Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2018 - 62

CLOSING
D E A L S

MANAGEMENT COACHING PLATFORM USES AI
TO ENGAGE TEAMS AND DEVELOP LEADERS
BY TARYN OESCH

Simon Rakosi, David Mendlewicz and
Marcus Perezi-Tormos saw a problem:
New leaders, promoted early in their
careers, lacked the training in leadership
and soft skills to prepare them to
manage teams and people effectively.
"We saw leadership training as a huge
white space in the market," says Rakosi.
That's why they created Butterfly, a
management coaching platform that
uses artificial intelligence to collect
real-time feedback from employees.
Managers use that feedback, according
to Rakosi, the COO, "to gain insight on
factors that can enable them to make

NO GENERATION
OF EMPLOYEES
FEELS THEY GET
WHAT THEY
NEED FROM
THEIR LEADERS.
better people decisions, have a bird's eye
view of the mood of their organization,
and show employees that happiness
is a top priority." The feedback, which
is anonymous, is collected weekly or
biweekly through a pulse survey based
on engagement factors identified
by advisors from The University of
Oxford and Columbia University. Alex,
the platform's artificial intelligence
(AI) leadership coach, "gets to know
managers over time and provides
custom and ongoing leadership training
via digestible content."

| 62

Butterfly, which was named a top-five
messaging app by the Webby Awards
last year, announced a $ 2.4M seed
round in October, led by venture capital
firm Daphni, to "evolve Butterfly's
platform and expand the team to
support increased client and product
demand" based on current partners,
who Rakosi says "represent Fortune 500
organizations across various industries
and regions."
ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
COACHING FOR
MILLENNIAL MANAGERS
"Education is really only powerful to the
extent that it's relevant," says Rakosi.
Effective manager coaching should
be relevant, personalized, iterative
and ongoing. AI helps organizations
meet these coaching needs at a scale
previously impossible.
Artificial intelligence is the ability of
a computer or robot to perform tasks
like identifying patterns in data, speech
recognition
and
decision-making,
which previously needed a human to
complete. It's used in adaptive learning
platforms to personalize content based
on individual learner data, such as
team member feedback or answers to
assessment questions.
Butterfly's platform is especially targeted
at millennial managers, who are entering
leadership ranks at increasing rates as
baby boomers retire. Those millennials
are used to real-time communication
like texting and instant messaging,
and looking to use those tools in the
workplace. They also value immediate
feedback and are very coachable - but

they want their coaching to be based
on data. However, according to a 2012
Harvard Business Review article, the
average manager becomes a supervisor
around age 30 but doesn't receive
leadership training until age 42.
A 2016 study by PDT and Leading
Dimensions Consulting found that
millennials tend to prefer a coaching
style in their own leadership. They enjoy
collaborative cultures and succeed at
gaining consensus among stakeholders
and, according to PDT managing
director Paul Findlay, "may cultivate a
more transparent culture with leaders
who are more inclined to seek feedback
and buy-in." However, Findlay also says,
"Millennial leaders may risk settling
into a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to
leadership" due to their ability to adapt
to the fast pace of business. Using a
platform like Butterfly may help by
providing instant feedback and teaching
leaders how to make adjustments based
on that feedback.
Ultimately, a recent Life Meets Work
study found, no generation of employees
feels they get what they need from
their leaders. That includes millennials
but also Generation Z, Generation X
and baby boomers. It's clear that we all
need better managers who understand
their employees and know how to
lead them well. Perhaps by using new
technologies like artificial intelligence
to provide feedback and adapt learning,
we can enter 2018 with leaders who are
better prepared to guide employees and
organizations to a successful future.
Taryn Oesch is an editor at Training Industry,
Inc. Email Taryn.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2018
