though, is that AI has already changed every job. It has moved from a projected future of change to one that’s already here. But for the most part, leadership doesn’t know how to act or react.
An unstoppable force
You’re probably already using AI to write emails, think about projects from several angles, and even to help navigate tricky situations. AI will test leaders’ adaptability, foresight, and team alignment. It will also quickly highlight leadership gaps. What you can do, and what I coach my clients to do, is stay ahead of this rapidly shifting technology. Treat AI as a learning tool by teaching your teams to experiment, think critically, build contingency plans, and utilize the technology collaboratively.
I’ve seen leadership build AI onboarding teams and develop AI think tanks to understand the options and utilize the technology to advance and create, which is a great approach. However, I’ve also seen those same teams whisper in hallways about the ability this technology has to replace jobs completely. They ask each other how they can hold it back or avoid the inevitable from happening. However, as McMillan said, “the objective is to create the opportunity for everybody to make it to the other side.”
Stopping the panic
As a leader in the AI age, you have two options: You can lead with caution and trepidation or you can open meetings to discussion, be transparent, and communicate with your teams about what’s coming in the way of AI and what they can expect. You can even ask teams to create AI workflows and think critically about its limitations.
I recommend the latter way of communicating with your team because transparency is needed now more than ever. It’s easier to stay quiet and integrate AI into the everyday workflow overnight by hiring a few people to oversee the technology. However, being as open and honest as possible with the people you lead builds trust in your leadership. This is the trust that’s necessary to stop the spread of panic and fear of an AI takeover.
Leadership will change too
AI is also putting a new spotlight on ethics. As a leader in the age of AI, your role is to safeguard your team against privacy concerns, biases, and fairness dilemmas. Leadership has always been a position based on ethics, but its reach extends much further with AI.
Navigating a human-AI hybrid workforce will challenge you to recall the reasons why you became a leader and hold fast to your values. AI is going to push leaders to stand up and stand firm while leading transparently. This may seem like the time to lead with quiet uncertainty, but the opposite is true. AI is about to expose the underbelly of leadership. Those who don’t hold their seat with strength will be swept aside.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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Jerry Colonna
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