AI May Be the Future, But Human Connection Is Paramount in Leadership Management

2023 has been the year of artificial intelligence (AI).

AI has been growing behind the scenes for decades now, and this year was its coming out party. 

AI is soaking up the headlines. Doomsayers are painting vivid pictures of the apocalypse, and movies such as “Oppenheimer” and “The Creator” are highlighting the challenges of this new technology. 

At the same time, businesses and investors are pouring money into new AI development. Tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Search Generative Experience are finding exciting new applications. 

Everywhere you look, for better or for worse, people are embracing AI. There’s no doubt that it will define the future. And yet, we can’t let the shift to AI allow us to lose our human touch, especially in the areas of business that matter most. 

As we adjust to life with AI, we have to remember that nothing will ever replace the human connection in business—especially when it comes to managing the C-suite. 

Nothing will ever replace the human connection in business—especially when it comes to managing the C-suite.

The Importance of Personal Interactions in the Workplace

The arrival of AI may feel sudden, but it has actually been a bit of a slow burn. The term itself was coined in 1956, over half a century ago. On top of an already rich history, AI is still very much a work in progress. Amy Webb, professor of strategic foresight at New York University and the founder of Future Today Institute, recently forecasted (via Pew Research) that “the transition through AI will last the next 50 years or more.” 

In other words, we’re only halfway through a century-long AI revolution. As we go along, we have to remember that these are new tools that we’re working with. They are rewriting how we do things, but they aren’t replacing who we are. 

In the coming years, we need to look for ways to integrate AI into business without losing our humanity in the process.  

The need for human connection in the workplace is becoming increasingly evident as we grapple with various challenges of the 21st century, not all of which are directly related to AI. For instance, the pandemic accelerated the widespread adoption of remote work, offering numerous advantages. But it also underscored concerns about issues such as loneliness, collaboration, and communication in this remote-first world that the crisis created. Similarly, other technologies like social media raise comparable concerns. 

The need to connect, both as peers and as coworkers, remains a critical part of a positive, thriving workplace. Even if they’re occasional rather than constant, we still need real-person interactions to keep us connected and to maintain that human touch.  

This isn’t just important for employees and team members, either. It’s a principle that applies right at the top of an organization, too. 

The Need for the Human Connection in Leadership 

Leaders are humans, too, and they require human touch just as much as everyone else. This goes both ways. 

On the one hand, leaders must exude a human connection as they lead others and turn plans into action. From hiring to firing, managing to empowering, leaders must possess a deftness and empathy that allows them to gauge how their employees are feeling, not just as workers but as human beings. 

On the other hand, there’s a poignant need to preserve the human touch in leadership management, development, and recruitment processes. In-person conversations and interactions are more than just a perk for C-suites stuck in the past. They remain an essential aspect of building and maintaining an effective leadership team. 

As an executive search and leadership advisory consultant, I see this on the recruitment end of the process the most often. If you reduce the leadership hiring process to a computer-driven formula, you lose a huge part of what makes executive recruitment successful.  

If you reduce the leadership hiring process to a computer-driven formula, you lose a huge part of what makes executive recruitment successful.

At Stanton Chase, we continue to prioritize the human touch throughout the recruitment process. We seek face-to-face meetings and personal interactions as we help our clients identify and vet the right leaders for their organizations. 

That’s not to say that technology doesn’t play its part. We have tools, software, and procedures that help along the way. But we must integrate these into, rather than replace, the human part of the process. An experienced executive recruiter will have more nuance than an AI-powered applicant tracker. They’ll be able to consider personality, characteristics, soft skills, cultural fit, and other intangibles that are difficult to reduce to ones and zeros. 

Of course, the need for human touch and real-person interactions continues after the hiring process, as well. Onboarding, training, and ongoing development require mentors with past experience, insights, and empathy, all of which can’t come from a training manual. 

This even impacts the act of overseeing the C-suite shuffle. Deciding who should fill each role or when to add a new member of the C-suite, such as an ESG Leader or CSCO, is a subtle line of reasoning and requires human wisdom. 

AI is certainly here to stay, and those who are willing to embrace a growth mindset should be looking for positive ways to integrate it into daily life as we move forward. However, artificial intelligence should never be seen as a replacement for how the business world works. Even if their frequency and form are changing, human touch and real-person interactions remain an important part of business, nowhere more so than in the process of managing the upper echelons of an organization. 

About the Author

Tim Fetzer is a Director at Stanton Chase Nashville with over 10 years of global search experience. Tim has successfully completed searches for various management roles in sales for DAX 40 companies, financial institutions, and start-ups. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hult International Business School in London. Tim is from Germany and has lived in several countries.