Who is supporting the people you expect to lead the change?

 

Managers are asked to deliver results, coach employees, introduce AI, resolve uncertainty, and keep teams motivated.

Each expectation may be reasonable. Together, they can exceed available capacity.

Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report shows that global manager engagement declined from 27% to 22% between 2024 and 2025.

 

Meanwhile, managers play an important role in technology adoption. In a separate U.S. workforce survey in early 2026, Gallup identified a direct manager’s active encouragement as the strongest predictor of employee AI use after technical integration. This association does not establish causation, but it highlights managers’ influence.

 

Here is the tension: organizations need managers to enable transformation while manager engagement is weakening.

 

Imagine a manager responsible for daily operations and a new AI initiative.

The team needs help choosing useful applications, checking outputs, and discussing how responsibilities may change. Yet the manager’s calendar is already filled with reporting, approvals, and meetings.

 

A training course can develop skills. It cannot create time in that calendar.

 

My experience leading work redesign projects in my prior career taught me a practical lesson: create capacity before adding new demands.

 

Whenever I led a work redesign project, we first identified and eliminated low-value work before implementing new processes. This created room for people to adopt new ways of working.

The same principle applies to AI transformation.

 

If we add AI training, experimentation, and coaching to an already full workload, even a valuable initiative can become another source of pressure.

Three questions can help:

 

1. What can this manager stop or simplify?

Identify reports, duplicate approvals, or meetings that contribute little value. Eliminate or simplify them to create time for leading change.

 

2. What capability does this manager need now?

Prioritize practical coaching, workflow improvement, and conversations about uncertainty. Connect development to real challenges the manager faces.

3.  
4. What decisions can the team make independently?

Clarify decision boundaries and equip people to exercise sound judgment, so routine choices do not continually return to the manager.

 

For HR&OD leaders, manager development and work design need to advance together.

 

For executives, every new priority requires a capacity decision. Making room for change is part of leading it.

 

Before asking managers to lead the next transformation, how will you ensure they will eliminate low-value work so they have the capacity to lead it well?