6 Ways to Lead Reinvention in the Workplace

By Gary Waldon

Leaders need to understand the scale of change our teams will need to adapt to and as a result your leadership skills will be needed more than ever. Here are 6 things you can do to help you, and your team, successfully reinvent themselves in the age of AI.  

Imagine planning for your business to not exist in three years. Would you see it as a threat or an opportunity? A colleague had built a very successful business that created high-performing digital media for some of Australia’s best-known retail brands. As a transformational change specialist, I was eager to hear how he was leading his team through one of the biggest challenges facing leaders today. We discussed how the AI revolution we are all facing will have a bigger impact than COVID on our personal and work lives. However, in the case of AI there will be no returning to our ‘normal’ lives, because this revolution will transport us into a new world where we will need to reinvent our new normal. My colleague felt his business was a risk of not being around in 3 years, so he was proactively working on a strategy to lead his team into his business’s next phase.

When transformational change happens in the workplace, the role of a leader becomes more critical than ever. In times of stability, a company often focuses on fine-tuning and refining how they do their jobs, looking for incremental improvements that translate into higher profitability.  This task can be done by managers working with their teams, but when the change threatens to change jobs, industries and our lives, people look to leaders for direction, guidance and support. Research shows that even during the ‘good times’ only one in three projects deliver on their original goals. Imagine the likely rise in the 66% failure rates given the AI tsunami coming our way.

I don’t want to sound negative about AI. In fact, I am very much team AI. I love the opportunities and access to knowledge and creativity it provides me without having to engage expensive consultants. I can now analyse opportunities and threats in minutes and build strategic responses based on the collective wisdom of all who came before me. AI provides us a powerful tool as leaders to help us successfully lead and navigate to finding our new place in this AI world. But as leaders, we need to understand the scale of change our teams will need to adapt to and as a result your leadership skills will be needed more than ever. Here are 6 things you can do to help you, and your team, successfully reinvent themselves in the age of AI.

1. Change acceptance. Many of us try to ignore change until we have no option but to take action. We have built a series of habits and beliefs that make us feel comfortable and in control of our world. When something changes it challenges the ‘normality’ of our lives. One of the biggest issues is not the change itself, but our fear of failure. We start to think that maybe we are not equipped to be able to deal with the changes. This fear often leads us to a fight, flight or freeze response. Freezing is like a deer in the headlights and flight is running away, so as leaders our only option is to lead the fight to find our new place in the AI environment.
2. Take a reality check. This is not only about the business and people you lead, but it is even more important to do a reality check on yourself to understand your fears and beliefs. With change comes opportunities and threats. By understanding yourself, and your team, this will enable you to decide what you should leave behind and what will serve you well into the future.
3. Change often leaves us feeling like we’ve lost control over our own lives. The only way to counteract this feeling is to start empowering ourselves and our team. Proactive change management, communications and training, including exposure to the threat, will help people adjust and plan for how they will respond. For leaders, it is important to realise that not everyone will be willing or able to reinvent themselves.
4. Take action. A leader’s responsibilities is to focus their team in the chosen direction and then help them take those first tentative steps that will help build their confidence and competence. Procrastinating and contemplation won’t help them move forward; only action can do that. This is as true for your team as it is for you as a leader.
5. Try, try again. We have a direct influence on the culture of our businesses. Culture will determine whether our team feels comfortable walking towards the uncertainty of reinvention and facing their fear of failure. Very successful businesses understand the need to innovate and try new things, accepting failure is part of the growth journey. Embracing our growth mindset helps us learn from our failures and adapt rapidly to keep moving forward.
6. Enjoy the journey. Along this reinvention journey there will be good times where we are excited for the future, tough times where we long for the past ‘good old days’ and then there is the only reality, , the present, leaders need to remain present and available to lead their teams and support them along the way.

One of the most critical pieces of this reinvention puzzle is to step beyond your label as a leader and allow yourself to be human. You will be going through similar emotions and doubt as your team when facing uncertain times. Being authentic and honest about the impact the change has on you, will help you become a stronger, more respected leader who connects with their people at a much deeper level. In this age of AI leading reinvention should be one of your most important priorities. But don’ worry, if you’re not sure where to start, ask AI for some insight and guidance to help you plan the next steps.

About the Author

Gary Waldon is the bestselling author of Mastering the Art of Reinvention ($32.95). He is a transformation specialist who works with people at all levels from CEOs, CIOs, business leaders and professional athletes through to teachers and anyone who needs to reinvent themselves when life changes.  Find out more at www.garywaldon.com