Stories about AI are everywhere. From billion-dollar valuations in months to doomsday unemployment scenarios and just about everything in between.
Underpinning all the opportunities and challenges sits a fundamental question: How to shape leadership teams that are equipped to really take advantage.
It is widely accepted that the potential of AI extends beyond technology. Its pervasive nature is inviting leadership teams to reconsider, and in some cases redefine how their organisations create value. The opportunity is real, and results will depend on the quality of the leaders and the questions being asked in the boardroom and across key functions in the organisation.
We’ve talked to 100 progressive board and C-suite leaders – CEOs, CFOs, CHROs, CMOs, CIO/CDIO, Chairs and NEDs – to understand the key questions they are asking.
The real win for AI
The most exciting opportunity is reinvention.
- Where could AI unlock entirely new revenue streams?
- How could it reshape our customer experience in a way competitors can’t easily replicate?
- If we were building this business today, what would we design differently?
These are organisation-specific capital allocation decisions which boards and leadership teams are entirely used to making. What’s different is the level of uncertainty and the pace at which the context is changing. The shift for leaders is the requirement for systematic, rapid experimentation to identify where to concentrate investment, talent and attention in real time as signals emerge. This requires elevated levels of leadership curiosity and agility alongside highly effective, aligned operational capability.
Acquiring leadership capability to realise AI opportunity
This is where decisive action can make a real difference. Most organisations are rightly investing in and experimenting with tools and training. Fewer are asking whether their leadership capabilities and succession plan are fit for what they are looking to achieve.
- Do we understand the type of AI capability we need to achieve our goals?
- How does our organisation’s AI skills level, organisation and ownership compare to our best performing competitors?
- How should we acquire the skills necessary – develop internally or hire externally?
- Are we identifying and developing leaders who are comfortable operating in this kind of environment?
- Do our succession plans reflect the capabilities we’ll need in three to five years?
Some clients are sensibly investing in mapping AI skills populations and how their most successful competitors are approaching AI. This is powerful input for turning their organisation’s vision into reality.
The AI-Augmented opportunity
Ultimately, the impact of AI will be shaped by leadership quality. It’s common to frame AI as disruptive. For leadership teams, it’s also an opportunity to challenge how value is created; how teams are built and how organisations are led. Those who engage with these questions early, informed by robust data and insight, are well placed to gain ground on their competitors.
Savannah recently helped diagnose, design and deliver AI capability for a digital gaming company – see how here.
