WHOSE JOB IS IT TO MANAGE AI TRANSFORMATION?

I've noticed a disturbing trend in recent years with the proliferation of temporary “Transformation Leader” roles.  Many of these roles now include an "AI transformation" component.

With good intent, this person is hired to steward the organisation to a desired future state with a dash of empathy, robust communications, engaging workshops with a well-meaning process and probably a culture toolkit.

The question I ask is: whose job is it to transform?

It seems to me that any transformation, no matter what it's called is actually "Strategy Execution" dressed up as "Transformation".

After all, isn’t there a strategic imperative to undertake an AI transformation?

And, how temporary is a “transformation” role anyway? Especially with AI, the market is moving so quickly, AI isn't something that you can set and forget, especially with the extent of vigilant monitoring required.

AI Transformation Team Meeting

I believe the best organisations are consistently adapting, evolving and changing, this would include their uses of artificial intelligence.  Just like the ERP boom in the 1990s, then came e-commerce, then cloud computing systems, then came Covid, now AI and so on. Constant change is just that, constant. Some companies would have gone through three digital transformations in less than 10 years!

Understandably, the trouble with temporary transformation leadership roles is there is one eye on the organisation and the other on their next gig. How well can one be aligned to your long term success if they need to put food on the table? There's a setup-to-fail conflict of interest right there.

I generally find organisations are made up of two types of people. The first group are the ones who like to create something new (they are good at executing but get bored easily), and the second group are ones who like to manage the as-built environment (prefer steady state with routine tasks).

If your organisation has permanent people who are good at executing (i.e. the first group) give them a new challenge, to take on a transformation, rather than bring in a stranger from outside. One of the biggest causes of project failure is having a steady-state type person leading the way. Tightly holding onto the old ways of working is usually the stumbling block.

Lastly, call transformation what it is: strategy execution. And, plan for persistent change to roll each into the next. That's why I really like rolling 90-day plans. If execution is the gap in the organisation, hire permanent people who are good at executing.

Stay safe, Bruce

ABOUT ME

I write all my own content, you can tell by the odd typo and occasional missing word. I use AI for research. I also teach organisations how to implement the Australian AI Governance Standard and confidently transition to AI systems. To learn about my upcoming public AI Governance workshops visit: Public workshops

To learn more about AI Governance, check out my Hitchhikers Guide to AI Governance Podcast visit: Hitchhikers Guide to AI Governance Podcast