AI Isn't a Substitute For Human Skills

As Michael Fenlon, Executive Director of Harvard Online and former Chief People Officer of PwC, puts it, in an age of AI, “nobody in an organization is paid to be average.” Technical skills are now table stakes; what differentiates individuals and organizations is the ability to turn AI capability into business impact.

AI can generate options; humans still must decide what problems are worth solving. Companies need leadership – not automation.

A Simple Five-Question Audit Before Scaling with AI

Most leaders assume AI success comes down to technology. After helping organizations navigate digital transformation for years, Matt Domo can tell you that is rarely the deciding factor. He has worked with companies that invested millions in data platforms, machine learning models and AI tools only to see minimal business impact.

Before he helps any company scale AI, he runs a simple five-question audit.  The first question is always the most important because everything else depends on the answer.

Learn more about the five-question audit.

Technology may power transformation. Leadership determines whether transformation actually happens.

Good Leaders Blaze Their Own Path

Roadmaps are great for getting from Point A to Point B, but building a business isn’t a predictable journey.

Key takeaways from this article are:

• The Lewis and Clark expedition serves as an example of embracing the unknown, where their preparedness and adaptability led to monumental discoveries beyond their initial mission.
• Business leaders should approach the unknown with care and curiosity, without being constrained by rigid roadmaps that can limit innovation and response to change.
• Entrepreneurial success demands a balance of deep preparation and the flexibility to pivot when unexpected opportunities or challenges arise, much like the historic expedition.

As the author says, "If your goal is to chart new territory and build something truly useful, preparation matters – but so do curiosity and adaptability. Equip yourself for the journey, then let go of the roadmap. The most valuable opportunities will reveal themselves along the way."

Ensure Your Team Can Meet Challenges Head On

How do you ensure your team is prepared to meet challenges head on or even before they happen?

Here are four lessons leaders can take to guide their teams when disaster strikes.

Habits and Routines of 5 Successful People

As a woman president, you understand the importance of creating good habits; your habits can either help or hurt your success in life. Habits form good, regular routines that put you on track to accomplish your significant life and business goals. 

Here are the habits and nighttime routines of successful people that you can incorporate into your own routine. End your night well-rested and, by extension, set yourself up for a successful start to your day. 

Borrow the success playbooks of these well-known leaders.  They may not all be presidents but they know a thing or two about motivating others and making each day count.

Turning Empathy Into Compassion

As Arthur Brooks for The Atlantic says, "In contemporary culture, empathy seems like a fairly unalloyed virtue. As virtues go, however, empathy is overrated. Used excessively and on its own, it can bring harm to empathizers and empathizees alike. Instead of striving to be more empathetic, we should all try to build on empathy to cultivate its superior cousin: compassion."

Empathy is not feeling sorry for someone in physical or emotional pain—that’s sympathy. Rather, it is mentally putting yourself in the suffering person’s shoes to feel their pain. It’s the difference between “Get well soon” and “I can imagine how much discomfort you must be feeling right now.”

As business owners who lead, learning to turn empathy into compassion is a virtue in and of itself.  Read the full article here.

Growing As a Leader: Sandy Marsico, founder and CEO of Sandstorm

Long time WPO Chicago member Sandy Marsico, founder and CEO of Sandstorm, says:

"Ten years ago I became a member of the Women Presidents Organization to help scale my agency. Not only has Sandstorm Design gone through explosive growth, but I have personally grown as a leader thanks to Laurel Delaney and this group! 

Just this week, fellow WPO board member, Ida Abdalkhani and I interviewed each other on the impact WPO has made on our business and our life. 

The team at PNC made the entire day so much fun! And to be on camera with such a great friend made it even more memorable!" 

Learn more here.

Great Leaders Are Self Aware

According to Lindsay McGregor, leaders need to inspire their employees not just to execute their jobs well, but to also find purpose within their roles. 

Great leaders are self-aware and able to objectively assess whether they’re setting a good example for the rest of the team to follow. By first modeling the behavior they want to see in their team members, leaders will be that much closer to having a fully engaged team in good times and in bad.

Here are some ways leaders can better connect with their teams, encourage collaborative leadership, and inspire team members to do their very best work.

How to Tell If You or Someone Else Will Make a Great Leader (Within 5 Minutes)?

Answering these 10 questions (honestly) with "often" or "almost always" would certainly indicate that you or someone else may be fit to lead at a high level.

Let's Sharpen Our Business Leadership Skills Post COVID-19

Let's reexamine the way we lead our businesses and our people, and redefine strength itself. 

COVID-19 has ushered in a new template we should be following when recruiting our managers and team leaders. Those with highly developed “soft skills” will be the ones who take our organizations into the future.

Read on to learn what leadership looks like post COVID-19.  It requires real change.

Happy New Year! Let's Show Our Leadership Resiliency, Adaptability, and Strength in 2021

Only the tough will survive and thrive through 2021, so let's get started!  No need to set resolutions this year because we learned the hard way that sometimes curve balls come our way (COVID-19) and the only way to dodge or navigate through them is to figure out a new plan.

A handful of experts came up with 7 alternatives to setting resolutions for 2021 that will boost our confidence, happiness, and productivity throughout the year.

Check them out.  Meanwhile, let's show and practice our leadership resiliency, adaptability and strength in 2021.  Oh, and did I forget to tell you to be kind and help others?  Try.

Article of Interest: Key, Timeless Leadership Attributes

According to Erika Andersen, CEO, Proteus International, leadership hasn't changed much over the decades and centuries.  What's in store for each of us as we lead our organizations into a new century?

... the only real shifts they anticipated in what will be required of leaders are the ability to think truly globally, and the capacity to lead through continuous and substantive change. 

Will that be you?  

Learn more here. 

Ms. Andersen says:

I’ve been thinking about leaders lately, and how important good leaders are going to be over the next couple of years. As we start to come out of this recession, and to right our ship of state on a variety of levels, I’m noticing more than ever before how important it is for organizations to have strong and flexible leaders.

Read about her Leading model here.  One of her books can be found here.