Soft Skills & SOFTWARE

There's a lot AI can do for businesses. There's a lot only humans can do. Striking the balance will deliver success.

- Damien Martin

Workplaces everywhere are adopting and relying on Al. That's a good thing, says "I Thought I Was A Leader..." author and sociologist Dr. Scott De Long, because there is plenty of good AI can do wherever work is taking place.

"I was a late adopter of any Al, but once I learned what it could do for me and how to use it properly, it was eye-opening," De Long told BOSS. "It's faster way of getting information, and I shouldn't be afraid of it, nor should I be afraid that it's going to replace me, because AI can't do what I can do. And that's building human relationships."

Business is still people-centric, and as AI is a great tool for taking over some tasks, leaders and employees would be well-served by developing and honing the soft skills that create and enhance those critical relationships.

SOFT SKILLS

These skills help strike the balance between what AI does and what humans do well that AI can't. Whereas AI provides the best data it can find when asked a certain question or given a certain prompt, that information is not always accurate. It takes critical thinking to analyze that information, decide whether it makes sense, and fact-check it. AI tends to be black-andwhite, lacking the nuance of human interaction. It doesn't have emotional intelligence, adaptability, or leadership skills. So if AI is taking over part of the job, those who want continued success need to work on these soft skills to provide something the competition doesn't.

"I've never seen a positive human relationship built unless trust has been developed first," De Long said.

Developing a deep trust quickly entails three soft skills that can be improved. The first is respect, and not the old-school approach of respect needing to be earned, he said.