CharlieNo, I don't mean managers of the 20th century, but today's managers who operate in their roles and at their capability levels, prior to the mass adoption of AI. I also refer to knowledge workers at large, and not just those in leadership roles.
Accenture announced recently that it is retrenching 11,000 knowledge workers who "cannot" be reskilled for AI.
The CEO of DBS Bank, consistently rated as the world's best bank, quipped that she received the message from her board that even "a CEO's job can be replaced by AI".
So, exactly who will get replaced by AI and who will not? The short answer: those who can rise above the rising machines and those who can't.
The AI-Generation workforce will separate the wheat from the chaff. All else being equal, those with advanced cognitive abilities from those with traditional cognitive skills.
As AI improves and the waterline rises, standard thinkers will be submerged. Intelligent machines are commoditizing knowledge and taking over coordination functions. Soon, many teams will be self-managing. Guided, coached, and appraised by AI. The value-add of traditional managers will be severely diminished.
The very role and nature of managers is now in question. Experience and expertise alone will no longer be enough. Traditional managers are at risk without lifebuoys.
The Rise of the Super-Managers
Yet, those with higher order cognitive abilities, beyond the usual people skills, how to prompt LLMs better and understanding how AI agents work, will rise to unprecedented heights.
They are poised for the new world of work where human imagination is amplified by artificial intelligence. The World of HI x AI.
They are on lifeboats, which the AI waterline will keep lifting as it rises.
AI will be able to prefix "Super-" to all our job roles, as the new baseline.
E.g. Super-CEO, super-doctor, super-manager, super-coder, super-entrepreneur, super-scientist, super-investor, super-consultant, super-coach... These super-workers will operate at multi-fold efficacy of their present level. 2x, 5x, 10x, even 100x.
“When everyone's super, no one will be.”
Syndrome, the villain in “The Incredibles” movieWith AI as the amplifier, "Supers" can see further, analyze deeper, decide smarter, learn faster and innovate better. They ride on an accelerated, self-improving and infinite "thinking-learning-doing" loop that makes them irrepressible.
Those who are unable to elevate to the "super" state will get replaced by those who can, or by digital intelligence that automates their present-day functions.
Upgrading from At-Risk Managers to AI-Generation Leaders
How can at-risk managers secure themselves a lifeboat? I have specially curated a must-have list of 8 cognitive, creative and strategic superskills that new-gen leaders need.
There is a short remaining window to upgrade from an At-Risk Manager to an AI-Gen Leader. Don't risk being like one of the 11,000 Accenture employees laid off because they "cannot" be reskilled for the age of AI.
The future of business, technology and work won't wait for you to be ready before it arrives. It is in your own hands and in your own hands only.
Originally published in Charlie Ang's Intelligent Reinvention Memo newsletter on LinkedIn (Issue 30).
Charlie Ang is an Intelligent Reinvention Strategist, corporate futurist and AI keynote speaker based in Singapore and speaking worldwide. He helps organisations and leaders reinvent, rewire and retool for the Age of Intelligence, and has been featured by the BBC, Financial Times, National Geographic and CNA.