Tuesday 16 June 2026

The Evolving Role of Managers in an AI-First World

The technology is moving faster than the management thinking. Most organisations have rolled out AI tools; very few have seriously rethought what it means to lead a team in that context. This session takes an honest, practical look at what is genuinely changing for managers - and what isn't. We'll explore what AI is actually good at, what stays uniquely human, and what shifts in three areas every manager cares about: delegation, performance management, and talent development. Perhaps most encouragingly, the behaviours that drive AI adoption in teams - role modelling, sharing openly, creating safety, connecting work to purpose - turn out not to be AI-specific at all. They're what great managers have always done, and this human advantage is needed now more than ever.