Why companies need to rethink middle management now
Artificial intelligence is changing the world of work faster than any technology before. For a long time, this transformation applied primarily to operational activities or data-driven knowledge work. But in the meantime, a group that has long been considered irreplaceable is also coming into focus: Executives .
A recent article in the Handelsblatt asks exactly this provocative question:
What remains of leadership when AI takes over more and more management tasks?
The discussion is not hypothetical. Studies show that Up to 67% of typical management tasks can be supported or partially automated by AI – from analysis to reporting to decision support. ( Handelsblatt )
But this development does not mean the end of leadership.
Rather, it changes the basis on which leadership is legitimized.
AI does not replace jobs – but tasks
A central finding of current research is:
AI does not usually replace professions – it changes their task structure.
Studies by OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania, for example, show that 80% of all professions will be affected by AI – but usually only for individual parts of the task. (Handelsblatt )
This leads to a fundamental shift:
Many tasks that were previously part of daily management work can now be significantly accelerated or automated by AI:
- Research and information preparation
- Analysis of data
- Creation of reports
- Preparation of decision-making bases
- Design of concepts and strategies
This means that a classic leadership characteristic loses its importance:
Professional knowledge.
When knowledge is no longer the difference
In the past, managers were often the people with the greatest knowledge advantage.
They knew the processes.
They knew the numbers.
They had experience.
Today, this knowledge is available at any time – for everyone.
With generative AI, analytical skills, specialist information and even strategic models are immediately available to virtually every employee.
This leads to a new reality:
Employees and managers are increasingly operating at the same level of knowledge.
In the future, the difference will no longer be made by professional competence.
But by something else.
The human dimension of leadership.
The new differentiators of leadership
The Future of Jobs Report 2025 of the World Economic Forum clearly shows which competencies are gaining in importance in the AI working world.
Among the most important are:
- critical thinking
- Emotional Intelligence
- Leadership skills
- Decision-making skills in complex situations
- Cooperation and communication ( WEF Reports )
In short:
The future of leadership is less technical – and more human.
In the future, managers will have to above all:
- Providing orientation
- Build trust
- Making decisions under uncertainty
- Accompanying people through change
AI can provide analytics.
But it can take no responsibility.
The underestimated potential in middle management
One organizational level is particularly in focus:
middle management.
Traditionally, many activities that are strongly structured and administrative are bundled here:
- Reporting
- Coordination between levels
- Information aggregation
- Planning and documentation
- Administrative control tasks
It is precisely these activities that are among the areas in which AI is particularly powerful.
Research shows that AI in particular can significantly speed up knowledge work and administrative activities . ( Microsoft )
Nevertheless, a large part of this potential remains untapped in companies.
Many organizations use AI selectively – for example, for individual tools or pilot projects –
But not structurally.
The result:
Companies are missing out on enormous efficiency potential.
The real problem: The qualification gap in management: This reveals a structural dilemma.
Many leaders have become leaders because they were particularly strong in terms of subject matter .
But it is precisely this expertise that is losing importance.
The result is a skills gap:
Managers suddenly have to use skills that they have often never learned systematically:
- Leading and developing people: the role of the coach
- Moderating change: Change and transoformation have ever shorter cycles
- work with AI
This gap cannot be filled by technology.
It must be through the targeted development of leadership skills .
How companies should respond
Three concrete solutions of the ME business group
Experience from transformation projects shows:
Companies don't just need new tools.
You need new leadership skills and organizational structures.
The ME business group works with three central levers.
1. Basic AI knowledge and effective prompting for managers
Many managers are already using AI – but mostly unsystematically.
Often missing:
- Understanding of how it works and its limitations
- Safe use in everyday work
- Strategic integration into decision-making processes
Yet it is precisely the Quality of interaction with AI about their usefulness.
Leaders need to learn:
- Formulate precise prompts
- Critically evaluate AI analyses
- Use AI as a sparring partner
The goal is AI Fluency :
the ability to use AI consciously and productively.
2. Organizational management to relieve middle management
The greatest efficiency does not come from individual AI tools.
It is created by cleverly designed organizational processes.
Typical starting points are:
- Automation of reporting
- AI-powered decision analytics
- automated documentation
- intelligent knowledge systems
This allows managers to regain time.
Time for what really is leadership:
- Strategy
- Team leadership
- Innovation
- Customer orientation
3. Executive Coaching for "Technopathy"
At the ME business group, we talk about Technopathy .
This means:
Understanding technology – and understanding people at the same time.
Leaders need to learn:
- Use AI confidently
- Classify technological developments
- to lead empathetically and clearly at the same time
Technopathy combines three levels:
- Technological understanding
- Strategic leadership skills
- human leadership
This combination is becoming the decisive competitive factor of modern organizations. Click here to go directly to technopathy: Technopathy | People and technology at eye level – our USP
Conclusion: AI does not make leadership superfluous – but more demanding
AI is fundamentally changing leadership.
It relieves managers of many tasks.
It reduces knowledge advances.
It automates administrative processes.
But this is exactly what creates space for something else:
real leadership.
Leadership that provides orientation.
Leadership that creates trust.
Leadership that accompanies people through transformation.
The key question for companies is therefore not:
Will AI replace leadership?
But:
Are our leaders prepared to truly lead in an AI organization?
Arrange a free introductory appointment with us directly: https://calendly.com/markus-oldenburger-me-business-group/austausch-teams