In the era of improving AI skills, learn and be taught

As business leaders, it is difficult for us to evaluate the direction of artificial intelligence development at this time.

While our job is to discover clear use cases for AI and security in our organizations, we are still navigating the technology ourselves. We must think ahead while remaining grounded in the present—and the reality of what emerging technology means for our business models, worker experiences, and customers.

It’s a tall order. And it is going to require us to adapt and learn. But being honest about our must learn—a need that leaders may have difficulty acknowledging—offers us the best path forward.

Because we are not alone. The rapid adoption of generative AI across industries has created a significant skills gap not only among leaders but also among staff, putting increased pressure on all of us to quickly improve our knowledge and evolve with the times. But this evolution is not happening organically: 62% of employees report that they lack the skills to make use of generation AI effectively and safely — and only one in ten staff in the world believes he has the desired skills in artificial intelligence.

As leaders, closing this information gap is our highest priority. There are many things we will do to guide our organizations through disruption, including what we are facing now with Gen AI.

But what does sustainable upgrading of skills seem like in the age of artificial intelligence?

Three tactics to make improving your AI skills a day by day occurrence

Regular use of AI in the workplace requires leadership teams to advocate for change and help employees connect the dots.

In my work, I focus on upskilling opportunities that encourage employees to leverage AI to automate our network offerings and business model to higher support our customers. We’re learning a lot in the process, particularly the must prioritize AI roadmaps that work around common barriers to upskilling, resembling worker time constraints and the rapidly evolving nature of AI.

In practice, which means we must:

1. Support your upskilling goals with the right resources

Gen AI upskilling is neither a one-time endeavor nor a quick fix. The sophistication of the technology and its constant evolution require dedicated educational paths fueled by ongoing learning opportunities and financial support.

That’s why as leaders we’d like to supply employees with resources to participate in learning opportunities (i.e. workshops), attend third-party courses offered by groups like LinkedIn, or receive tuition reimbursement for independently found skill-building opportunities. We also must be certain that these resources are available to our entire worker base, regardless of the nature of the worker’s day-to-day role.

From there, you may institutionalize mechanisms for documenting and sharing learning. This includes building and popularizing communication channels that motivate employees to share their opinions, learn together, and surface potential roadblocks. Encouraging healthy dialogue around learning and contributing to those conversations often results in greater innovation throughout the organization.

At my company, we are likely to mix learning and sharing. For example, we have a monthly learning campaign on relevant topics that the entire organization is encouraged to go through at the same time. Last month, our theme was AI. Employees could select from courses to learn latest AI skills relevant to their individual roles, and also join “Learning Lounges” to share insights and challenges with colleagues.

2. Be a leader and learn from example

Take the time to know latest gen AI solutions and how they impact your organization. Only you may gain worker buy-in and illustrate your vision of how gen AI can improve operations in practical ways.

As you place in the hours to enhance your skills, look for opportunities to mentor others and make AI a routine part of your workplace interactions. Consider hosting solution-focused hackathons and other innovation challenges to foster creativity, cross-functional problem-solving, and collaboration.

If possible, encourage motion directly through on-the-job exercises for real projects. Your employees are juggling multiple responsibilities, making it difficult to devote time to upskilling activities, irrespective of how essential they are. Introducing latest learning initiatives into existing workloads can undermine each needs at the same time, especially for employees with busy schedules.

Check in with your employees, too. We usually ask our teams for feedback to make sure we’re meeting their evolving skilled development needs. A candid conversation with a company leader has a value that may be difficult to realize in more standard meetings, resembling regular one-on-ones between an worker and their manager.

3. Support upskilling with the right investments in data and technology

The best approach to prepare your workforce to enhance AI skills is to equip them with the required technology, data, and infrastructure. Work with your leaders to make the mandatory improvements to data practices and hygiene along with your tech stack to support your AI goals.

For example, AI-based solutions thrive in data-rich environments supported by fast, reliable connectivity. Don’t let a lack of clean data, capability, or security concerns dampen employees’ enthusiasm for improving their skills or driving innovation. Industries that rely heavily on data and computing—resembling healthcare, finance, manufacturing, network infrastructure, and education—should act quickly.

Iterate over time and work diligently to make sure your technology infrastructure is all the time as much as the task. Gen AI is always evolving, and maintaining with these changes requires a multi-faceted approach to upskilling, where technology and data work with your employees, not against them.

Let the learning begin, starting with you

Gen AI solutions have the potential to outperform the cloud, having a broader and more lasting impact on our organizational operations and development.

But this future will only materialize if we stay current with technology and prepare to make gen AI part of the day by day routine for all our employees. Effective, sustainable use of gen AI solutions is inevitable for your organization, so support your ambitions with a flexible training program nurtured in a company culture that values ​​collective, continuous learning.

Improving your AI skills may appear to be a far cry from your day-to-day responsibilities, but it’s a development it’s essential start pursuing — and it’s essential given the potential of next-generation AI to revolutionize work as we know it.