The one thing AI can’t automate

(and why your people are scared).

Last week I met with a Head of People and Culture to talk about change management training as part of AI implementation across the business. After signing in, at the coolest, most thoughtful and creative reception area, devoid of people, but not of personality or interest that represented their work and customers, I was offered an office tour.

Now this doesn’t happen very often, and I can say hand on heart that I have never felt the need to give an office tour to any guests when I worked in a corporate office.

Basically I have never worked anywhere with an office nice enough to warrant a tour.

Throughout my career I have often worked in the most industrial parts of cities, often adjacent to, or above a warehouse or the operating part of the business. Think manufacturing sites, engineering projects and similar.

In fact, one office I worked in was so shabby, with stained carpets, 1980’s wood laminate and piles of paper on people’s desks, the slightest spark would have caused the demise of that 12 story building 🔥

This office had some very funky design, and creative and thoughtful features, think a Harry Potter style library for quiet work, a secret door for the child in all of us, snacks and drinks, and more. The day I visited there was a dumpling lunch for everyone. I love dumplings. It left me wondering how fun it would be to come work in this office, and would they adopt me, and let me work there?

But I was there to discuss their change management training and while I don’t consider myself a "change management expert", I have led a lot of change. Change to get ready for an organisation to be acquired. Change to integrate a collection of acquired organisations. Change to operating models and leadership teams. Change to introduce new systems and software, and wholesale culture change, to meet the changing market needs. Maybe I should call myself a change management expert? 🤔

So in all this I have learnt there is always two parts to any change.

1. The mechanics of change or the nuts and bolts. These are the things like:

• Understanding where we are now and the reason for the change,

• Planning where we are heading, and painting a picture of the future.

• Having a project plan with all the steps, interdependences and responsibilities and accountabilities.

• Knowing who the stakeholders are, and their role in the change.

• Working out what needs to be communicated, to who, and when.

• Having a senior level sponsor, and more.

2. The people part of change, or as I like to call it, the most important part!

• How can we bring people along with the change? What are their needs and fears, and how do we understand these?

• What skills and experience do our people need as part of the change?

• What upskilling do we need to invest in?

• Does our current culture support the change we are making? What shifts do we need to make in our culture to support the change?

• How do we support and equip our leaders, and more.

The part that is the most challenging is the people part, because in my experience most of us don’t like change, especially when it threatens our sense of who we are, and our livelihoods. Even those of us who say we like change still have moments that we don’t like, and that are stressful.

I like to think I like change, and I have moved countries five times now which is surely evidence of this. However there is always a period (often multiple periods if I’m honest) during the move, where I think my head is going to explode from the stress, uncertainty and ambiguity of the situation.

I have also been part of many changes within organisations, where I have often been leading the change, which is way more comfortable and very different to the feeling of having the change done to you. I have experienced this too.

This is what happening now with AI. Some organisations have a clear strategy and are thinking about how to support leaders and their people with using these new tools. They are communicating their plans and being honest. They are providing the right training at the right time, and are ensuring it's equitable.

Others are throwing AI tools at their people, along with some online training and hoping for the best. For their people it feels like change is being done to them, and they are invisible in any decisions.

So that organisation I met last week? With the cool office? They are in the former category. They are being thoughtful about what, and how they are implementing their AI, just like they were thoughtful in their office design, but many of their people are feeling scared, and like they have no agency. That’s because (and in my view) the introduction of AI into our organisations is perhaps the biggest and fastest change we have seen ever, and perhaps our leaders and people need even more support during this time.

This quote sums it up for me:

“I think we’re living in the most interesting, opportunistic, terrifying time to be an entrepreneur, a professional, to really be anybody because this is a moment of such fundamental change” Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO.

Couldn’t have said it better.

Lisa xx