I spent last Wednesday and Thursday with Michael Dila in Toronto, planning our upcoming retreats for Leadership in the Age of AI. 

One of the critical leadership traits we’ve identified is an ecosystem mindset: a way of thinking that addresses the potential impact of your decisions on people, organizations, society, and the world in which we live. Michael and I talked at length about the fragility of the systems we rely on to sustain our businesses and our lives — and the risk that AI potentially poses to this brittle infrastructure.

We had a productive two days. 

And then, as I attempted to fly home on Friday, the very fragility that we’d been discussing just hours before was laid bare as the three biggest US airlines grounded their entire fleets, and banks and other vital business dependent on Microsoft systems were compromised and shuttered.

As I sat in the gate area rebooking my travel, the biggest thing that struck me was how quiet it was. At first I thought it was just the effect of the passengers remaining calm. (Btw, very well done, United passengers. You’re a model for humanity.) 

And then I realized that there hadn’t been any overhead announcements. Not a one. 

Crickets.

Nothing from the United gate agents saying something like, “Hey, our systems are down. We’ll let you know when we have more info.” Or from Toronto Pearson airport officials saying, “Hey, there are major tech issues today. We’re committed to getting you the latest updates.” Or from the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge attendants saying, “Hey, United flyers, you might want to check your flight status before you leave the comfort of your armchair.” 

It was so odd to me that the airport system — the poster child for overhead announcements! — didn’t make a single overhead announcement. Instead, they relied on every single passenger finding out about the incident from a phone alert or the news. It felt disconnected. And it lacked humanity, like there was some impenetrable wall between all of us passengers and all of the people working in the airport.

Yes, I get that they, as United/Pearson/Air Canada employees, didn’t have any info that we didn’t. We passengers did find out about the CrowdStrike outage from our phones and probably had as much information as anyone else in the building at some points. 

But we were all in the same boat. And so I would have thought that as humans going through the same shitty dilemma, one single person in the entire airport system might have decided it would be a good idea to make an announcement to let people know that a major thing had happened. And that they were looking after us. I mean, that’s what we do as people, right? We look after each other.

That’s what an ecosystem mindset is all about. Looking after each other. Because we recognize that we are all interdependent and equally dependent on many of the same systems, and we are all impacted (in some way or another) when those systems get polluted or break.

This leadership attribute can be shown in any area of an organization at any time — not just when big technology decisions are being made. 

Consider that all of the airlines knew the outage was happening. The execs at Air Canada were likely shedding tears of relief when they confirmed they hadn’t been impacted. But someone with an ecosystem mindset might have said:

“Phew, we’re ok! Now, who else out there needs help? Let’s start with our Star Alliance partner airlines. We surely have United travelers in our lounges today. Let’s get the word out to all of our lounges to be on the lookout for United passengers when they scan their boarding passes. These passengers might be confused, stressed, or have special needs today — so let’s get our folks to proactively reach out to help, even if that’s just lending a sympathetic ear.”

I mean, Air Canada is in a literal business alliance with United. And this solution wouldn’t cost much at all in terms of time or effort. It isn’t so far-fetched. It’s actually quite a small gesture.

But it isn’t how most leaders operate today. 

When leaders lack an ecosystem mindset, they focus on maximizing profit/productivity through minimum expenditure/effort and by avoiding unnecessary liability to their individual sphere of influence. It’s every organization, every team for itself.

Michael and I are out to change that — because our dependence on global tech means that the AI crises of the future will certainly be higher stakes than missing an opportunity to creation connection with travelers waiting for a delayed flight from the comfort of an airport lounge.

Our leadership retreats, which kick off this fall, will help leaders develop and practice new perspectives and appreciation for the importance of their AI decision making — and gain practical tools for adaptive leadership in the Age of AI.

We’ll be sharing more about our Leadership in the Age of AI retreats soon! Please get in touch if you want more info.