AI is certainly the new hot button issue, in your perspective, you seem to be suggesting a way to master collaboration at the age of intelligence, can you elaborate further on this theory?
SHRM emphasizes human-centered collaboration through its AI + HI approach to AI in the workplace, where tech augments human output as opposed to replacing it. AI transforms how we collaborate among teams, and this necessitates that organizations focus on:
Digital literacy and comfort with AI tools across teams through training, keeping up to date with developments in the technology, knowledge sharing, and experimentation.
Ensuring human oversight by balancing human judgment with AI-driven insights in decision-making
Fostering a culture of continuous feedback and openness to experimentation while ensuring adherence to data security policies and ethical AI use
Mastering collaboration in the age of AI means integrating it not just to automate tasks, but to elevate how teams co-create, problem-solve, and learn in real time. In many ways, interacting with AI is just like interacting with colleagues, customers, and stakeholders; you need strong collaboration skills such as open-mindedness, effective communication, active listening, and being open to perspectives other than your own.
Work places seem to oscillate between friendship and animosity. Remote working has only made things more complicated. You suggest a trust-first leadership in hybrid, high-speed workplaces. Can you explain this more?
Hybrid work models require leaders to assume positive intent, avoid micromanagement, and foster autonomy. Perhaps we saw this in action mostly during COVID. Our hands as organizations and leaders were tied, and we had to operate fully remotely, with a few exceptions. The key to success for many organizations was in how they fostered a trusting work culture, where they engaged with their teams virtually and introduced check-ins and activities without being overbearing or micromanaging.
A trust-first leadership approach requires leaders to build psychological safety within their teams and encourage transparency and active listening in communication. Emphasizing that the leadership holds the team accountable, while adopting an organizational learning approach and demonstrating their trust in the team to do the right thing and use failure as a learning opportunity. Basically, a fail-forward mindset. Lastly, leaders must prioritize outcome-based performance over presenteeism.
As organizations scale technology, the need for emotionally intelligent leadership becomes paramount. “Empathy” is still seen as a weakness rather than a strength however. How can bosses and employees navigate this?
Humans are complex and emotionally diverse. Empathy is considered a “soft skill”, perhaps it is better worded in this context as a “power skill”. Being emotionally intelligent is a non-negotiable trait of a successful leader who is able to harness the true potential of their team. People have different way of looking at things and their perceptions, fears, and concerns differ. In practice, this is how EI enables leaders to manage conflict, build diverse teams, and foster inclusion that drives organizational performance. Therefore, reframing empathy as a business enabler helps leaders adopt a leadership practice that creates better team dynamics, leads to stronger retention, and improved engagement.
Dubai alone has hundreds of ethnicities. You seem to advocate for “borderless talent” which makes “local impact” – how can this melting pot work in your perspective?
SHRM advocates for an inclusion-first approach leading to true diversity. We firmly believe that hiring for capability and fit, not geography, is the right approach to acquiring the right talent. Dubai, being a cosmopolitan city, is a great place to illustrate borderless talent. Ideally, HR should design global work models that are flexible, inclusive, and aligned with local business needs. While it seems like having a group of homogenous people working together, the reality is that this approach will stifle innovation and creativity. Borderless talent brings fresh thinking, and the key is to localize impact is through the successful integration of global and local talent, as opposed to assimilation, and fostering a work culture that advocates cultural intelligence and inclusive practices.
Careers used to be linear, now they are anything but that. How can we navigate the up/skilling and re/skilling game all while still learning and – in one way or another – advancing through, not the ladder, but the maze?
Traditional career ladders are replaced by career lattices or career portfolios, and we have to come to terms with the fact that workers’ habits and workplaces have significantly evolved over time. It is no longer about building a long-lasting career in the same organization but rather looking at the opportunities available and seizing the best ones that align with people’s career aspirations, no matter where they happen to be. Consequently, our challenge as organizations is to keep our talent engaged and interested by emphasizing upskilling and reskilling, lifelong learning, and internal mobility. Careers today are full of pivots, pauses, and parallel moves. Success lies in embracing a learning mindset and building adaptive skills for wherever the journey leads. While organizations might hesitate to invest in people with the looming possibility of losing talent, not doing so creates a much more adverse impact, where talent stagnates, loses interest, and starts looking elsewhere in any case.
