The emergence of AI in the world of work is likely to radically reshuffle the deck, at least if we stick to the prevailing thinking at the moment. Let us remember that, especially when technology comes into play, prediction is not forecasting, and that many of the revolutions that have been predicted have never happened, or at least not within the predicted timeframe.
In any case, until now, businesses have valued above all the ability to produce, master technical skills, and perform efficiently, even in management and executive positions, even though we know that technical expertise and excellence in the field do not necessarily make good managers (Reinventing the Leader Selection Process).
But what will happen if AI takes over more and more operational activities? What will be left for humans, and will there even be any humans left? While I can answer the second question with a confident yes (AI and jobs: why I don’t believe in the “great replacement” of humans by machines), the first question remains completely open.
The answer, however, is not that complicated: thinking, guiding, inspiring. Humans will have no choice but to become strategists, architects, and creators of purpose, but this is a new paradigm that businesses will have to integrate quickly.
In short:
- AI is challenging the value placed on technical skills in favor of strategic and human qualities.
- People will need to refocus on thinking, inspiring, creating meaning, and understanding contexts.
- Managers will become ecosystem architects, combining strategic vision and human skills.
- Businesses will need to review their HR processes to prioritize critical thinking, curiosity, and leadership.
- AI is driving a transformation where human impact will take precedence over execution alone.
The era of “doing” is coming to an end
For a long time, being a good manager or leader meant being an excellent “doer.” Mastering the right tools, knowing the processes inside out, and being able to get involved in operations to deliver results.
Job descriptions and job offers are proof of this: priority is still given to hard skills, with less emphasis on human and strategic skills. This imbalance never ceases to surprise me in 2025, as it goes against everything we know about the evolution of work and management.
But AI is likely to make this model obsolete once and for all (and finally!). Fast, rigorous, and systematic execution is what AI does better than us by nature. Operational hard skills will therefore gradually become commodities, and human and thinking skills will now take precedence over the ability to execute.
Humans are called upon to become human again
What AI cannot do will remain the natural domain of humans: feeling, understanding implicit contexts, navigating uncertainty, inventing the unexpected, creating and mobilizing emotions.
The added value of humans will therefore now lie in understanding systemic and societal issues, the ability to unite and influence a group, creativity, critical thinking, inspiration, alignment of objectives, a desire to learn continuously, knowing how to ask the right questions instead of trying to provide all the answers, and, more broadly, leadership ([FR]AI is redefining the limits of performance, and this is not without consequences).
More strategist than specialist, more inspiring than implementer.
The new manager: less expert, more architect
The manager of tomorrow will no longer necessarily be someone who knows all the tricks of the trade, but someone who knows how to build high-performance ecosystems by combining human skills and technological capabilities.
This will have a definite impact on how we recruit and manage promotions. Less importance will be placed on mastery of specific software and tools, and on highly specialized technical knowledge and skills, and more on the ability to think globally, listen, and connect people and ideas.
It will be less about thinking in terms of immediate execution and more about long-term vision.
Strategists will replace technicians, and their ability to impact their ecosystem will supplant their ability to deliver (What is managerial performance and its hidden face?).
A human resources model in need of reinvention
Businesses that continue to value “doers” above all else will lock themselves into a mindset that could lead to the obsolescence of their management model and, more broadly, their operations.
To support this transformation, they will need to redefine their key skills, review their recruitment, evaluation, and training processes, encourage curiosity and critical thinking, and accept that people are valuable for their uniqueness, rather than for their ability to execute.
Bottom line
AI is just a productivity tool. Like any new technology, it challenges our organizational models and highlights the transformations we need to make if we want to get the most out of it and escape the Solow paradox (You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics (Robert Solow)).
In this new context, those who can think, question, connect, and inspire will have an exponential impact, while those who cling to their ability to execute will become interchangeable.
But perhaps, in the end, it is simply the definition of “doer” that will evolve.
Image credit: Image generated by artificial intelligence via ChatGPT (OpenAI).
