Pete Behrens is a Leadership Coach and Founder of Agile Leadership Journey, a community devoted to improving leaders and their organizations. As an engineer by profession, Pete now guides leaders to be more focused, responsive and resilient to change. As a systemic coach and leader himself, Pete led the development of the Certified Enterprise Coaching (CEC) and Certified Agile Leadership (CAL) programs for the Scrum Alliance. Furthermore, he served on their Board of Directors from 2016-2018.
AI Leadership Lab
Leaders and Generative AI in Collaboration for Improved Leadership
Welcome to the AI Leadership Lab
This new initiative from Agile Leadership Journey is dedicated to exploring generative AI and its impact on leadership. It is a testament to our commitment to guiding leaders through the intricate world of AI, offering a shared journey, and providing guidance across three layers: awareness, assistance, and augmentation.
If you're asking, “Why is Agile Leadership Journey venturing into the world of AI?”, take a look at Pete Behrens' article, Why Agilists are Heading to AI. Short on reading time? Here's the TL;DR:
- Human interaction with generative AI is essentially an agile inspect and adapt cycle.
- AI and agile surround a cycle of change with AI exponentially driving change and the competency of agility to navigate this change journey.
The AI Leadership Lab Community
We have partnered with organizational leaders eager to navigate the complexities of AI, researchers who are delving deep into its future potential, and technical partners who are integrating AI into leadership use cases.
This means helping leaders to:
- Understand AI’s impact on leadership through better awareness, guidance, and support.
- Learn what AI tools and use cases can be integrated to leadership capabilities.
- Prepare leaders for a future of a changed leadership landscape.
These three domains are covered more thoroughly in Embracing AI in Leadership: A Paradigm Shift in Strategy and Operation.
The AI Leadership Lab is designed to empower leaders with the knowledge, tools, and strategies necessary to harness AI's transformative power effectively through collaborative partnerships. Our first cohort is spearheaded by Pete Behrens, Founder and CEO of Agile Leadership Journey, and Jim Highsmith, a thought leader dedicated to enhancing the world of work. They will co-facilitate a group of notable leaders who have made significant contributions to AI and leadership.
Meet the AI Leadership Advisors:
Pete Behrens
Founder & CEO, Agile Leadership Journey
Jim Highsmith
Agile Pioneer & Executive Consultant
Despite retiring from ThoughtWorks in 2021, Jim continues to share his 60+ years of expertise, wisdom, and insights from roles across the industry as an IT manager, product manager, project manager, consultant, software developer, and storyteller. Jim has been a leader in the agile community for 30+ years, notably as a co-author of the Agile Manifesto, founding member of The Agile Alliance, co-author of the Declaration of Interdependence for project leaders, and co-founder and first president of the Agile Leadership Network.
Nick Hodnick
TPM Manager, Microsoft
Industrial Solutions Engineering Team
Nick Hodnick stands at the intersection of leadership and generative AI as a pivotal leader within Microsoft's Industrial Solutions Engineering. His work – nestled between the innovative Co-Pilot AI developers and customers eager to incorporate AI into their offerings – underscores his critical role in shaping the future of AI integration.
Nick has emerged as a vital bridge between technical innovation and practical application, ensuring that Microsoft's AI solutions are not only cutting-edge but also accessible and relevant to the needs of businesses and leaders.
Through his contributions, Nick continues to drive the conversation on how AI can be harnessed to lead more effectively, fostering a future where technology and human ingenuity converge to unlock unprecedented opportunities.
Nick's Speaking Engagements & Publications
- TMPs Unit GPT (GPT+ required)
- Unlock Your GPT Superpowers
Dr. Eric Kihn
Chief, Oceanographic and Geophysical Science and Services Division,
National Centers for Environmental Information
Dr. Eric Kihn has been instrumental in integrating AI into the environmental sciences, firmly positioning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a leader in harnessing the power of AI to enhance its mission.
Dr. Kihn’s contributions extend beyond the scientific community, influencing AI strategy, policy, education, and operations both within and outside of NOAA. His commitment to leveraging AI for the betterment of environmental sciences exemplifies his role as a trailblazer, going back to his thesis which was among the first applications of AI/Ml to geophysics.
Dr. Kihn serves on the White House task force for AI in extreme weather, heading the World Data Service for Geophysics, and contributing broadly to the Earth System Information Partners, a consortium of key federal partners.
Dr. Kihn's Speaking Engagements & Publications
Pete Lunenfeld
Founder, CEO & CTO
CurrentWave AI
Pete Lunenfeld brings more than 30 years of experience navigating the technology landscape with a blend of leadership and customer-centric wisdom. Before founding CurrentWave AI, Pete served as CTO of Truckstop, a SaaS freight services company, where he pioneered one of the industry’s first generative AI products as a team leader and key inventor (patent pending). This achievement fueled his inspiration to establish CurrentWave AI and bring the transformative power of generative AI to the business world.
Our Path Forward
As we begin this journey, it's essential to recognize that the path ahead is unchartered. This initiative is not about learning AI; instead, we want to build a community that encourages, supports, and sharpens the focus of leaders in the age of AI. This approach is what distinguishes the rabbit hole wanderer from the productive, effective leader poised for growth and increased leadership capacity.
While we don't claim to have all of the answers, we can bring together the voices who are asking the right questions. In such a quickly evolving landscape, inaction is tantamount to regression. By moving forward, we are not just keeping pace but leading the charge as to how leadership will be practiced in an AI-integrated world.
Join an AI Leadership Lab Cohort
The introduction of AI means human element to leadership is becoming more important – not less. We must maintain the human capacity to lead with empathy, insight, and adaptability. The AI Leadership Lab cohorts are as much about embracing our humanity in leadership as they are about understanding the implications of AI in leadership. Through the intimacy of a small group bolstered by a broad ecosystem, AI Leadership Lab cohorts are built on four pillars critical for navigating AI:
Support System
ALJ provides peer and community support by helping ground and focus leaders through this challenging landscape.
Guided Facilitation
ALJ assigns a Guide for each cohort that enables leadership guidance along with professional cohort facilitation.
Partnering Platform
ALJ is partnering with thought leaders and technical experts to provide an integrated platform for experimentation.
Thought Leadership
ALJ provides a diverse offering of connecting and sharing improving practices via articles, podcasts, webinars, and conferences.
Join us as we pave the way for a future that values human insight as much as technological innovation.
Whether you're a seasoned AI expert or just curious to explore this new environment with like-minded professionals, we invite you to join an AI Leadership Lab cohort! This collaborative space, led by a licensed Agile Leadership Journey Guide, will equip and support leaders as they navigate AI within leadership.
Upcoming Events
Reimagining Leadership With AI
Webinar Replay
Agile Leadership Journey Founder and CEO Pete Behrens, along with Dr. Eric Khin, Microsoft’s Nick Hodnick, and CurrentWave AI’s Pete Lunenfeld explored how they are integrating AI into their practice as leaders.
Together, they discussed embracing change as a strategic advantage for growth; leveraging AI to tackle complex challenges; bridging the gap between cutting-edge AI and practical leadership; and revolutionizing the business world with generative AI.
World Management Agility Forum
Panel Discussion Replay
Pete Behrens, Alvin Graylin, and Eric Kihn hosted a panel discussion, The Future of Leadership Amid AI, during the 2024 World Management Agility Forum in Lisbon.
Kicking off the discussion, Pete Behrens highlighted that while AI may disrupt jobs, it also opens doors to growth and innovation. Leaders, he argued, must stay agile, look beyond present challenges, and anticipate the shifts ahead. The panelists urged attendees to lead with adaptability, critical thinking, and a dedication to continuous learning in this rapidly evolving AI landscape.
AI Resources for Leaders
According to new research from the Business Agility Institute, instead of solving business problems outright, AI ends up amplifying them—meaning that unprepared organizations may find themselves struggling rather than thriving.
Beyond acting as a virtual assistant, is AI able to work with the subtleties that come with human interaction? We experimented to find out: Can AI reveal our cultural blind spots?
The challenge for leaders isn't just technical or financial. It's about preserving human value within organizational culture and brand. Business leaders must navigate the delicate balance between embracing AI and maintaining the human touch.
Pete Lunenfeld’s latest article helps leaders discover how to navigate the complex landscape of AI and beyond.
The Reimagining Leadership With AI webinar, hosted by the World Management Agility Forum, was held May 16 and featured several of the Agile Leadership Journey AI Leadership Lab advisors:
How will leaders leverage AI, data, and human insight? Guest Eric Kihn, PhD, who leads AI strategy for the U.S. government in environmental sciences, joins Pete to discuss how these technologies are lowering the “cost of curiosity,” uncovering unseen patterns and changing leadership practices.
How will we navigate the next super cycle of change driven by AI? It won't be easy, but getting comfortable being uncomfortable will help increase our resilience and ability to adapt.
Part history lesson, part cautionary tale, this ebook explores the key accomplishments and disappointments that have marked each wave of tech innovation - and what a future with generative AI might look like.
In this episode of (Re)Learning Leadership, host Pete Behrens is joined by Agile pioneer Jim Highsmith to dig deeper into the impact of AI on leadership and organizational dynamics.
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