Presentation Title: Navigating the AI Revolution—Three Choices for Middle Managers

 

"As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the workplace, middle managers find themselves at a pivotal crossroads. In this engaging session, Stephanie Sylvestre, CEO of Avatar Buddy, explores the three critical choices facing today’s managers: do nothing and risk obsolescence, use AI to scale up their impact and efficiency, or embrace the role of people developer—empowering teams to thrive alongside intelligent technology.

Stephanie will unpack the realities of each path. Choosing inaction may seem safe, but it leaves managers vulnerable as organizations automate routine tasks and decision-making. Leveraging AI to scale up can supercharge productivity, enabling managers to oversee larger teams and more complex projects. However, the most future-ready leaders will go further, evolving into people developers who guide their teams in asking the right questions, interpreting AI-driven insights, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Drawing on real-world examples and her experience building function-specific AI Buddies, Stephanie will demonstrate why human judgment and curiosity remain irreplaceable. AI can process data and generate recommendations, but people still need a leader to frame the right problems, ask meaningful questions, and translate insights into action.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for choosing their path in the AI revolution, strategies for upskilling themselves and their teams, and inspiration to become the kind of leader who not only adapts to change—but shapes it."

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify Strategic Options:
  Participants will be able to clearly articulate the three primary choices available to middle managers in the age of AI—doing nothing, using AI to scale up or scale up and out, and becoming a people developer—and evaluate the potential risks and benefits of each path.

• Leverage AI Effectively:
  Attendees will learn practical strategies for integrating AI tools to enhance their own productivity and team performance, including how to scale their impact and manage more complex responsibilities with the support of AI.

• Develop People-Centric Leadership Skills:
  Participants will gain actionable insights into how to become better people developers by guiding their teams to ask the right questions of AI, fostering critical thinking, and cultivating a culture of continuous learning and adaptability in an AI-driven workplace.