Last March, Microsoft launched a Twitter bot named “Tay.” This was done as an attempt to advance how artificial intelligence communicates with the humans in real time basis. Hours after its released, hackers manipulated Tay and turned him into a racist, it prompted for the project to end right away. After the epic failure, Microsoft CEO sent a remarkable email to his employees.
According to USA Today, due to the Tay incident, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella sent a remarkable email to his Tay team to give light to what happened. Nadella gave an encouragement note on his email and said: "Keep pushing, and know that I am with you... (The) key is to keep learning and improving." Aside from that he also told his employees to take whatever criticism with the right spirit and most of all to show “deep empathy for anyone hurt by Tay.”
Microsoft explained on their blog the incident and mentioned how deeply sorry they were for the unintended hurtful and offensive tweets that came from Tay. It also pointed out that what happened does not reflect what the company stands for and most especially on how they designed Tay. And that they will only bring back Tay if they better anticipate any malicious conflicts that will come their way.
And now, the INC shared some powerful lessons that can help leaders in a lot of ways. Just like Nadella, it is very important that your employees, staff or team will know that you always got their backs. Mistakes are inevitable but what matters the most is how you all recover from it. As a leader, you have to give encouragement and boost up the morale of your people. By doing this, they will become more motivated to give their best.
Another thing that a leader must always keep in mind is that showing empathy is a strong tool that can make work easier and lighter. Taking into account other people’s feelings and emotions when it comes to work improvement can build a good connection. This will help build trust and loyalty which are important in every professional and personal relationship.
Meanwhile, in another leadership related news, Jobs & Hire reported that women empowerment is becoming more evident in the corporate world. Women leadership is hitting up in the boardroom because of their strong performance level.
