Photo credit: A Facebook post Created by AI
Today’s initial thoughts come from my colleague Jude Foulston, followed by a chapter from Keith Coats and Graeme Codrington’s Leading in a Changing World book…
I’ve not been able to stop myself from alerting friends and family to the fact that content they’re sharing on social media has been created by AI.
And as beautiful and heartfelt as these images and stories have been, they’re just not REAL.
One example this week included a heartwarming story about a sad and lonely Grandfather, who ended up bringing a community of sad and lonely teens together through human connection and a QR code… supported with a realistic photo of the teens gathered around Grandpa at the bus stop.
A story that perhaps many communities wish would really happen in their suburbs.
Except – AI made it all up.
And with a little bit of critical thinking, a little bit of analysis, it was clear that neither the story nor the image was real.
Some people said, ‘Oh, but it’s such a heartwarming story, and we can all take something from it.’
Yes – we can… but AI made it up, and nowhere on the tear jerker, highly shareable post did it mention that AI was the ‘author’ and ‘photographer’.
Fake news is fake news – whether it’s a good story or bad one, and if you’re going to share a fictional story, made up by AI – just acknowledge that. No one is saying you can’t share such stories, but not realising that they’ve been created by AI is a problem.
And so perhaps it was serendipitous that I found myself re-reading a chapter from Graeme and Keith’s ‘Leading in a Changing World’ book on flat-earth thinking yesterday, and I thought I’d share some of the chapter here today.
(And yes, getting distracted with reading a chapter happens when I should be editing the foreword to include a personalised message from Graeme for our client who ordered 100 books for their upcoming conference, where he’s presenting.)
Let’s consider calling the inability to see new truths (whether that’s the role AI currently plays in our worlds, climate change or a myriad of other ‘new truths’) as ‘flat-earth thinking’.
And with that in mind – here’s some of that chapter on flat-earth thinking.
Identifying our blind spots.
Decoupling or ‘disenthralling’ ourselves from our favourite methodology, pet theories, or well-worn traditions that have outlived their usefulness and purpose is never easy. Yet this is what the work that challenges flat-earth thinking entails.
There are three things that leaders can utilise to counter flat-earth thinking.
1.Curiosity. The enemy of dogma – of flat-earth thinking – is curiosity. The presence of curiosity will always mean that things that are taken for granted will be challenged. Smart leaders look to nurture and foster curiosity within the DNA of their organisations.
Smart leaders understand that well-directed curiosity can lead to wonderful things and so they actively encourage it, believing there is always a better way to do things.
2.Courage. If you are going to be curious, courage will be required. Courage means that you are willing to live with the consequences of where your questions and subsequent actions might lead you.
Courage means you are not prepared to play the political games that characterise many work environments. Courage means that you are willing to be wrong; that you value authenticity; that you take a stand.
3.Commitment. Leaders need to be committed to the process that challenging flat-earth thinking will require. We live in work environments dominated by programmes and quick fixes. There is often little appreciation or patience for things that require process.
Commitment means an appreciation for processes and the willingness to see things through – even though it may take time and no small amount of effort. To challenge prevailing wisdom and turn that into a new way of seeing/doing/being is seldom instantaneous or done easily.
Disruptive processes are the lifeblood of innovation and newness, and what such processes look like requires wisdom, perspective, and… commitment.
More great questions and actions for leaders.
Practically speaking, how can these concepts of curiosity, courage, and commitment be added to your leadership toolkit? Here are some pointers on how best to cultivate these three ‘weapons’ intentionally in the war against flat-earth thinking.
- Ask questions that start with ‘why’.
- Challenge assumptions.
- Don’t be afraid to initiate a ‘pause’ in meetings to think some more.
- Start your meeting with a period of silence – and take note of the responses.
- Look to learn from failure. Suspend judgment and interrogate the entire process that led to the failure.
- Read biographies of those you deem to have been courageous and committed. Share their stories with your team.
- Define what you mean by ‘committed’. Answers might surprise you depending on the age of the respondent!
- Watch children at play… then go and play with them. Allow them to be ‘the boss’ of whatever it is you are engaged in.
- Watch movies/TV programmes that you might not ordinarily watch.
- Take a different route to work every day for a week.
- Rearrange your office. Do without your office.
- Look to learn something new every week. Keep a record of your learning.
- Invite others to perform functions that you usually reserve for yourself. Watch how they go about it.
- Take the youngest/newest/oldest/most maverick members of your team/staff to lunch and ask them questions about what they think/see/feel when it comes to working in your team/company.
- Identify the urgent things driving your agenda. Then list the things that are important. Discuss your findings with someone you feel might be able to reflect with you/offer some helpful perspective.
- Read the Dr Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go.
- Ask five good customers/clients what you could do differently in your dealings with them – things that would enhance the relationship or add value. Now do the same with five customers/clients whom you would rather not have that conversation with!
- Ask your team (individually) to hold you accountable for something that you want to improve concerning how you lead.
- Explore the Enneagram as a personal assessment tool/ framework.
- Find/meet with a mentor.
- Identify people you think are curious/courageous/committed and try to get to know them better.
- Watch the sunrise/sunset every day for a week.
- Identify what the most courageous thing you have ever done was and then reflect on the circumstances, results, and impact of that event/moment. What insights do you take from this for where you are today?
- Volunteer to help out at a charity/non-profit for a short period of time.
- Invite yourself to dinner with a staff member who is from a different culture/background from you.
- Walk the floor; visit places in your office/factory that you seldom get to.
- Do somebody else’s job for a morning/day.
- Ask ‘Is there a better way’ for at least five things in which you are routinely involved within the context of your work/ leadership. Explore the options.
- Suspend some rules/restrictions in the ‘way things are done’ in your company and see what results.
- Ask five people for the ‘best book’ they have read – and read them. Make sure at least two are fiction.
- Ask people what is important to them concerning their work. Don’t settle on the first thing (or even the second thing) they tell you. Dig deeper.
- Ask others in your organisation questions like, ‘If you had my job, how would you go about doing it? What might I be missing? What do you think we have in common?’
If we were to pause more regularly and ask questions like these and engage in activities like these, it would have the effect of creating greater innovation, providing clearer insights, and allowing us to move forward more confidently. It might serve to enhance the debate, even change the debate, and free us from getting stuck as we so often do when it comes to contentious issues.
This type of ‘stuff’ isn’t really that hard. It is just that many leaders neglect it… and then forget about it altogether, and the trap of flat-earth thinking is sprung without you even knowing it!
3 Ways our team can help your team lead and thrive in a changing world:
- Book a keynote – let us help you with which of our frameworks will suit your audience and needs best.
- Our enneagram workshop is a great team builder that will have a lasting impact on your people and how they work together with a better understanding of self and others.
- And of course, our Leading in a Changing World books, co-authored by Keith and Graeme, are available to order – contact us here and we can assist.