Dear Leader/Manager: No Need to Worry Anymore!

Leader or manager, one title for this, another for that. Some prefer the former, some the latter, and some combine both. Others see no great difference between the titles, believing they ultimately converge into a single role we know well. Amidst widespread calls and announcements about how to transform from a manager to a leader, the concept of true leadership, and training courses to qualify you, the buzz around this topic continued. That is, until a new development emerged in the market that completely reshaped everything.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) appeared, followed by a "tsunami" of change in the world. Entire jobs are on its way to disappear, others emerged, and businesses completely transformed and re-formed. Many are trying to explore this newcomer and how to benefit from it, while others fear for their jobs from the "machine." Everyone is using it in almost everything. Undoubtedly, the role of "manager," or let's call it "administrative leadership," has been affected by this change. How so? This article answers that question and provides you with a comprehensive guide to administrative leadership in its latest iteration.

Will the Machine/AI Replace Me as a Leader/Manager?!

The answer to this question depends on your definition of the job. The concept of administrative leadership has always been associated with fundamental operations that ensure efficient workflow, such as:

• Planning: The ability to draw a clear roadmap for the future, precisely define objectives, and anticipate potential challenges.

• Organizing: Distributing tasks to individuals and teams, and intelligently allocating and utilizing resources, to ensure that every part of the organizational machine operates in harmony and efficiency.

Controlling: Regularly monitoring performance, evaluating progress, and correcting courses when necessary to ensure staying on the right track.

Does this mean that the "manager" role is one of those that will disappear with the advancement of AI?

The answer is direct and unequivocally "Of course not!" AI will not replace the human manager. The prevailing consensus among experts and emerging industry trends indicates that AI will primarily serve as an augmenting force for managers, not a replacement. The manager of the future will be defined less by administrative oversight and more by strategic leadership, human capability development, and the ability to effectively collaborate with intelligent systems.

Simply put, it's time for you—dear manager—to undertake the other, more crucial half of your true role: to become a leader, by being human!

How Do I Become a Leader by Being Human?!

AI is demonstrating an increasing capacity to automate or enhance tasks traditionally performed by managers, such as scheduling, performance tracking, data analysis, and even aspects of human resources. This growing ability of AI to handle routine and data-driven operations raises legitimate questions about the need for human intervention in these areas.

In contrast, many sources confirm that AI lacks unique human attributes such as emotional intelligence, empathy, the ability to inspire, build trust, or make complex ethical judgments. These attributes are crucial for effective leadership. This disparity shows that AI can manage tasks with superior efficiency and accuracy, but it cannot lead individuals in the comprehensive sense required for organizational success.

Now, after identifying AI's shortcomings compared to humans, you need to develop a set of skills to become the leader aligned with the vision of the future.

Here is a list of the most important skills the contemporary leader needs:

1. Emotional Intelligence and Empathy: The ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and to perceive, evaluate, and influence the emotions of others. This is crucial for building trust between you and your subordinates, fostering psychological safety within the organization, resolving conflicts, and motivating teams through a healthy, productive work environment.

Strategic Thinking and Vision Setting: The machine will analyze data and assist you in planning, but that is not enough. Your ability to foresee tomorrow and anticipate future trends, define clear organizational goals, and formulate an inspiring vision for your team is essential. This includes long-term planning and adapting to changing market conditions.

Effective Communication and Listening: The cornerstone for building relationships, inspiring employees, achieving alignment among teams, and realizing organizational objectives. This includes transparent communication about "why" we adopt AI, addressing employee concerns about replacement, and fostering open dialogue and safe spaces that allow them to express their opinions and fears without apprehension. Active listening ensures employees feel heard and valued.

• Coaching and Mentoring: This has been and will remain an important task, with or without AI. Shifting from a "command and control" approach to guiding and developing individuals is a crucial step towards successful leadership. This involves asking powerful questions stemming from actual process observation, providing personalized feedback to each employee/department rather than just general remarks, and empowering employees to learn and grow, especially with new AI tools.

• Change Management and Adaptability: The ability to effectively lead individuals and organizations through significant periods of transformation, such as this critical period of digital transformation. This requires flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to guide teams through it. This includes the ability to manage resistance to change, including managing employees resistant to change and change fatigue, as well as those willing to embrace it. The ability to manage remote or hybrid teams is one of the essential skills you must develop.

• Creative Problem-Solving and Innovation: The ability to leverage AI as a co-creator to solve complex and unstructured problems and drive innovation. This involves thinking outside traditional solutions and fostering an environment that encourages experimentation among employees.

Building Organizational Well-being and Psychological Safety: Creating an environment where team members feel safe to express ideas, take calculated risks, and learn from mistakes without fear of negative consequences. This is fundamental, in addition to elevating employee well-being to your priorities to achieve comprehensive "Workplace Wellbeing." (Refer to our article on Corporate Wellbeing: How the World Views This Term in 2025?)

What Else? Here's a Leadership Model from Reality That Answers You: Human First!

Leading organizations today adopt leadership models that focus not only on profits but also on building a sustainable future that places humans at its core. The leadership model of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development offers a valuable framework for this vision, based on principles entirely oriented towards the future we discussed:

• Strategic Foresight: The ability to anticipate future needs and form a profound vision for sustainable growth, which drives individuals to achieve goals beyond the present.

• Global Citizenship: Upholding the values of human rights, social justice, diversity, equality between men and women, and environmental sustainability, to create globally responsible leaders.

• Diversity and Inclusion: Welcoming all opinions and perspectives, ensuring everyone's participation in achieving goals, which enriches the work environment and fosters innovation.

• Entrepreneurial Thinking: Supporting an innovative culture, encouraging experimentation and calculated risk-taking, and empowering teams to generate advanced solutions that create competitive advantages.

• Curiosity and Flexibility: Spreading a culture of continuous learning through experiences, applying acquired knowledge in new situations, and adopting an adaptive approach to changing demands in various situations.

• Passion and Commitment: Recognizing that a leader's passion is the engine for creating successful solutions and opportunities, and coordinating behaviors and actions with optimism and enthusiasm to inspire and engage others.

• Value Creation: Translating vision into tangible results, by creating added value or developing it to the maximum extent possible, for the benefit of individuals, organizations, communities, and the public interest.

• Human First: Continuous investment in training, educating, and qualifying individuals, and creating suitable opportunities for them to develop their skills, believing that humans are the true wealth.

This model emphasizes that effective leadership is not merely the application of administrative rules, but a complex blend of hard and soft skills, analytical and personal capabilities. Leadership development programs must focus on building personality and human skills, such as emotional and social intelligence, as much as they focus on functional and administrative competencies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, dear leader, now that you understand the future of your role, it remains for you to take serious steps towards change. The machine cannot replace you as long as you are moving and working. But it will certainly take your job if you stand still. In fact, anything would take your place then!