In my AI presentations, I ask people about their biggest challenges with AI, and here are two responses from middle managers:
“To marry the perspective of business leaders for ‘efficiency’ and the need from the IT perspective for guardrails”
“Illustrating the real advantages for productivity, creativity, learning and genuine human contributions against the inherent fear of impending general redundancy in many areas”
These are common responses. As a leader, you might feel squeezed by AI from both directions. From above, you might be getting a clear message to floor the accelerator to lift productivity. But your team members and the IT department keep hitting the brakes. And you’re expected to answer both while still doing your day job.
The 2026 Intergenerational Report shows why this matters. Two-thirds of Australian businesses have adopted AI in some form, but fewer than 10% describe that adoption as significant. The report says new technology only spreads when workers change how they work and learn new skills, and it expects jobs to be redesigned around AI.
And that makes it part of your job, too.
In US organisations adopting AI, Gallup found 78% of employees whose manager actively supports AI use it frequently, compared with 44% of everybody else. But only about a third of employees strongly agree their manager gives that support.
That’s not surprising, because managers are stretched. Gallup also found 97% of US managers do individual work on top of leading their teams. Add AI to that load without support, and adoption stalls (or goes underground).
Here are some examples of organisations supporting middle managers:
- Telstra’s Data & AI Academy has learning pathways for different roles, including leaders.
- In Singapore, DBS gave every employee iCoach, a generative AI coaching tool built with Marshall Goldsmith, which includes advice on leading a small team.
- In Japan, Hitachi makes its division managers responsible for how their teams use AI, including tracking what it costs.
You don’t need to become a technology expert. AI will increase demand for critical thinking, communication, and change management, and those are already your core skills. Gartner Japan says managers need to use AI themselves, understand its opportunities and risks, and help their people use it with confidence.
If you’re a manager in the middle, start with three small steps:
- Use AI yourself every week, and share what works (and what doesn’t).
- Ask your team how they feel about AI, and listen to the answers.
- Choose one routine task and redesign it together.
If you lead other managers, give them what they need to do this well: time (by taking something off their plate), training in leading AI change, and permission to experiment.
Are the managers in your organisation – including you – ready for that job?
