Category: Blog

  • Top Digital Marketing Ideas From 2019

    Review these small business marketing tips for 2019 and optimize your success in the rapidly changing digital economy. The online environment has created new opportunities for people who are interested in learning more about online marketing for small businesses. However, the digital economy is increasingly competitive, and this situation requires new business owners to develop and deploy marketing strategies that address the rapidly changing environment. Certain strategies promise to make an impact while continuing to increase in value. This article covers the top digital marketing ideas from 2018 that show the potential of rising in value during 2019.

    Referral Marketing

    Referrals are powerful because they involve people who are already in a relationship. When a person refers their friends or family members to your business, the quality of the contact is automatically higher than it would be if they had just found you through a search engine. This is what makes referral marketing one of the most powerful small business marketing tips from 2018.

    Search Engine Optimizations and Localization

    The ability to attract high-value customers practically defines a successful business model. Local search optimization is a process where your online presence is used to market products or services to customers that are located in your area. The benefits of targeting local customers is well-known, but the process of achieving the desired results can seem complex. Professionals who perform this function are highly skilled because there are many nuances to creating an effective marketing strategy that targets local customers. This can include an overhaul of the website in order to attract relevant traffic to the site.

    Many businesses fail to upgrade their websites, and this can create an image that is unattractive to visitors. It can also contain errors that search engines will use to reduce the page ranking. Upgrading the website is an essential part of any localized search optimization strategy for 2018, and the benefits will continue into 2019. This is a top solution for digital marketing for small businesses because it leverages the information provided by customers based on their previous purchasing decisions.

    Link Building Strategies

    Search engines use algorithms to determine various qualities about a website. This process is used to rank the site and determine the level of popularity with people who are searching online. Rankings affect the visibility of the site, and high-quality links can improve the ranking in the results page. Links can be either inbound or outbound, and the search engines analyze them in terms of relevance.

    Links that are unrelated can be penalized. Conversely, if the links use anchor text that is related to the subject, the ranking will improve. This also applies to internal links, which use anchor text to take the visitor to another page on the site. The text must be related to the content on the destination page in order to maintain high rankings with the search engines. Businesses that are involved in engaging in link building can enjoy residual effects long after the initial task is completed.

    Online Reputation Management

    Online reputation management is essential for any successful strategy of digital marketing for small businesses. Many online customers will trust the experiences of family and friends. They listen to people who are already in contact with your business, and this can be one of the most effective small business marketing tips from 2018. Social media is increasing the ability of businesses to communicate to customers in ways that are more engaging and relevant than ever. This is why managing the reputation of the enterprise is considered to be one of the best digital marketing ideas from 2018. Any digital marketing for small businesses should involve a comprehensive method of communicating across multiple media outlets in order to reach potential customers with consistent messages.

    Content Marketing

    Customers are always looking for specific products or services, but the site must communicate this information in a short amount of time. The ability to demonstrate value within a few seconds is a sophisticated skill that content marketers are adept at wielding. When you are assembling your arsenal of small business marketing tips from 2018, remember that content is king. This will allow your site to remain relevant well into 2019 as the digital landscape changes.

    Content marketing provides you with the raw materials necessary to satisfy the basic requirements of any search engine. This includes appropriate keyword density, relevant search terms and variations in word choice. This type of content marketing applies mainly to the text on the page, but similar criteria can be used for videos or explainer animations that appear on the website as well.

    More Digital Marketing Ideas From 2018 and for 2019

    As digital marketing for small businesses continues to approach 2019, it is important to analyze the options in terms of future needs. This includes the effects of artificial intelligence on search engines, for example. In 2019, the capacity of artificial intelligence to perform in-depth analysis of behavior and purchasing patterns will increase. This information will be collected from various social media platforms and blog posts.

    Artificial intelligence will influence the way businesses engage in providing customer service. Every year, more customers use chat boxes to interact with a customer service representative, which might be either human or an artificial intelligence machine. Gartner reports that the use of this technology will account for about 85% of customer relationships by the year 2020.

    Content marketing will also be influenced by artificial intelligence. However, it is important to realize that even though content can be generated by an artificially intelligent machine, these programs function based on rules and patterns that sound rigid and humorless. Companies should realize when it is appropriate to use human-generated content, which is uniquely capable of sparking human emotions from readers. Consider integrating these small business marketing tips from 2018, which will carry your plan of digital marketing for small businesses well into 2019 and beyond.

    Original article appears here: https://www.hiscox.com/blog/2019-small-business-digital-marketing-tips-and-ideas?utm_campaign=D%20-%20Customer%20Newsletter%20-%20March%202019_vB&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

  • The Human Skills We Need For An Unpredictable World

    The more we rely on technology to make us efficient, the fewer skills we have to confront the unexpected, says writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan. She shares why we need less tech and more messy human skills — imagination, humility, bravery — to solve problems in an unpredictable age. “We are brave enough to invent things we’ve never seen before,” she says. “We can make any future we choose.”

    Original article appears in: TED Talks Ideas worth spreading: https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_the_human_skills_we_need_in_an_unpredictable_world/transcript?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2019-08-02&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=top_left_button#t-4855

  • A Delicate Balance: How Effective Consulting Leaders Manage the Needs of Clients and Business

    Working in the consulting industry myself, at first I found it a little ironic that it was so challenging to write this post. Flipping the switch from client calls and content development to writing was daunting, and I kept putting it off. Then I realized it was fairly emblematic of the challenges of life in the consulting industry in general: the constant switching of gears as you try to balance the needs of your clients with the needs of the business. 

    Consulting leaders aren’t alone in having to balance conflicting demands, of course. However, they are often pulled further in the client demand direction than to the internal. They often see it as a business necessity: if you aren’t meeting client demands, you’re probably not going to be in business much longer. 

    Another challenge in this space is that the qualities that make someone a great consultant may not necessarily contribute to making them a great leader. In fact, many “good consultant” qualities may be at odds with “good leadership” qualities. Sometimes it’s difficult to practice what you preach! 

    A number of qualities are transferable, though – and identifying them may help those of us in the consulting world feel a little less disjointed in our day to day work. Being able to effectively communicate, help others stay engaged, and utilize a degree of persuasion are behaviors that commonly appear in our research on effective leaders across all industries, and consulting leaders are no exception. 

    What’s interesting about our research into consulting leaders is thinking about how they are utilizing these behaviors. Also noteworthy is how important it is for these leaders ability to shift gears quite rapidly to meet the changing demands placed upon them. Whether that be a client saying they need something yesterday, or a junior consultant asking for developmental opportunities, the types of questions asked of them place them in a unique category. 

    To explore the full set of results, click here. 

    AUTHOR:

    Andrew Rand 

    Drew is MRG’s resident I/O psychologist. When not at MRG, he’s either with his family (most likely) or in his workshop (less likely). His stack of unread books is commendable.

    View original publication here

  • The Self Disruptive Leader

  • Referral Marketing for Beginners: The Power of Referral Programs

    March 25, 2019

    When it comes to small business marketing, trust is by far the most valuable currency. Driving web traffic and increasing brand awareness are great goals, but there’s nothing more impactful than engendering trust in your business. This can be achieved in a number of ways, but word-of-mouth consistently produces the best results. Indeed, 92 percent of customers say they are inclined to trust “earned” media like word-of-mouth and personal recommendations. Referral marketing is the simplest and most effective way to generate this invaluable buzz, so take a look at what you need to know to get started.

    What Is Referral Marketing?

    There’s no question that word-of-mouth is a powerful force. Plenty of businesses have succeeded largely on the strength of word-of-mouth marketing. In-person recommendations generate over five times more sales than paid marketing efforts, making them a holy grail of advertising. Unfortunately, most businesses can’t afford to simply sit back and wait for these recommendations to happen organically. The solution, then, is referral marketing.

    In its most basic form, referral marketing simply means offering some kind of incentive to encourage satisfied customers to spread the word about your business. Why is this necessary? While 83 percent of customers are willing to spread the word about great products or services, just 29 percent actually do so on their own. Offering a referral program can tap into that remaining 54 percent and lead to a huge increase in your word-of-mouth recommendations. It’s a simple strategy that can produce serious growth, but it’s not right for every situation.

    Is Referral Marketing Right for Your Business?

    An effective referral marketing campaign requires that a business has a few things in place. The first requirement is a truly excellent product or service. After all, few customers are going to suggest a subpar product to their family and friends. Even worse, offering a referral program for something that doesn’t meet expectations can backfire in a serious way. Good reviews for your offerings, positive feedback from customers and unsolicited referrals are all good signs that referral marketing is a fit for your business.

    Another prerequisite is excellent customer support. This serves a few important purposes. The first is to ensure that your business can adequately handle an influx of new customers. It’s no guarantee, but a referral program can sometimes bring in a major increase in traffic. Can your company handle this increase appropriately? The second factor is to make sure that each new customer has as good an experience as the person who made the recommendation. A single referral doesn’t do much good, but a negative experience can stop the chain before it even begins. The best campaigns rely on each referred customer subsequently bringing even more referrals on board.

    The Basics of Creating a Referral Program

    The first step in building a referral program is defining the goals you’d like to achieve. What would constitute a success for your campaign? For some businesses, it may involve hitting a specific sales figure in a certain time frame. For others, it may be more important to bring on a particular number of new customers. Perhaps the most important factor for your industry is building greater trust and recognition. No matter what success looks like to you, it’s important to be specific and set tangible targets that can be used to track your progress later on.

    The next task is to choose the right incentives. In some cases, simply thanking your customers and asking them to spread the word if they’re satisfied is enough to jump-start the process. In other cases, it’s best to offer a reward to help spur your customers into action. Take a look at what your competitors are doing and consider which incentives are appropriate for your industry. Popular options include the following:

    • Priority service
    • Credits or cash back on purchases
    • Access to exclusive deals and discounts
    • Free or upgraded shipping

    Promote, Refine and Refocus

    Once you’ve determined your goals and settled on incentives, the key to success is building awareness of your program. As with incentives, the right approach to promotion may vary depending on your industry and the goods or services you offer. Reaching out to existing customers with an invitational email is almost always a great place to start. A prominent call to action on your website is usually an effective approach as well. It’s also a good idea to incorporate your referral program into your newsletter. Recent studies have shown that 90 percent of people who are prompted to subscribe to a newsletter opt to do so.

    After the program has been launched, it’s important to track the results and adapt your approach as necessary. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes some trial and error to hit upon the most effective combination of incentives and promotional strategies for your industry and customer base. Regularly refining your approach and refocusing your long-term aims will help you maximize your returns. Utilize the metrics that are most important to you to track your success. Consider requesting feedback from customers to gauge their response to your program and use this information to shape any changes moving forward.

    The modern hyperconnected, media-saturated world has given businesses more avenues for marketing than ever before. Nonetheless, word-of-mouth is undoubtedly still king. In fact, it’s the primary motivating factor behind a staggering 50 percent of all purchasing decisions. The most successful small businesses capitalize on this and turn satisfied customers into true allies. With small business referral programs, you can engender trust, give back to the customers who fuel your success and open up new opportunities for strong and sustainable growth.

    Original Article Appears: https://www.hiscox.com/blog/referral-marketing-for-beginners-the-power-of-referral-programs?utm_campaign=D%20-%20Customer%20Newsletter%20-%20May%202019_vB%20F&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua

  • Positive Performance Checklist

    There are several ways to use this performance aid. You may want a client to simply complete the checklist to make changes in how to approach work spaces and time. Or it could also be used as a conversation starter by having a team,  department head or colleagues, complete the checklist and then meet to review how a team feels about the work environment.
    ⎕ We spend time appreciating past successes and savoring the feeling of earlier accomplishments.
    ⎕ We spend time envisioning how our work will make a difference in the future.
    ⎕ We declare and commit to specific goals.
    ⎕ We teach, encourage, and practice mindfulness in the workplace.
    ⎕ We work in a culture that respects the need for recovery.
    ⎕ We model positive performance behaviors by turning off email, cell phones, and texts during personal time and encouraging employees to use their vacation time.
    ⎕ We teach and use active, constructive responding.
    ⎕ We intentionally use language to prime others for success.
    ⎕ We begin meetings with good news—either personal or work related. We regularly celebrate the successes of our teams.
    ⎕ We verbalize our appreciation and gratitude for co-workers on a routine basis.
    ⎕ We use positive, upbeat language even when dealing with setbacks. We always include “because” when we ask for change.
    ⎕ We interrogate our goals by asking, “Given our current reality and our future commitments, will we really reach our desired outcome?”
    ⎕ We focus on and celebrate the process of working for a goal, rather than the outcome.
    ⎕ We practice communicating positive expectations that bring out the best in our co-workers.
    ⎕ We have a manager/employee feedback ratio of at least three positive comments to every negative one.
    ⎕ We foster an environment that encourages lifetime learning and development.
    Original Article: 2019 ATD, Association for Talent Development | 1640 King Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314, US
     

    MEECO Leadership Institute Executive Coaching Conferences
    Oct 15, 2019; Oct 16-18, 2019…
    Click Here

  • Why we get mad — and why it’s healthy

     

    Since classical times, philosophers and physicians have identified anger as a human frailty that can lead to violence and human suffering, but with the development of a modern science of abnormal psychology and mental disorders, it has been written off as merely an emotional symptom and excluded from most accepted systems of psychiatric diagnosis. Yet despite the lack of scientific recognition, anger-related violence is often in the news, and courts are increasingly mandating anger management treatment. It is time for a fresh scientific examination of one of the most fundamental human emotions and what happens when it becomes pathological, and this thorough, persuasive book offers precisely such a probing analysis.

    Using both clinical data and a variety of case studies, esteemed anger researchers Raymond DiGiuseppe and Raymond Chip Tafrate argue for a new diagnostic classification, Anger Regulation and Expression Disorder, that will help bring about clinical improvements and increased scientific understanding of anger. After situating anger in both historical and emotional contexts, they report research that supports the existence of several subtypes of the disorder and review treatment outcome studies and new interventions to improve treatment. The first book that fully explores anger as a clinical phenomenon and provides a reliable set of assessment criteria, it represents a major step toward establishing the clear definitions and scientific basis necessary for assessing, diagnosing, and treating anger disorders.

    RECOMMENDED READING:

    “Understanding Anger Disorders” 1st Edition
    by Raymond DiGiuseppe (Author), Raymond Chip Tafrate (Author)

    Since classical times, philosophers and physicians have identified anger as a human frailty that can lead to violence and human suffering, but with the development of a modern science of abnormal psychology and mental disorders, it has been written off as merely an emotional symptom and excluded from most accepted systems of psychiatric diagnosis. Yet despite the lack of scientific recognition, anger-related violence is often in the news, and courts are increasingly mandating anger management treatment. It is time for a fresh scientific examination of one of the most fundamental human emotions and what happens when it becomes pathological, and this thorough, persuasive book offers precisely such a probing analysis.

    Using both clinical data and a variety of case studies, esteemed anger researchers Raymond DiGiuseppe and Raymond Chip Tafrate argue for a new diagnostic classification, Anger Regulation and Expression Disorder, that will help bring about clinical improvements and increased scientific understanding of anger. After situating anger in both historical and emotional contexts, they report research that supports the existence of several subtypes of the disorder and review treatment outcome studies and new interventions to improve treatment. The first book that fully explores anger as a clinical phenomenon and provides a reliable set of assessment criteria, it represents a major step toward establishing the clear definitions and scientific basis necessary for assessing, diagnosing, and treating anger disorders.

    https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Anger-Disorders-Raymond-DiGiuseppe-dp-0199774099/dp/0199774099/ref=as_li_tf_tl?tag=teco06-20&ie=UTF8

  • Executive Coaching Trends to Know in 2019

    There’s an ongoing shift in the way professionals go about work. Some of these changes were previously highlighted here on ACEC, including the death of the 9-5 workday and the reliance on technology. As the landscape continues to change, the way executive coaching is conducted evolves with it.

    Here’s what you can expect in executive coaching this year.

    1. Automated coach

    It’s only a matter of time before artificial intelligence (AI) overtakes coaching. In fact, CLO Media noted that coaching apps are already in existence, one of which is Butterfly.ai. Though the goal is not to completely replace human coaches, tech-driven coaches provide “more frequent and targeted feedback to managers”, according to Butterfly.ai CEO David Mendlewicz.

    AI coaches rely heavily on data such as employee surveys, historic performance, and even voice cues in order work. Without a veritable mountain of data, they won’t be able to generate useful and individualized advice for high-ranking officers.

    2. Coaching ahead of consulting

    Coaching is also expected to catch up with business consulting. Consultants are experts in market studies, finance, strategizing, and other matters related to business. When you hire a consultant, you’re looking for an actual plan that you can execute.

    However, coaches aren’t there to tell you outright what to do. They will help you develop these skills on your own. And as there is greater focus on the dynamic of personal development and career development, coaching is becoming more suitable for organizations.

    3. Accreditation and industry experience

    An expert from the California Lutheran University details how there are now more certification bodies to choose from, as accreditation is becoming more and more important in the coaching business. In the past, practically anyone could call themselves a coach without needing to prove their credentials. However, certified coaches who have undergone formal training are becoming the standard nowadays. They also need to demonstrate that they are connected to specific industries and have the relevant experience.

    4. Positive psychology

    On a list of executive coaching trends to expect by Forbes, positive psychology is noted as the ’scientific study of what’s right with people, of what makes people thrive and flourish’.

    What this does is increase self-awareness and self-expression, which paves the way for intrapersonal development. And a leader who has higher emotional intelligence (EI) is more equipped to build fruitful relationships with their peers and subordinates. Having a high EI gives coaches an insight into how to assess and manage an employee’s psychological state. In line with this, Maryville University points out that understanding employee behavior is becoming more important. It has a direct correlation with business objectives, and knowing what’s right for employees can make them perform better.

    5. Experiential coaching

    It’s not enough that coaches depend on words or text to get their point across. They also need to provide immersive activities for executives that will test their abilities. The same shift is happening in education, and leaders will experience more learning and growth under the same type of coaching.

    Article specially written for the use of acec.mgmcsolutions.com/

    By: Alice Amber

    Image Link: https://images.pexels.com/photos/1059111/pexels-photo-1059111.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=750&w=1260

    Image Source: Pexels

    Join us to learn more…at the MEECO Leadership Institute’s annual conference in San Diego October, 2019
    https://meeco-conference2019.org/

  • Exit, Stage Right

    It was going to be a graceful bow-out for the “most powerful woman in the world.” But now, German chancellor Angela Merkel is watching her succession plan disintegrate.

    It started when public support for Merkel’s heir apparent, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (frequently referred to as AKK), plunged. At least one news service noted that the majority of Germans see AKK as unfit to lead the country. Meanwhile, Andrea Nahles, the leader of the political party that partners with Merkel’s in Germany’s parliament, abruptly quit after recent poor election results.

    All this means that Merkel’s well-laid plans to end her decade-plus leadership smoothly are on hold—at least until a new succession plan is implemented and a successor becomes obvious. This, of course, is the sort of situation that no government or corporate executive wants to arise.

    Smart firms do spend considerable time and effort on succession plans, but as Germany is discovering, the focus on one candidate can send even well-designed ones awry. “You need a very, very clear picture of what is required,” says Jan Mueller, Korn Ferry’s global vice president for marquee accounts. “You wouldn’t pick a person just because they worked their way up the corporate ladder.”

    Indeed, experts say the drama over Merkel’s successor emphasizes why organizations shouldn’t put all their focus on just one potential successor. Betting on just one candidate will backfire if the heir’s on-the-job performance starts to falter or if they develop health or personal problems that prevent them from even taking the job.

    A better option is to develop and evaluate multiple potential successors over the course of a couple of years. For instance, analysts say JPMorgan Chase’s recently reshuffled management ranks will give the bank a chance to evaluate which of its high-ranking executives could replace longtime CEO Jamie Dimon.

    That type of reshuffling also highlights another idea behind succession planning—the ideal candidate may not be the person who is next in line on the current organization chart. It’s why shrewd firms invest in leadership-development programs throughout the organization, not just in the C-suite. Experts say boards should be finding and developing the next three generations of candidates for CEO and other key leadership roles.

    This type of ongoing succession planning involves a lot of work, of course, and it can continue even after the designated successor takes the top job. Even CEOs or other leaders who have made it through the evaluation process may struggle once they have the top job. If that’s the case, get the new boss a coach, says Werner Penk, a Korn Ferry senior client partner and president of the firm’s technology practice. “Do everything you can to make this person strong,” he says. “No one wants to be seen as someone to be coached, but every single leader in the relevant position has someone whom they can talk to.”

    Authors

    • Werner Penk

    President, Technology

    • Jan Mueller

    Global Vice President, Marquee Accounts

    https://www.kornferry.com/institute/merkel-germany-succession-planning?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTW1JNU5qSTJaRFEzTUdZNSIsInQiOiJSaTl1RDhyMk0rWXFxdldldGN3MVwvcFFRQ0NhbkZINEpud2s1elpCVnJySjg3THNwMFJqcklPaGI5MGZEc1hnZ3N2bHZLN0kwUFwvN2hYWlRtcXVTOUYzRVwvanJ3NlwvSGJPWk9lb0N2Zk54TVNSOHVtcm1oWTFCREdzQWEwWmV5a0UifQ%3D%3D

  • Augmented Humanity Will Disrupt Leadership. Are You Prepared?

    Story Highlights

    • AH may help leaders use human traits more effectively for business outcomes
    • Leaders will need exceptional judgment to empathize and understand more
    • Leaders will need to master several new competencies

    According to Gallup research, more than three in four Americans (76%) “agree” or “strongly agree” that artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change the way people will work and live over the next decade.

    No need to wait — augmented humanity (AH) is the next gen application of AI, and it’s already here. Consider the music service that monitors your heartrate via sensor and then selects the next track to soothe your mind or activity trackers that remind you when it’s time to head to bed. Soon, the market will see exoskeletons allowing those who have been paralyzed to walk and contact lenses that are able to detect blood glucose levels for diabetics.

    These products all used to be the stuff of science fiction.

    But as AH gets better, science fiction becomes less fictional — and the probability of an “augmented leader” is growing closer all the time.

    AH will change leadership, but it will never replace leaders.

    The augmented leader is not a human-robot hybrid. (Not yet, anyway.) Rather, leadership augmentation is technology that enables leaders to make fast, sophisticated, data-driven decisions that direct workers’ activities in partnership networks, not through chains of command.

    Consider the universal language translator. Already on the market, this kind of augmentation helps managers communicate directly, make informed decisions and drive higher performance outcomes from increasingly diverse, widespread and complex teams.

    But as AH gets better, science fiction becomes less fictional — and the probability of an “augmented leader” is growing closer all the time.

    But it won’t necessarily make them better at understanding employee’s strengths, aspirations and values. And the ability to make good AI-enhanced decisions will depend on such leadership capacities.

    Leadership competencies and workplace culture are critical in the augmented future of work.

    As McKinsey put it in a recent report, “The hardest activities to automate with currently available technologies are those that involve managing and developing people (9% automation potential) or that apply expertise to decision-making, planning or creative work (18%).”

    Gallup recently studied 550 roles and 360 unique competencies to identify the most essential organizational competencies required for achieving excellence in any role. Seven stood out — building relationships, developing people, leading change, inspiring others, thinking critically, communicating clearly and creating accountability.

    These are human capabilities. AH will enhance them but will not replace them. Neither can AH replace a leader’s creativity, strengths, aspirations, values or ability to make sense of experience. But AI will augment those qualities and help leaders use them more effectively to achieve business outcomes.

    Take, for instance, virtual meeting rooms (VRMs) and augmented reality (AR). This tech allows teams to interact, interface and co-create simultaneously, erasing geographical barriers. Many companies, Accenture among them, already use virtual reality (VR) tech for recruiting to eliminate logistical problems, reduce hiring bias, and accelerate the process. Microsoft’s HoloLens, a VR headset, allows users to instinctually manipulate, design and create while interacting with remote teams.

    Using this kind of technology, leaders could work with their teams to test supply chain enhancements or find fail points on an AR-driven customer journey map, with AI producing the data they need in a flash.

    But unifying people who never see each other on behalf of a hypothetical customer living in an imagined future — and doing it so well that workers can picture the vision clear as day — is a leadership quality. And soon it will be a leadership requirement.

    Orchestrating the efforts of hybrid teams will place demands on leaders’ relationship building, communication, critical thinking, and visioning competencies the likes of which they have not yet experienced.

    This future informed by AH will affect work teams, too. Teams will be comprised of employees, gig-workers and machines working side by side. And the workplace itself will be different. The way teams interact virtually will affect organizational culture, values and ways of working. Systems of accountability and development will have to reflect that new reality.

    Leaders will have an important role to play in ensuring that augmentation and technology do not corrode culture. And that the physical distance between team members does not lead to separation. Orchestrating the efforts of hybrid teams will place demands on leaders’ relationship building, communication, critical thinking, and visioning competencies the likes of which they have not yet experienced.

    Identify key leadership principles that will contribute to success in our augmented future.

    AI and AH can help, but they can’t replace human cognitive functions or the emotional-social interaction. And as our ability to communicate improves, a single unifying purpose that guides the organization’s efforts will become ever more important.

    Perhaps economist Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), said it the best.

    “We need leaders who are emotionally intelligent, and able to model and champion cooperative working. They’ll coach, rather than command; they’ll be driven by empathy, not ego. The digital revolution needs a different, more human kind of leadership.”

    Companies need to identify the important competencies required of their leadership team. And then they need to intentionally guide leaders to help discover which of their strengths and talents will truly aid in efforts to increase performance and enhance business outcomes.

    These human attributes are, indeed, the ones that will help leaders achieve success. They always have been. But as tech gets better, cheaper and more accessible, the things humans can do that machines can’t will only become more valuable.

    Best to further develop those human qualities now, because the future is already here.

    Learn more about leading with humanity in the era of AI:

    Vibhas Ratanjee is Senior Practice Expert — Organizational and Leadership Development at Gallup.

    Jennifer Robison contributed to this article.