How a project manager’s human touch can balance AI risk and drive strategic change
Reading online discussions, it is apparent that AI is a somewhat emotive topic for some individuals in the project management community. However, it’s undeniable that project managers are there to serve organisations and if organisations are keen to generate AI related benefits, then shouldn’t project managers fully support them in their endeavours?
While concerns like data bias, accuracy and privacy risks are very real and valid, organisations aiming to leverage AI need strong project managers to help reduce and eliminate these threats but also to identify and exploit the positive risk related opportunities that exist. Beyond managing the negatives risks, project managers have a crucial role to play in creating a culture that actively pursues innovation and encourages teams to take calculated risks.
To best support this, project managers working on AI projects need to leverage several key interpersonal skills. Indeed, effective communication is essential to keep stakeholders informed and aligned, while high levels of adaptability are crucial, as the unpredictable nature of AI projects requires project managers to react quickly and appropriately adjust to the circumstances at hand. Furthermore, a project manager’s influencing skills are essential in getting team buy-in to AI’s potential benefits and helping to negate any resistance to change. By focusing on these skills, project managers can build trust, align objectives, and ensure cohesive action toward strategic AI goals.
In some business environments, AI can seem daunting. But when project managers demonstrate how strategic risk-taking can lead to increased benefit, AI can be seen as more than just a tactical efficiency generating tool, but one that can significantly reshape how businesses operate. Project managers can lead and empower delivery teams to leverage these conditions, driving meaningful change and generating improved organisational outcomes, while at the same time demonstrating the wider strategic value that they can add. By operating beyond their traditional role boundaries, project managers can help shift the organisational mindset from being risk averse to one that experiments and embraces new AI technologies.
AI presents massive potential, and it is the human touch of project managers that is the key to unlocking it and guiding organisations through this transformative journey.
Richard Ogston - 2024
