I love the tech industry. It’s why I got into it.
And yet, alongside all of the new excitement and capabilities AI is promising, our pace of work is accelerating and creating more work for teams already at capacity.
We’re adding speed to systems that weren’t built for it, and it’s starting to show up in our outcomes.
Why is that? Because while AI can reduce work over time, in the near term it’s the opposite.
It expands scope.
It accelerates pace.
And it increases cognitive load.
And this is the real issue we need to solve, so that all those implementations go well, and not sideways.
Yes, it’s true that AI can expand possibilities, increase information flows, and speed up the pace of decisions – and when applied well, this offers huge opportunity. Yet, without the right structures in place, teams can find themselves moving faster… and not necessarily producing better outcomes.
Several recent studies are pointing to this dynamic. McKinsey’s research on generative AI and the future of work highlights the enormous productivity potential of AI, while simultaneously showing that capturing real value requires organizations to rethink workflows, roles, and decision processes. Just look at HBR’s article AI doesn’t reduce work it intensifies it, or consider how prevalent the term “brain fry” has become in AI discussions the past few months. See the trend?
This intersection between technology speed and human workflow is something we’ve been focused on over the past couple years, and our article in this month’s Alaska Business Magazine showcases some of our work and ideas in this space. We hope it’s supportive. Also, as you and your teams explore AI, here are some questions to consider:
Team, Leadership & Workflow Considerations
- Where is AI currently adding speed within our organization? Are your workflows and decision processes built to handle the new speed?
- Are teams given the time and space to review, question, and refine AI-supported outputs?
- How are you creating capacity for the added cognitive load and the time needed for quality review?
- Do leaders have support and enough thinking time to guide AI adoption effectively?
- Are teams clear on when to rely on AI and when human judgment needs to lead?
As we navigate the next few years, our success with AI will depend just as much on how we design our work systems and support our people as it will on the technology itself.
We are supporting leaders and teams through AI modernization initiatives, by focusing on improving workload capacity, focus, and decision quality as the speed of work accelerates. Reach out at info@integratingwork.com if you’d like support.
As always, thank you for reading! Also, for those of you that I saw recently in Kansas – cheers to our visit. I also head to Mississippi in May, so if you’re in the area and would like to connect while I’m there, I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time ~ may you and yours be well.
All the best,
Woodrie & The Team