AI for Managers I: People and Performance

This practical workshop equips people managers and team leads with the everyday skills of leading well setting expectations clearly, giving feedback that actually changes behaviour, building genuine trust, spotting disengagement early, and handling conflict fairly and consistently. Delegates also explore how AI can support their thinking and preparation for real people-management situations, helping them consider different approaches while keeping human judgement, empathy and accountability at the centre. Every idea is grounded in real workplace dynamics, with the aim of giving delegates something they can use in their very next conversation with their team.

Setting Clear Expectations & Giving Feedback That Lands
We start by tackling the gap between vague feedback and feedback that actually changes behaviour. Delegates learn a simple, structured approach to describing what happened and why it matters, then practise it on a real, upcoming conversation of their own. We use AI to help managers test whether expectations are clear and observable, and rehearse how feedback could be delivered before having the actual conversation.
Topics include
• The Situation-Behaviour-Impact (SBI) approach to feedback
• Recognising good performance as specifically as correcting poor performance
• Structured paired practice on a real feedback conversation

Building Trust in a Hierarchical Team
Here we look at what genuinely builds or breaks trust on a team, with an honest look at how hierarchy affects what people are willing to say to their manager’s face. We give delegates space to reflect privately and commit to one concrete change. We will use AI to explore different perspectives on a trust challenge and identify practical behaviours a manager could start, stop or continue while recognising that trust itself is built through human interaction.
Topics include
• What builds trust, and what quietly breaks it
• Why hierarchy changes what a team will and won’t raise
• A personal stop/start commitment to shift one habit

Motivation & Spotting Early Disengagement
We help managers move past generic motivation theory to what actually drives the individuals on their team. Delegates learn to recognise early disengagement signals long before they turn into resignations. We will use AI as a thinking partner to explore possible questions and responses when a manager notices changes in engagement, without allowing AI to make assumptions or diagnose the employee.

Topics include
• Individual versus generic drivers of motivation
• Early warning signs of disengagement
• Group discussion of real, anonymised patterns

Fair Treatment & De-escalating Everyday Conflict
With conflict, consistency is everything. We work through what fair treatment looks like in practice, where the line sits between a management issue and an HR issue, and how to de-escalate friction before it grows into something bigger. We will use AI to role-play a difficult workplace conversation, allowing managers to practise different responses and consider how their wording may escalate or de-escalate the situation.

Topics include
• Fair and consistent treatment in everyday decisions
• Knowing when something is a management matter versus an HR matter
• Practical de-escalation practice in pairs