Coaching creativity: the crux of mastering AI

Sarah Towers at Entec Si discusses the importance of training for efficient use of AI-systems and what this should look like to properly equip the workforce

Advances in the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) have brought marked improvements across everything from cyber-security to customer services. Yet the attention this has attracted is amplifying concerns over digital competency and job security, with research showing that six in ten UK workers want training on generative AI.

This has led to a perceived AI capability and skills gap by many when, in reality, there is simply a lack of awareness. There are many existing applications of AI that have been comfortably used by millions for several decades, such as spellcheckers and website chatbots.

The secret to resolving this issue lies in training, but not in the obvious sense. If workforces are to feel at ease with AI and digital change generally, leaders mustn’t focus on training staff to use tools but instead coach their people to be more innovative and adaptable.

The current picture of people’s understanding of AI is mixed. In the private sector, where businesses have had to stay innovative and abreast of the latest digital solutions to survive, the adoption and awareness around AI use cases is far higher than their public sector counterparts.

In part, this is down to chronic underinvestment and budget cuts in the public sector where ‘creative thinkers’ were often the first resource cut loose. A migration of these professionals into private businesses followed suit and has contributed to the imbalance in digital progression seen today.

Exploring outside the box is fundamental to mastering any form of organisational change nowadays; it enables workforces to be more adaptable to change and find new ways of using it to the people or organisation’s advantage. Take digital change as an example. Technology can be implemented to drive efficiency in traditional business processes, for example, by using robotic process automation (RPA) to automate invoicing.

However, the real value and long-term reward is in focusing on the process itself and how that can be transformed to create meaningful change for end users and customers. Technology is then applied to deliver the desired change outcome.

Understandably, there is more resistance to this type of approach among public sector organisations where reframing how people work or use digital tools can seem a huge risk for a boat that is already rocking. This is often the case in local government where the goal is to stay afloat with the funding available and not risk a failure to deliver services by changing the order of operations.

Yet positive change for good cannot be achieved through rigidity and compartmentalised working. With more councils expected to go over budget and the increase in section 114 notices, now is the time for workforces to embrace a more collaborative and innovative approach to work.

In the context of AI, there is also a growing fear that this ‘digital monster’ is about to usurp jobs or will require a lot of effort to understand and use. A study by Amazon revealed that 88 per cent of workers expect to use AI in their daily work by 2028, despite the fact that people have already been using AI-based tools without training for years.

In reality, when used properly, AI can free up workers to focus on harder, more thoughtful, interesting, and enjoyable activities. Technology should be used to deliver the more administrative or mundane tasks.

Before leaders launch into building innovation and adaptability into the workforce, dispelling the AI rumours and removing the fear of the unknown must be the first port of call. Across both public and private sectors, leadership teams need to educate themselves on existing uses of AI in their business or organisation and ensure every worker is on the same page.

AI is often a misused term that can make it seem like a standalone machine lurking in the corner when it’s rather an invisible technology incorporated into many digital devices and software, such as the aforementioned example of spellchecker.

Leaders must decouple the workforce’s understanding of AI with helping people to approach their work with more innovation and flexibility. People must be coached and empowered to challenge the status quo and think differently about how services or products can be improved for the customer.

Holding workshops or sessions can help to begin to unlock this creativity. Going back to basics and brainstorming ideas with a whiteboard and preventing workers from using ‘can’t’ in their answers often prove effective ways to start to draw out innovative ideas.

Mastering AI is not about learning to use a tool. It’s about helping the workforce to develop an open mind.

Sarah Towers is the director of operations at business change consultancy, Entec Si.

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and nd3000