Managers emerge as change agents driving AI transformation across companies worldwide

Managers play critical role in a company's AI transformation - and they know it

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways * Middle managers play a critical role to a company's AI transformation. * 78% of managers feel responsible for their team's successful AI adoption. * 77% of managers are saving more than three-hours per week with AI tools. Managers play a critical role in a company's AI transformation -- and they know it. According to a Salesforce survey of more than 500 middle managers, two-thirds of managers are optimistic about AI's role in the future of work. Managers are seeing tangible and measurable benefits from using AI, with 77% saving more than three hours per week with AI tools. Relational transformation led by successful managers The transformation of business towards becoming autonomous, or agentic, is more about relational transformation and less about technological transformation. Becoming an agentic business requires: These are the seven Rs of relational transformation that will require strong management and leadership technological and business competencies. The framework that is necessary for success AI adoption, including AI agents, must follow 12 rules that will be the critical responsibility of managers. Managers will also be responsible for demonstrating real tangible benefits of AI adoption, which many are able to show with 60 days of deploying AI agents. Studies show that more than half of US desk workers consider themselves AI skeptics, while emerging economies trust AI more. American workers are 43% more likely than the average global worker to be skeptical of AI, according to a global survey of more than 1,500 desk workers across four continents. Global studies show that the vast majority (90%) of people in emerging economies expect benefits from AI and view generative and agentic AI as a way for them to advance their careers. The role of managers will be critical to reducing the skepticism that exists with AI in business. Managers feel accountable for AI adoption The survey of more than 500 manager found that business leaders are looking beyond their own adoption of AI, with 78% revealing a personal commitment to ensuring their teams are successfully adopting AI tools. They also note that the journey of AI transformation is not easy, with 51% feeling anxious about AI use cases and pace of change. Nearly 1 in 2 managers feel pressure from leadership to demonstrate AI adoption. Yet only 32% of managers work for companies that formally track AI adoption. Growing use cases include data analysis, in order for managers to make better informed decisions. Creative and research projects are also accelerating adoption of AI, which shows that AI tools are maturing beyond efficiency tools. A recent study shows that US desk workers are concerned about employee experience, lack of training, and readiness to adopt AI technologies. The top three reasons for an unsuccessful AI tool or pilot among American workers include generic outputs, insufficient training, and low trust in outputs. Managers are starting to emphasize the importance of employee training on AI and better technical support and due diligence with respect to design, deployment and scaling of AI adoption in business. Managers want more AI training Successful AI programs require trustworthy data, employee training, executive sponsors, a modern technology stack and deeply connected and integrated business applications. Success also requires a culture that embraces experimentation and continuous leaning, a function that must be lead by forward-looking and innovative managers. What managers need most in terms of showing success with adoption of AI tools is hands-on training. The survey found that 37% of managers are seeking hands-on AI training, 35% want a more clear organizational AI strategy, and 34% need better IT/technical support. Successful business transformation using AI solutions will require strong business investments for managers. Managers already feel accountable for AI transformation and also see fundamental changes to their roles in the next 2-3 years. Successful business transformation will always be about people more than technology. With better training, stronger clarity of mission and purpose and the right technology and expertise partnerships, managers can successfully lead companies in an AI-powered economy.

Role reset as AI rises, managers emerge as new change agents

As AI technology continues to permeate workplaces, managers have become crucial players in its successful integration. Their role has evolved from merely overseeing tasks to fostering environments of learning and adaptability. Organizations are prioritizing the development of AI-ready teams through ongoing education, with managers guiding their teams in understanding and utilizing new technologies effectively. Bangalore: Artificial intelligence may be automating many of the routine tasks that once defined middle management. Yet, as companies move beyond AI pilot projects, managers are becoming more important than ever in making the technology work. Instead of creating more AI specialists, organisations are focusing on building AI-ready workforces, recasting managers as the drivers of AI adoption. Their role is expanding to helping teams embrace new tools, build AI capabilities and integrate AI into everyday work. "This is not a technology problem. This is not a digital problem. AI is everybody's problem... it's as foundational as literacy," said Rajkamal Vempati, HR head at Axis Bank. That means managers-not technology teams alone-are increasingly responsible for embedding AI into employees' day-to-day work. At Axis Bank, CXOs are required to spend a disproportionate amount of time learning about AI, while managers are expected to lead the transition, Vempati said. "AI is democratising work which was perhaps in the domain of technology, but efficiency is the floor, not the ceiling," she said. AI adoption is treated as a leadership accountability at the bank and is measured across the organisation. Vempati said ultimately, organisations are likely to become flatter, with managers overseeing larger teams while combining people leadership with individual contribution and leading AI adoption. Ruchira Bhardwaja, chief human resources officer at Kotak Life Insurance, said the manager's role is shifting from supervision to enabling learning and adaptability. "The manager of the future will not be defined by supervision or control but by the ability to build trust, adaptability and learning agility within teams." Kotak Life is using technology to strengthen decision-making, improve efficiency and create more responsive experiences for internal and external customers. "AI readiness cannot be treated as a separate programme or a one-time training intervention," said Bhardwaja. "It should become part of the organisation's learning rhythm. As skills evolve faster, managers play a critical role in helping teams learn, unlearn and apply new capabilities at work. The real measure is whether the learning translates into better behaviours, outcomes and readiness." Companies said managers are evolving from supervising work to coaching employees, driving change and applying human judgement where AI falls short. At Flipkart, AI is taking on more operational work, allowing managers to focus on long-term capability building while ensuring empathy and human-in-the-loop governance remain central to decision-making. "This is a transition we are actively working through," said Yogita Shanbhag, vice-president-HR at Flipkart. "Our managers are increasingly the people responsible for making AI adoption real within their teams, which includes building the skills needed to work alongside intelligent systems and ensuring that automation sharpens human judgment." As companies embed AI more deeply into their operations, traditional training programmes are giving way to continuous learning. Ericsson is investing in leadership development to help managers build empathy, adaptability, coaching capabilities and inclusive leadership skills. "At Ericsson, we believe that technology transformation is ultimately a people transformation," said Priyanka Anand, head of HR, Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania & India. "AI provides distinct capabilities; however, the impact is from how people embrace, adapt and apply. That is where managers matter most. They help teams understand what is changing, why it matters and how it fits into their work."