How to Jump-Start AI Fluency
Two-thirds of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone wholacks at least basic AI skills. What to do if you feel behind.
Not feeling AI fluent? You’re not alone. Despite all the hype around the technology, a majority of American workers, 65%, say they rarely, if at all, use AI in their jobs, according to a recent Pew survey. This absence of AI experience and skills is causing a lot of anxiety, particularly because many bosses want to integrate the technology throughout their organizations. Indeed, two-thirds of leaders surveyed by Microsoft said they’d refuse to hire someone who lacks basic AI skills.
Fortunately, you don’t need a degree in data science to catch up. Korn Ferry’s experts have several suggestions to jump-start your AI use at work, regardless of your role.
Just try stuff.
“I’m still a believer of learning by doing,” says Bryan Ackermann, Korn Ferry’s head of AI strategy and transformation. By playing around with inputs, you can quickly learn how changing a single word, altering the tone, or providing a brief example can completely shift the quality of the output AI gives you. This kind of trial and error will help you build a mental map of what the AI you’re using is actually good at.
The “just try stuff” advice goes double for managers whose firms are pushing AI. Leaders who are comfortable with their own AI skills can effectively teach their direct reports how to use the technology, as well as address the anxieties they may have about it.
Don’t give up.
AI proficiency is like any other skill: It takes practice and time. Unfortunately, many people give up if AI doesn’t quickly give them the results they’re looking for. It’s important to power through that discouragement. “What may feel like a frustrating hour up-front, refining prompts and ways of working, can save hours again and again,” says Yasmina Belkir, a Korn Ferry project manager in its Recruitment Process Outsourcing business in EMEA.
Identify your “mini-bottlenecks.”
You don’t have to reinvent your entire job on day one. Instead, take a little time to identify two or three work tasks that—even if they don’t require a lot of thought—are a big drain on your time. Maybe it’s drafting email replies, or summarizing meeting transcripts, or formatting messy data into clean tables. A couple of AI prompts can significantly speed up these types of tasks.
Importantly, perfecting AI prompts for a couple of narrow tasks can build your confidence for using AI in a variety of other contexts.
Treat AI like an intern.
When they start using AI, many people treat it like a glorified search engine. Instead, think of AI as a capable intern. Give the technology a specific role to assume and tasks to accomplish. Plus, just as you would an intern, provide it with some background about your industry and outline your target audience. “AI having contextual knowledge of the situation, the audience, and the issue makes the output so much better,” Belkir says.
AI, like an intern, might not get it right on the first attempt. Ask it to try again while giving it feedback about how to do better.
Build a “prompt library.”
When you write a prompt that yields an excellent result, don’t lose it. Save it in a basic text document. Share your best prompts with friends and colleagues, and ask them for theirs. Creating a repository of reusable templates for your weekly status reports, project outlines, or brainstorming sessions will save you hours of trial and error later.
Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Leadership and Professional Development capabilities.
