Managers are expected to lead employees through AI disruption, organisational change and difficult workplace conversations, yet only four in 10 say they have received the training they need, according to new global research.
Managers face a new era of leadership, but many feel unprepared. Artificial intelligence (AI), organisational restructuring and growing employee expectations are fundamentally reshaping what it means to be a manager, yet many frontline leaders say they have not received the training needed to navigate today’s workplace challenges.
New global research from workforce solutions provider Careerminds has found that while almost every HR professional believes managers are ready to lead through the next era of work, many managers themselves paint a very different picture. The report, The Leadership Readiness Gap: Are Managers Prepared to Lead Through the Next Era of Workforce Transformation?, reveals a growing disconnect between organisational confidence and frontline reality. While 97% of HR professionals believe organisations provide managers with adequate training for difficult conversations around AI anxiety, layoffs and workplace conflict, only 41% of people managers say they have received sufficient preparation.
The findings suggest organisations may be confusing leadership confidence with leadership capability at a time when managers are increasingly expected to guide employees through AI adoption, organisational change, evolving career paths and growing workplace uncertainty.
The research builds on a growing body of evidence highlighted by Fair Play Talks showing that organisations are investing in AI faster than they are preparing the people responsible for leading that transformation. Earlier this month, research showed that HR leaders believe businesses are underestimating the people challenges of AI, warning that many organisations remain focused on technology deployment while overlooking workforce readiness, skills development and organisational redesign.
LEADERSHIP CONFIDENCE MASKS CAPABILITY GAPS
At first glance, the research appears encouraging. Nearly every respondent believes managers are ready for the future with 98% of people managers believing managers are ready to lead through future workplace challenges. Additionally, 97% of HR professionals share that confidence.
However, a closer look reveals significant capability gaps across many of the leadership skills modern organisations increasingly rely upon. According to the research, fewer than half of managers describe themselves as highly prepared in several critical areas, including:
- leading employees through AI adoption.
- managing organisational change.
- supporting employee wellbeing.
- navigating workplace conflict.
- handling layoffs and restructuring.
- coaching employees through career uncertainty.
Mark Saddic, Senior Partner at Careerminds, said today’s managers are expected to fulfil a fundamentally different role than they did just a few years ago. “Today’s leaders aren’t simply managing performance. They’re helping employees navigate AI, organisational transformation, shifting career paths and increasing uncertainty – all while delivering business results,” he noted. “Organisations cannot assume confidence equals capability. Managers need practical support, ongoing development and the tools to lead through continuous change.”
The findings closely mirror another recent study covered by Fair Play Talks, which found one in two managers are promoted before receiving formal leadership training, raising concerns that organisations continue to expect managers to perform increasingly complex leadership roles without sufficient preparation.
AI IS CHANGING LEADERSHIP
The report challenges one of the most common assumptions surrounding AI in the workplace – that it will automatically make management easier. Instead, only 35% of people managers said AI has significantly simplified their role. Most reported that AI has instead introduced new leadership responsibilities, including:
- helping employees overcome AI anxiety.
- adapting to changing workflows.
- identifying emerging skills requirements.
- supporting organisational transformation.
- delivering greater productivity with fewer resources.
Rather than reducing pressure, AI is expanding managers’ responsibilities while simultaneously increasing expectations from senior leaders. The findings reinforce recent research showing that many employers remain focused on preparing employees to use today’s AI tools rather than equipping them for the new jobs, leadership capabilities and organisational structures AI is expected to create.
The findings also echo another growing trend. Another study reported that two-thirds of employees spend up to six hours each week correcting poor-quality AI-generated work, highlighting that many organisations are still navigating the practical realities of AI implementation rather than achieving the productivity gains often promised. Taken together, the studies suggest AI is creating entirely new forms of work alongside new efficiencies, increasing pressure on managers responsible for helping employees adapt.
LEADERSHIP PERCEPTION GAPS
The research also reveals a significant leadership perception gap inside organisations. While senior executives express strong confidence about future leadership readiness, frontline managers are considerably less optimistic. Among executive-level people managers 66% say they are very ready to lead future workplace challenges. Among senior and middle managers, only 42% agree.
The same divide appears when organisations assess leadership development. While 61% of executive people managers believe managers receive very adequate preparation for difficult conversations, only 38% of senior and middle managers agree. The findings suggest executives may underestimate the complexity of leading teams through continuous organisational change.
They also reinforce another recent report covered by Fair Play Talks, which found HR leaders remain significantly less confident than the wider C-suite that organisations are ready for AI-driven workforce transformation, exposing widening perception gaps between leadership groups.
MANAGERS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
One of the strongest themes emerging from the research is the growing tension managers experience between executive expectations and employee needs. Nearly 88% of HR professionals and 72% of people managers say managers regularly find themselves caught between organisational priorities and employee expectations.
Despite this, fewer than half believe managers receive strong organisational support to manage those competing pressures. Jen Allen, Senior Talent Solutions Partner at Careerminds, said organisations have invested heavily in employee development while overlooking managers themselves.
“Leadership today requires coaching through uncertainty, facilitating difficult conversations and helping employees adapt to constant change,” noted Allen. “Those capabilities aren’t built through a single training session – they require continuous development, practice and an organisational culture that empowers managers to lead confidently.”
LEADERSHIP GAP BUSINESS RISKS
The report suggests leadership readiness is no longer simply a learning and development issue, it is increasingly becoming a business performance issue. Respondents linked leadership capability gaps to:
- Higher employee turnover.
- Growing skills shortages.
- Lower employee engagement.
- Slower decision-making.
- Reduced organisational productivity.
According to the report, organisations that fail to invest in frontline leadership risk undermining their wider investments in AI, workforce transformation and business change. The findings reinforce a growing body of research suggesting that successful AI adoption depends as much on leadership capability as technology investment.
Earlier this year, Fair Play Talks reported that seven in 10 organisations could reduce AI spending if returns fail to meet expectations, highlighting increasing pressure on businesses to demonstrate measurable value from AI investments. At the same time, another global survey found eight in 10 CEOs believe AI could ultimately cost them their own jobs, illustrating how profoundly artificial intelligence is reshaping leadership expectations at every level of an organisation.
WANTED: CONFIDENT MANAGERS
The report argues that organisations able to develop confident, adaptable managers will be better positioned to navigate the next phase of workforce transformation. According to Careerminds, the organisations that thrive over the coming decade will not necessarily be those that adopt AI the fastest, but those that prepare managers to lead people through continual change.
“The organisations that succeed over the next decade won’t simply adopt new technologies faster. They’ll invest in preparing managers to lead people through change. Leadership readiness has become a competitive advantage,” added Saddic.
The findings closely align with another report, which found that AI transformation is ultimately a workforce transformation, requiring organisations to redesign jobs, rethink career pathways and invest in people alongside technology. Across multiple recent studies, a consistent pattern has emerged:
- Businesses are investing in AI faster than they are preparing their workforce.
- HR leaders believe organisations are underestimating the people challenges of AI.
- HR teams report growing workloads as they lead AI transformation.
- Employers remain focused on training people for today’s AI tools rather than tomorrow’s jobs.
- Managers now say they lack the support needed to lead employees through that change.
Taken together, the findings suggest leadership capability may become one of the biggest determinants of whether AI investments ultimately succeed.
GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS
The report suggests organisations should stop viewing leadership development as an occasional training exercise and instead recognise it as a strategic capability underpinning successful AI adoption and organisational change. Employers should consider:
- Investing in continuous leadership development, not one-off management courses.
- Equipping managers to lead conversations around AI anxiety, organisational change, restructures and employee wellbeing.
- Embedding AI literacy into leadership programmes, ensuring managers understand both the technology and its impact on people.
- Preparing managers to coach employees through changing roles, career pathways and skills requirements.
- Giving frontline managers greater organisational support rather than assuming confidence equals capability.
- Regularly measuring leadership readiness alongside workforce readiness and AI maturity.
- Treating leadership capability as a strategic business asset rather than solely an HR or learning and development responsibility.
As organisations continue investing heavily in artificial intelligence, the findings suggest one of the greatest risks may not be the technology itself, but whether the people expected to lead others through unprecedented workplace change have been given the confidence, skills and support to do so.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Across recent Fair Play Talks coverage, a consistent picture is emerging – organisations are investing rapidly in AI, but workforce readiness, HR capability and frontline leadership are struggling to keep pace. The Careerminds research suggests the role of the manager is being fundamentally redefined. Today’s managers are no longer expected simply to oversee performance. They are increasingly responsible for helping employees navigate AI adoption, organisational change, career uncertainty, workplace conflict and employee wellbeing – all while continuing to deliver business results.
Yet many say they have not received the practical training or ongoing support needed to meet those expectations. For employers, the findings offer a timely reminder that successful AI transformation depends on more than investing in technology. It also requires investing in the managers responsible for guiding people through change.
Organisations that prepare managers with the same urgency as they deploy new technology are likely to be better placed to build trust, strengthen engagement, retain talent and realise the long-term value of their AI investments.
Click here to download the Leadership Readiness Gap report.
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