Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become and will continue to be increasingly prevalent and omnipresent in our worlds, and with new developments in AI technology, are likely to become so much more so going forward. Cars park themselves; HR can allow their employees to manage their own vacation time, 401k’s, and keep track of hours worked; (online) stores keep track of our recent purchases to make it easier to buy again by algorithm; our passwords are stored in some mystical cloud so when we log into our favorite websites, they automatically populate; Uber knows our home address magically... clearly we could go on (and on and on... Alexa and Siri have become close personal friends - kidding!). These are all phenomenal technological developments and we marvel at how simple and easy it makes our lives. But, as with just about everything in life, we need to find a counter balance to all these wonders of technology. We are humans and guess what? Humans conceive, create, develop and produce all this magic. And humans need other humans to survive, businesses don’t run by themselves, and employees need to work together to make a business successful. SO. How to find the balance?
Merriam Webster defines balance as “ equipoise (equilibrium, counterbalance) between contrasting, opposing, or interacting elements.” We can’t think of two more existentially opposing realities than AI and EI (emotional intelligence) that are more interwoven in our society today, and how fundamentally important it is to balance the two.
The development and implementation of the AI piece, while completely outside of FIG world and basically like speaking Greek to this author, is fairly straightforward. Algorithms and “smart technology” are created, generally universally adopted, and voila, our lives are made more efficient (with profound apologies to our tech friends for the gross oversimplification of their magnificent work). EI, however, has unfortunately become correlated with so-called “soft skills'.' There is nothing “soft” about EI, at all. EI is actually an extraordinarily sophisticated and advanced brain function involving self perception and awareness (how many people do you know who have absolutely no clue how they are received or perceived by others?), self expression (how we communicate in a way our words will be heard and received), interpersonal skills (how we get along and work effectively with our co-workers), decision making (thoughtful, careful, well-reasoned choices), and stress management (what we do and how we conduct ourselves when situations or events blow up, professionally and personally). These skills are HARD: hard to learn (if they weren’t modeled as children), hard to practice (because mistakes will happen and it takes practice), hard to implement if others around us don’t have them, and they take a long time to master (anyone out there seeing a correlation to FIG? Hmmm?).
“In the simplest form, [EI is] the ability to not just solve problems, but understand and connect with the reasons why those problems are occurring and how they impact other people. It’s the ability to care. Rather than getting stuff done, people (and therefore businesses) with high emotional intelligence get stuff done in a way that works best for those they are working for…...One of the key tenets of emotional intelligence is that you aren’t just able to read the needs of others, but you’re aware of your own emotional trappings. Therefore, if you tend to be more analytic and problem-solving in nature, it’s essential that you make an intentional effort to work more empathic goals into your business, marketing, and AI efforts. In a recent podcast conversation I had with Splunk CTO Tim Tully, he shared that he has started looking at problems with an emotionally intelligent mindset, asking questions like ‘What are the other issues I’m not seeing here.’ AI won’t take the step to do this for you. In fact, it will only reinforce whatever bias you bring...” Daniel Newman. July 6, 2020. Forbes
In her July 6, 2015 article, Emotional Intelligence IS No Soft Skill, High Emotional Intelligence is a strong Predictor of Success., Laura Wilcox's states, “The core of high EI is self-awareness: if you don’t understand your own motivations and behaviors, it’s nearly impossible to develop an understanding of others. A lack of self-awareness can also thwart your ability to think rationally and apply technical capabilities…..Throughout a work day, there are numerous emotional triggers: an e-mail from a superior saying “We need to talk,” a comment made by a colleague with a hidden agenda, even a funny look from someone important in the office. It can take us nearly 20 minutes to recover from an emotional encounter.” 20 minutes to recover from an emotional encounter! Eeeek! Again with a sincere prayer for forgiveness for the AI developers out there, this is hard if not impossible for computers to navigate - yet.
“In our research involving 1,500 companies, we found that firms achieve the most significant performance improvements when humans and machines work together….What comes naturally to people (making a joke, for example) can be tricky for machines, and what’s straightforward for machines (analyzing gigabytes of data) remains virtually impossible for humans. Business requires both kinds of capabilities.” “What Makes a Leader” Harvard Business Review, January 2004
Balance, people. AI will be with us for the foreseeable future and so will human beings. Hopefully we’re investing equally in the EI skills and development of our human employees as we do with the marvel of AI that makes us smarter and more efficient. We require both to succeed to stand apart from those who do not recognize, support and encourage each side of the balanced scale. We need both. Seriously.
Until next time…….