Management gemsFind here some gems from our monitoring of the best publications on leadership and management

How can we explain the decisions taken by artificial intelligence?
Decisions that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) have the particularity that we are not aware of the logical sequence that resulted in the recommended solution. Added to this is the use of statistical learning methods: “deep learning” rests on correlations between millions, or even billions, of parameters, which cannot be translated into explicit causal links.
And yet, in order to grant our trust, we require explanations. Isabelle Bloch, a professor at Sorbonne University, stresses the essential role of human beings in this regard. It is indeed a question of identifying how to judiciously compensate for the algorithm’s opacity, according to each specific case. The challenge is above all to choose the type of explanation to provide, depending on needs and the people we are addressing. Are we dealing primarily with an issue of trust, of ethics, of responsibility? What is our interlocutors’ level of understanding of AI? For example, we might choose to explain what are the data used, the operating principles of the AI used, the precautions to be taken when using its results, etc. Thus, the more AI develops, the more we will need to develop our ability to communicate about and discuss its results. A new skill set to be explored.
Source: Il faut justifier les décisions prises par un algorithme [Decisions taken by an algorithm need to be justified], interview of Isabelle Bloch by Sophy Caulier, Polytechnique Insights, December 2021.

The unspoken, a trigger for burnout
Employees’ mental health appears to be at an all-time low. In its special report on the subject, France Culture interviewed Thomas Périlleux, a Belgian sociologist and winner of the 2024 Penser le travail prize for his book Le Travail à vif [Work on edge].
One of his observations is particularly interesting: often, he writes, what causes an employee who has been enduring a difficult situation for months to “snap” is a contradictory injunction. The problem is not that there are contradictions within a company; those are inherent to its very operation. The problem is that we are strongly encouraged to keep quiet about them.
Employees are thus asked to “do things faster and better at the same time”, to “get more involved in their work while also showing greater detachment”, etc. One telling example: a technician who was forbidden from mentioning the technical difficulties he might encounter unless he was able to offer a solution. This imposed silence causes psychological suffering, just as when we use indirect wording, or poorly understood terms borrowed from other languages, to soften a harsh reality.
Openly saying things and talking about them: a first step in the fight against such suffering?
Source: Santé mentale : que révèle l’épidémie de burn-out ? [Mental health: what does the burnout epidemic reveal?], interview of Thomas Périlleux by Marguerite Catton, France Culture, La Question du jour, October 10, 2024.

How can we make our top performers feel valued?
In a context of a war for talent, numerous companies are questioning themselves about the way to retain their strongest elements. According to Zach Mercurio, a researcher at Colorado State University’s Center for Meaning and Purpose, they often tend to underestimate a simple but essential lever: showing these employees that they matter to the team, and making them feel in what ways their contribution is unique.
This notably entails paying attention to them: a Gallup study found that half of the employees who had voluntarily left their company had not had an exchange with their manager for at least three months to discuss their experience in their position, their performance or their morale. Indeed, in an effort to manage their availability, managers devote themselves first and foremost to employees who have a problem to solve, or a deficit in performance—at the risk of leaving their best-performing employees isolated.
To make them feel valued, dedicate regular listening time to employees for whom “everything seems to be sailing smoothly”. Make sure you go beyond the exchange of operational information in your discussions with them: take an interest in the ways in which they proceed to achieve their results and help them become aware of their strong points.
Source: 3 Ways to Make Sure High Performers Feel Valued, Zach Mercurio, Harvard Business Review, November 2024.

Microstress: not so innocuous!
When we talk about stress, we naturally think of sources of concern: changes that destabilize us, conflicts, overloaded agendas, etc.
In an interview, Rob Cross, co-author of The Microstress Effect, alerts us to another, largely underestimated factor of stress. Every interaction with people whom we appreciate, and with whom we wish to establish or maintain a relationship, also generates its own share of stress. We are careful about what we say, we are eager for the other person to interpret our messages correctly, we ask ourselves how we should interpret their words. Admittedly, this stress is a low-intensity one, and one that we do not generally identify as such. But it is repeated dozens of times a day and can accumulate to the point of bringing us closer to the risk of burn-out.
How can we minimize this risk? The author emphasizes the need to limit “collaborative overload”. To promote good mental health, we need to choose, deliberately, with whom we interact regularly and with which groups we can maintain more distance. For establishing relationships with people we trust is essential to curbing our stress, but only up to a certain volume of interactions.
Source: Author Talks: How minor stresses add up to epic fails, interview of Rob Cross by Lucia Rahilly, McKinsey Insights, July 2023.
To learn more :

Women and leadership
many have expressed surprise at the apparent lack of enthusiasm from potential female candidates. Why do so few volunteers put themselves forward?
A study by the University of Michigan has highlighted a paradox: women recognize themselves far less than men in the designation of “leader”. And yet, several studies have underlined the fact that women outperform men in a majority of key leadership competencies: personal development, integrity, initiative-taking, collaboration, team mobilization, change management, etc.
How can this shortage of female applicants be remedied? The authors recommend refraining from using the overly loaded term “leader” in recruitment campaigns, and instead focusing on the attributes of leadership and the behaviors that characterize it. Indeed, their study reveals that women prefer to describe themselves as demonstrating commitment, dynamism, intelligence or sensitivity, rather than leadership. An approach that ultimately results in finding the same qualities among potential candidates, regardless of their gender.
Source: When Qualified Women Resist the Leader Label, Julia Lee Cunningham, Sue Ashford, Laura Sonday, MIT Sloan Management Review, November 2024.
To learn more :