Highlights – 29 April

AI may be heralded as a great tech revolution, but the true challenge for organisations isn’t getting to grips with the tools; it’s management capability. In her latest column for The Times, Ann Francke OBE CMgr CCMI, CMI’s chief executive, addresses why 84% of AI rollouts fail at the leadership level. Ann highlights the say-do gap, where senior leaders champion AI without practical follow-through. 

“Stop treating AI as a mere IT project,” she writes. “It is a major strategic change management initiative. As with any transformation, success requires rigour.”

Much of that rigour will come down to training your managers. The Times also published a letter from Petra Wilton, CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, in response to former chancellor George Osborne’s comments on the need for British businesses to improve their AI capabilities. 

“If we want AI to deliver productivity gains, our managers need to know what they’re doing and have the confidence to lead their teams when it comes to the effective implementation of AI,” Petra wrote.

She referenced CMI polling, picked up elsewhere by City A.M., that suggests bosses and managers are undertrained and out of their depth. The research found that only one in 20 managers report real, transformational productivity gains from AI investment, while one in four have seen no benefit at all.

Perhaps this is a good moment to flag our Leadership for AI Qualifications, a brand-new suite of courses that reach beyond technical knowledge and equip managers to lead the change, apply ethical governance and deliver measurable AI value – all while keeping humans as the focus.  

Knock-on effects

Of course, the adoption of AI brings all manner of other issues, one of which is the ethics of employee surveillance. People Management reported that Meta is planning to capture the keystrokes and mouse clicks of its employees to gather data to train its AI models. The article cited research from CMI which found a third of UK organisations use ‘bossware’ technology to track staff, with most logging sign-in times, browser history and emails. 

Beyond the troubling infringement on personal freedoms, it’s important not to confuse presence with impact. This was one nugget of advice from Jacky Wright CMgr CCMI, chair of CMI’s AI Council, when she featured in The Times’ ‘Six from the best’ feature. 

“Being busy, visible and in demand is not the same as being effective,” said Jacky, drawing on her 30 years of experience in major tech roles. “Real impact comes from what still works when you step away.”

Being human

It’s always good to remind ourselves that it’s still the human skills that make the biggest difference. Take emotional intelligence. In an age of increasingly ubiquitous AI, this skill is in great demand among leaders as one of the major differentiators. In this week’s newsletter, three Chartered Managers share their advice on how to develop it.

The newsletter also features an extract from People Glue: Hold on to your best people by setting them free, in which consultant and author Helen Beedham examines why people stay in jobs, why they leave and what leaders should look out for. 

And we share a profile of our recent Chartered Manager of the Week Büşra Bekar Toprak CMgr FCMI, head of quality at a Turkish beverage manufacturer. For Büşra, a focus on people is what initially drove her towards a career in food safety. “Our products go to children, older people and families,” she said. “We cannot choose the short road.” 

Training your people

AI is far from the only area of management that demands better training. Mental health development is critical too. Health & Safety Matters reported on new research revealing the scale of unpreparedness among UK managers in this area. The study used CMI data which determined that, out of 8.58 million people with management responsibilities, only 29% are equipped to navigate mental health conversations – leaving over six million managers operating without the required training.

Leaders also have to face a legal landscape that’s changing all the time. Petra featured in HR Review’s ‘Quote of the Week’, which highlighted her commentary on managers struggling with new workplace laws under the Employment Rights Act 2025. 

“Managers are not being given the tools they need to fully understand how the rules of the workplace are changing,” Petra wrote. The potential consequence for organisations? Increased legal and operational risks.

CMI in your corner

We’re always heartened to see the organisations we support being so proactive about training. Take Trivandi, event delivery partner for the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which is recruiting for up to 200 local roles in the build-up to the competition. The new recruits will be supported through the Trivandi Academy, which will use its CMI-accredited programme to train people in major event planning and delivery.

Elsewhere, we’ve just marked the five-year anniversary of our Chartered Management Consultant accreditation with a celebratory event at PwC’s London headquarters. In this week’s newsletter, you can read five reflections from speakers at the event, on how the accreditation is boosting professional standards, strengthening client trust and helping firms stand out. 

Standards, trust and standing out from the crowd. These are issues facing organisations of all kinds as they seek to thrive in an increasingly tech-driven world. 

Best,

Matt Roberts CMgr FCMI

Director of membership and professional development, CMI

Image: CMI