This article describes a specialized leadership training for new managers in scale-ups. It integrates AI agent management and human judgment into the curriculum. The method combines repetition of core models with 1-on-1 coaching for lasting impact.
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Summary: This article analyzes Gallup’s data on management talent and the impact of AI on leadership requirements. It argues that while technical management skills are becoming automated, human-centric coaching and communication skills are becoming the primary value drivers. The content advocates for leadership training for new managers as a strategic necessity for organizational relevance.
Gallup studied 2.5 million teams. The conclusion was shocking. Only 10% of managers naturally possess the talent to lead well. The other 90% require deliberate development to succeed.
Most companies ignore this. They take their best individual contributor, hand them a new title, and hope for the best. This is what is causing the huge global drop in workplace engagemement: untrained and disengaged managers. Train them, Gallup says, and we can unlock close to 10 trillion USD (!) in productivity.
When a promotion happens without leadership training for new managers, the team pays the price. You see it in the data. Performance slips. People stop speaking up in meetings. Eventually, your best talent leaves.
The pain is felt most by HR. You are left putting out fires caused by leaders who do not know how to lead. You deal with high absenteeism and the cost of high employee turnover.
The transition from peer to manager is not a step up a ladder. It is a complete change in craft. The technical skills that made them a top performer are now secondary.
The rise of AI is rapidly devaluing technical expertise as a management cornerstone. When machines can handle data analysis, scheduling, and technical optimization, the demand for managers with purely hard skills will decrease. Conversely, the demand for strong communication and coaching skills will increase.
In an automated world, the only remaining competitive advantage for a leader is the ability to connect, inspire, and develop others. This shift makes leadership training even more important for companies and leaders that want to stay relevant. If you cannot coach, you will become obsolete.
Management is not about controlling others. It starts with personal leadership. A manager who cannot regulate their own stress or own their calendar will never build a high-performance team.
We often see “corporate theater” where managers pretend to have control while drowning in role ambiguity. Without a grounded philosophical approach to their new responsibility, they default to micromanagement or total avoidance.
To fix the engagement crisis, leadership must be treated as a clinical skill.
Leadership is not a reward for past performance. It is a service to the future of the organization. If your managers are struggling to delegate or fear giving feedback, they are not failing you. The system failed them by leaving them untrained.
Schedule a free introduction call here to discuss the possibilities for your company..
This week I joined the โ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐โ event at EYโs Amsterdam office, hosted by Maarten Lintsen, with sharp insights from Anna van den Breemer- Kleene, Isabel Moll – Kranenburg, and Rina Joosten-Rabou.
I went because Iโm fascinated, sometimes a bit scared even, by how fast this field is moving and what it means for leadership, work, and meaning. Hereโs what I picked up.
A theme that surfaced in the panel and in a side conversation with Marielle Willemse: leaders need the capacity to zoom out. To look at their strategic goals, and find creative ways of making AI work for them. To avoid AI tunnel vision.
Take recruitment. If efficiency is the only aim, we automate CV screening. Yet CVs predict about 3 percent of job success. Faster, not smarter. The better question is how AI helps us hire people with those skills that can transform and innovate an organisation. Use AI to assess skills and potential, not to count CV buzzwords.
Only those leaders that adapt fast enough to AI will remain. Relevance requires AI literacy. Which isn’t coding, but understanding how you can make it work for you. Leaders must make it safe to experiment. If teams are scared to try, adoption among employees slows.
Knowledge will lose most of its value, for individuals. AI gives us access to collective intelligence, so value shifts from knowing to interpreting and asking the right questions. Meanwhile, Europeโs productivity growth is slowing. How can we use AI and agents to turn this around?
Culture is how we create meaning together, yet it is slippery. AI can help define it. It can show what your culture is today, which behaviors match your future state, and how to monitor and steer progress. Less guessing, more knowing.
AI can do a lot, but it canโt show empathyโฆ right?
In one study, patients rated AI doctors as more empathetic than human ones. To be fair, doctors have limited time, AI doesn’t. But still..
In the next few years most of us will have personal AI agents that book meetings, analyze data, and complete tasks. My personal view: They will talk, write, and appear on video indistinguishably from humans.
Isn’t there anything they can’t do? I think only face-to-face human connection will remain uniquely human. Having a conversation, sharing a coffee.
AI and robots will be able to do almost everything humans do faster and cheaper. We will need new sources of meaning beyond productivity. Keep developing the parts that make us human: creativity, curiosity, empathy, connection.
AIโs impact in the next decade will be faster and bigger than most of us realize, I think. The question is not whether AI replaces us, but whether we evolve quickly enough to stay meaningfully human alongside it.
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Want your managers to be ready for the coming years? AI adoption is a part of the leadership programs I create and deliver, and comes up in 1-on-1 leadership coaching I offer to ambitious early-career managers. Schedule a free introduction call here. I’d love to tell you more.
Are you responsible for the happiness of your people?
You want to build a culture of engagementโ
but urgent stuff keeps winning:
๐ฅ Engagement pulse scores trending down
๐ฅ Back-to-back vacancies in the same team
๐ฅ A new HR tool rollout stealing all your time
Hereโs the strategic move:
Invest in leadership.
Because most of these problems?
They start with managers who were never set up to lead well.
Now look at this chart ๐
Only 21% of employees are engaged globally.
But in best-practice organisations? Thatโs 70%.
Whatโs the difference?
It starts with leaders.
Managers who know how to have hard conversations.
Who drive performance and make people feel seen, safe and motivated.
Leadership development isnโt just an L&D initiativeโ
itโs a fire prevention system for HR. Curious what this could look like in your company?
DM me and letโs map it out.
Negativity spreads fast.
One complaint turns into a group venting session.
One frustration becomes the team’s mood.
Iโve seen it happen. And as a manager, it can make you feel powerless.
Especially when the frustration is about things outside your controlโlike salaries, company policies, or strategic decisions made higher up.
You donโt want to silence people. They have the right to voice concerns.
At the same time, research shows that some ways of dealing with negativityโlike avoidance, suppression, or manipulationโonly make things worse. Instead of resolving tension, these approaches allow negativity to fester or resurface in unproductive ways.
So, how do you manage it?
1. Acknowledge, but donโt amplify
Let people vent, but donโt fuel the fire.
โI hear you. This is frustrating. What do you think we can do within our control?โ
Redirect the conversation toward action.
2. Reframe the narrative
Negativity thrives in a vacuum. If people lack context, they assume the worst.
As a manager, you can help reframe the situation:
โI get why this feels unfair, but hereโs the bigger pictureโฆโ
This is called reappraisalโshifting how we interpret a situation. Studies show that once a new perspective spreads among 25-40% of a group, the rest will likely adopt it too.
3. Set the emotional tone
Your team will take cues from you. Stay calm, steady, and constructive.
Negativity isnโt the enemy. But letting it take over is.
Strong leaders donโt ignore emotions. They help teams process themโwithout getting stuck.
Picking up from last weekโs post about that golf cart ride through the forest… ๐ฒ Hereโs where we ended up.
Anouk Benders – MindBenders and I were out scouting the location for ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ โour three-day leadership experienceโand we found the right place.
It’s not just beautiful; it also has a sense of luxury and warmth that makes you feel at home the moment you arrive.
Quality is everything to us for this event, and we knew the setting needed to be perfect. Weโre happy to have found the right match.
Take a look at the photos to see what we mean. This spot was chosen to create a deep, immersive experienceโwhere ambitious leaders can come together for growth, connection, and real development.
๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ: ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ญ-๐ฎ๐ฏ, ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ. Weโve already had a lot of interest, which is exciting to see.
If youโre thinking about joining us and want to stay updated, send me a DM, and Iโll add you to our list.
Just another day at the officeโcruising through the forest in a golf cart! ๐ฒ๐
Iโm teaming up with Anouk Benders – MindBenders on a project thatโs close to both of our hearts.
Our goal is to help ambitious leaders create a positive future, and weโre developing something we believe will do just that.
Last week, we visited the location where itโs all going to happenโMarch 21-23, 2025.
After exploring, I can honestly say weโve found the perfect spot.
We’re excited to see this vision come to life and canโt wait to share more with you soon!
Stay tuned for updatesโexciting things are on the way!
