This fall, my co-author, Beverly Kaye, and I will release the third edition of our book, “Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Organizations Need and Employees Still Want.” It was a wonderful opportunity to reimagine the reader experience, which we decided to do with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). We leveraged generative AI to develop a resource to deepen a reader’s relationship with the content, facilitate self-directed learning and build a bridge between the words on the page (or screen) and action in the real world.

Despite the possibilities that our bot — and generative AI in general — offers, one undeniable truth remains:

Development is a Uniquely Human Endeavor

While growth can be supported, informed, accelerated and even nudged along with the help of technology, AI can only go so far without a little HI: Human intelligence. Human interaction. Human inspiration. Human imagination. Human involvement.

The kind of sustainable, satisfying growth that organizations need and employees want demands a lot more than high tech. It demands high touch. And that’s because real human beings facilitate several things AI simply can’t:

• Trust and relationships: Learning is a risky business. Sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back. Employees risk mistakes and failure when trying something new and they’ll only take those risks in a psychologically safe environment built upon a foundation of trusting relationships. Humans are uniquely suited to facilitate and reinforce the sense of security and confidence required to enable development.
• Contextual and cultural understanding: Even the most sophisticated technology is incapable of illuminating the nuanced context of growth within a particular environment or in the presence of changing organizational strategies, challenges and constraints. Humans are uniquely suited to offer an ongoing reality check that enables development.
• Calibrated feedback: Technology-based tools have for some time been able to offer insights about an employee’s performance and behavior. But sterile information doesn’t move the needle. For feedback to land, it must be delivered with the intention of helping the learner. It must be based on historical and organizational context. It must be carefully calibrated to the individual’s unique needs, offered empathetically and with an eye toward the future.
• Experiential learning: Practical, hands-on activities, learning from mistakes and applying skills and knowledge in real time and on real challenges is where the rubber meets the road. This can only happen in the real world, with real projects and real work. Humans are uniquely suited to identify, support and coach in-the-workflow development in a way that enables development
• Behavior modeling: Much of our learning comes from observation. Watching others perform well (or perhaps not so well) offers potent lessons around a range of skills. And while AI can approximate and demonstrate certain skills and behaviors, it’s no match for humans who offer a steady stream of demonstrations that enable development.
• Reflection: Sure, technology tools can offer nearly unlimited questions for us to consider. But the reality is that for many of us, ideas become clearer, insights more powerful and intentions more deeply embedded when we bring our voice to them. Humans are uniquely suited to hold space for and listen to people as they talk out their evolving understanding — and in the process, enable development.

Our work with AI served as yet another reminder that growth is deeply human. While technology can guide and enhance the journey, it’s the human touch — our ability to connect, empathize and inspire — that enables the experience at work that employees are seeking. And that’s why we must all remember that the most powerful tool for growth isn’t artificial: It’s authentically human.