What To Do if Your AI Leader Suddenly Quits

As AI takes its place as an essential technology, the AI team leader has emerged as the expert who's bringing the enterprise into the brave new world of artificial intelligence. 

All is well and good -- at least until the AI leader decides to seek employment elsewhere, perhaps with a competitor. What happens next can have a profound impact on the now AI-leaderless enterprise. 

Damage Control 

When an AI leader suddenly quits, the first step should be ensuring continuity by temporarily assigning leadership duties to a capable senior team member, says Jagjot Bhardwaj, lead data analyst at health insurance and services firm UnitedHealth Group. "This minimizes disruptions and maintains momentum," he explains in an email interview. "It's also critical to communicate the change to all stakeholders in order to manage expectations and maintain transparency." 

Umair Majeed, CEO of Datics AI, a technology product development company, advises immediately gathering all ongoing project documentation and conducting a comprehensive review of current statuses and timelines. "When our AI product manager left unexpectedly, we quickly formed a cross-functional team to evaluate risks and ensure that no critical tasks were left unattended," he notes in an online interview. 

Related:How CEOs and IT Leaders Can Take the Wheel on Responsible AI Adoption

Moving Forward 

While the search continues for a replacement AI leader, it's important to keep current projects moving forward while ensuring that interim leadership has a clear understanding of ongoing work and the resources needed, Bhardwaj says. "Halting projects can lead to significant delays and loss of morale among team members." 

Majeed agrees that it's important to maintain the momentum of ongoing projects. "During our transition period, while we were deploying an AI-driven product for a major client, we ensured continuous monitoring and assigned interim project leaders who were already familiar with the project's intricacies," he explains. "This allowed us to maintain progress while we sought a permanent replacement." 

Speed is essential when searching for a qualified replacement, Majeed says. "We leveraged our network through LinkedIn, participated in industry-specific forums, and worked closely with recruitment agencies specializing in AI roles," he notes. "One successful tactic we used was hosting a quick hiring event focused on AI professionals, which fast-tracked our search process and brought us suitable candidates quickly." 

Promote from within and draw on your succession planning, recommends Barbara H. Wixom, a principal research scientist at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). Smart IT leaders hire people they believe will move up the ladder. They also encourage cross-training, so that employees know each other's jobs. "Insiders will know a lot about at least some aspects of the AI leader's job," she says via email. "They will also know something about organizational processes and values." 

Related:Does Your Organization Need a Dedicated AI Leader?

Onboarding the New Leader 

Bringing a new AI leader up to date requires a structured onboarding process, Bhardwaj says. "This should include comprehensive briefings on all active projects, key personnel introductions, and overviews of past performance data and future expectations," he explains. "It’s also beneficial to arrange meetings with key team members and stakeholders to establish relationships and open lines of communication." 

 Cynthia M. Beath, an academic research fellow with MIT CISR, recommends asking project teams to bring the new leader up to speed on goals, progress, and blocks. "Draw on your project reporting process," she advises in an email interview. "Make sure each project, particularly the ones in medium- and high-risk categories, have a project owner or sponsor who's accountable for on-going performance management and oversight." 

Related:Navigating the Impact of AI on Teams

For the new leader's onboarding process, we organized intensive briefing sessions with key stakeholders and set up detailed knowledge transfer meetings, Majeed says. "We paired the new AI lead with mentors who had deep contextual knowledge of ongoing projects and operational workflows." he adds. "This helped in seamlessly integrating them into the team and aligning them with our projects' goals and culture." 

Parting Thoughts 

Transitions create an opportunity for re-evaluation and fresh perspectives, Bhardwaj says. "While the immediate focus is on continuity and filling the vacancy, the change also presents a chance to assess the direction of AI initiatives" he explains. "Ensuring that the new leader is not only technically proficient but also a good fit for the company culture is essential for long-term success." 

If you aren't already doing succession planning, get help from HR to create succession plans for all your key people, Beath advises. "Organizations that are already doing succession planning won't miss a beat when any leader suddenly quits," she notes. "Keep in mind that turnover in the top ranks of the IT department may be higher than turnover in the top ranks of other parts of your organization, so even if the rest of your organization doesn’t need succession planning, you need it in IT."