Cisco Leaders Struggle to Balance AI Adoption with Human Connection
Cisco's adoption of AI is scaling rapidly, but leaders are struggling to balance this technological advancement with human connection. Kate Niederhoffer and Kelly Jones, Chief Scientist at BetterUp Labs and Chief People Officer at Cisco respectively, highlighted this challenge during a virtual event on October 8th.
The issue lies in the fact that AI adoption is outpacing team trust. According to Niederhoffer, leaders need to find ways to support AI use while strengthening team trust. She emphasized the importance of 'trust as a team practice', suggesting that leaders can take steps to build this by coaching their teams on how to navigate difficult conversations.
Jones added that leaders must learn to coach for hard conversations, which will help them build confidence in giving feedback and navigating challenging discussions. This is crucial in an environment where AI adoption is accelerating rapidly.