Years ago, I had the pleasure of working with an Operations Manager who was an extraordinary leader. His employees worshipped him. He knew them all by name, understood their families and interests, worked side-by-side with them, and provided feedback to help them achieve their goals. His locations always got results—there was no other option!
As an HR leader, working with him was a dream. Recruiting for his teams was easy—managers and employees wanted to work for him, hoping for the day an opportunity would become available. Employee relations issues? Practically non-existent, thanks to his honest and compassionate approach. But even the best leaders struggle with certain tasks, as I learned when he came to me with an unexpected ultimatum.
Once a year, leaders were required to complete performance appraisals for their teams. The Operations Manager came to me and said, “If I have to write performance reviews,” I quit.”
I laughed, thinking he was joking. “That’s not funny,” I said.
He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I am not kidding.”
I froze. “What? No, you can’t quit. Sorry, not happening. What’s going on?”
He replied, “I hate these performance reviews; I won’t do them.”
This didn’t make sense to me. Every time I visited his team, I saw him giving verbal, on-the-spot feedback to his managers and employees. They often said, “I always know where I stand, there are no surprises.” So, why the sudden change of heart?
I said, “You’re a master at giving feedback and coaching your team. Your people hear the truth—even if they don’t like it—because you tell them in a way that helps them improve and grow. Why now? What’s changed?”
His body language shifted; he looked down, and his shoulders hunched as if he was trying to crawl into himself. In a quiet voice, he confessed, “I can’t write. Every year when I sit down to do reviews, I struggle to put words on paper. It takes me hours to stare at a blank page, rewriting over and over, and it still sounds like crap. I hate this task—it’s embarrassing, and I don’t want to go through it again.”
He wouldn’t even look at me. His embarrassment was clear. Here was a top performer in the company, yet this one task made him feel like a failure.
I thanked him for his courage and said, “If I asked you about any of your employees right now, you could talk for an hour about their strengths, weaknesses, and potential. You’re an amazing communicator. Why don’t you record yourself giving feedback as if the person was sitting across from you? We can transcribe it into the performance review.”
He looked up, surprised. “I can do that?”
“Absolutely.”
“That sounds so easy! That’s exactly what I’ll do. Thank you! And don’t worry, I’m not quitting.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.
If Artificial Intelligence (AI) had existed back then, that same Operations Manager could have solved his problem even faster. He could have opened a chatbot, spoken his feedback into the microphone, and within minutes, AI would have transcribed and structured his thoughts into a draft performance review. Sure, he might have needed to tweak a few phrases, but the hardest part—the blank page—would have been eliminated.
The Role of AI in Leadership
AI offers leaders valuable support by handling time-consuming tasks and enhancing decision-making. Here are a few key ways it helps:
- Utilize Data-Driven Decision Making: AI provides leaders with real-time insights from vast data, helping them make informed strategic decisions, whether it’s about market trends, customer behavior, or internal team dynamics.
- Automate Routine Tasks: Leaders can delegate routine administrative work—like scheduling, email responses, or reporting—to AI tools. This frees up time for strategic thinking and team engagement.
- Enhance Communication: AI assists leaders with clear and consistent messaging across teams, offering suggestions for tone, structure, and even language to ensure communication resonates with employees.
- Tailor Employee Development: AI helps leaders identify individual strengths and areas for improvement within their teams. It can recommend personalized learning paths or suggest mentoring opportunities, ensuring each team member grows in ways that align with business goals.
- Monitor Performance: AI can track performance metrics in real time, offering leaders insights into team productivity, employee satisfaction, and potential red flags, enabling proactive leadership before issues arise.
While AI simplifies processes, it doesn’t replace human leadership. It’s a tool that enhances what makes leaders great—communication, empathy, and strategic thinking.
“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” Steve Jobs