Rowena Westphalen is not at all frightened about the end of leadership as we know it. In fact, she describes herself as incredibly “optimistic”.

Today, as the Senior Vice President of Innovation, AI and Customer Advisory at Salesforce, Westphalen is on the cutting edge of the AI revolution.

In a remarkable interview for the FW Leadership Series podcast, she speaks with FW’s Helen McCabe about what the future of leadership will look like as we move into managing half-human and half-digital teams.

Here are three of our favourite takeaways.

The last generation of CEOs

Westphalen believes we are entering a new era of management – one that will see a fundamental shift to the role of CEO.

“Our CEO at the moment is going around congratulating CEOs saying, ‘You know what, we’re the last generation of CEOs that will only manage a human workforce’,” she said.

“From here on, we’re going to be managing both human and digital workforces.”

“And that’s incredibly interesting when you think about what that’s going to mean to how consumers engage with businesses, what your work life looks like, what your teams look like.”

But, good leadership is here to stay …

The task of managing half-human and half-digital teams will not change the fundamental makeup of good leadership, Westphalen believes.

“A big part of what leadership looks like in that universe is not that different to what good leadership looks like today,” she said.

“It’s about being curious and not judgmental, being clear on what we’re going to do and how we’re going to navigate the changes … the best human leaders today are also going to be the best people who get the most out of the digital teams”.

Don’t be afraid to question

Westphalen replied instantly when asked if she had any advice for young leaders.

“Do you remember that children’s tale about the emperor’s new clothes?,” she asked.

“[With AI, it is so important to have] the confidence to be that child and risk potentially saying something stupid … ask those questions that you feel like nobody else is asking but needs to be asked, it’s surprising how often when you ask those questions …  that’s where the real learning is.”