Leadership in Exponential Times: Navigating AI Governance & Implementation
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The three areas in which I track and advise on innovation – precision health, longevity science and AI – are each moving faster than ever before. Newswires, learned journals and WhatsApp groups carry daily breakthroughs with seemingly powerful implications for the future of human health.
But it is the pace of development in AI that most tests our ability to understand, interpret and apply new technology. As we all know, AI news is a heady mix of valuable advance and worrying off-piste behaviour by errant models, resulting in an acute form of technological schizophrenia, at least in me!
For corporate leaders, this is no longer just an IT challenge; it is a profound governance issue.
Talented leaders embrace change, but this is change at a dizzying pace. What are the characteristics of leaders that can navigate these turbulent waters?
First, they build technical teams able to distinguish fad from substance. They build teams that ask: what will result in sustainable change in the quality, cost or response time of our business? These leaders ask penetrating questions when faced with the latest algorithm, agentic approach, or simulation model. How will this affect our people’s workflow, contact with customers and morale? How will we measure its impact?
Second, they prioritise technology that saves time, reduces morale-sapping bureaucracy and lessens organisational friction. They know that when change is fast - and indeed accelerating - their staff need time to absorb and adopt it. That is best achieved by lifting burdens, not adding to them. A classic example is ambient scribing in medicine, notably in the 10,000 clinicians at Kaiser Permanente, and now spreading across the UK NHS. No-one gets satisfaction from hours spent transcribing notes and searching memories to create sound records of patient encounters.
Third, they prize technology that enables their most talented and experienced staff to focus on the most complex problems, putting more routine tasks in the hands of less costly staff. In platforms like Metadvice, a company I co-founded, we see how shifting the more routine patient mix on to nurses and pharmacists gives time back to senior GPs. AI-powered chatbots can also liaise with patients after hospital discharge.
Fourth, at the right time, they integrate proven technologies into new smart blueprints. At Apollo Hospitals in India, AI-assisted diagnostics, clinical transcription and automated workflow scheduling connect together in a digital backbone that streamlines patient flow.
Finally, they never lose sight of the ethics and accountability of the technologies they adopt. They insist on knowing who is the human in the loop, and how will accountability flow, especially in the case of clinical error or operational disruption. Their people will never get away with some version of ‘the AI did it’.
What are the personal characteristics of such leaders? While they may not be leading edge thinkers in technology, they surround themselves with technologists who are grounded in the real world of business and patient care.
They encourage their people to explore the possibilities, but then lead the team to make firm and implementable plans, and set clear targets for timelines and returns. Tolerance of ambiguity may be a leadership strength, but only for a limited period of time!
It has always been a characteristic of great leaders that they can both articulate a long term vision and also know what 8am Monday morning actions will move the organisation towards it.
The exponential age adds new demands: marrying an evolving technological vision with the business vision and making sure-footed Monday morning choices that the whole organisation can see is moving them towards both. No pressure.
Navigating this intersection of technological vision and boardroom accountability is exactly what we discuss in our invitation-only peer network. To explore how your board can build robust frameworks for AI governance and implementation, let's connect.
