In a recent Forbes interview Ram Charan shared how the Leadership Pipeline is adapting to the current environment. I wanted to share my takeaways with you.
Wider span of control and fewer organizational layers, that is the future of leadership. Passages are being compressed from 6 to 3. Traditionally the 6 distinct passages were manager to manager of managers, functional leader, business leader, group leader, and enterprise leader. Each one required a values shift, a different time application, and new skills.
Now with AI, speed, and cost pressures the climb to the top is over. People still move through the passages, values matter yet the pace is accelerating. AI is increasingly being used to coach, tutor and supervise.
While AI is absorbing supervision, software is absorbing coordination; and compression is happening.
The reality is that companies are responding to cost pressures removing layers. Perhaps a role is eliminated with duties redistributed and managers have to increase contribution. This isn’t architecture; it’s subtraction because the work stays the same…it is just redistributed. The goal needs shift to capability driven delayering to rebuild beginning with what AI can do well.
Step One: Identify what AI can do well; the core.
Step Two: Redesign work around this.
Step Three: Expand what individual contributors are able to do with the AI tools.
This naturally removes layers as a result of the redesign resulting with fewer humans who are more capable (upskilled) with the AI core. The most valuable contributors will be the ones who move across different projects and functions, not the ones who climb because that century old era of work is going extinct. If you are in a role and are offered a lateral move traditionally the system would say don’t do it, wait for the bigger position (the climb).
With compression expect horizontal moving with titles shifting to encompass more responsibilities. This is the new future of work according to Ram Charan. The speed of AI is causing this and to find happiness (which is success) we need to let go of the old mindset (being the boss as king) to answering, “what can I contribute?” and “how can I evolve as the building shifts?”
The strategy? Compress for capability; AI and human, and design for this.
What does this mean for the human employee? Be relevant, up skill, all hands on deck mindset vs. climb the ladder goal setting.
What does this mean for the architect? Design around AI capabilities.
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