When better technology meets the same old behavior
AI is supposed to make managers more effective. So why aren't they (yet)? Most organizations are investing in performance tools, feedback systems, and AI-powered dashboards and still watching managers avoid hard conversations, delay accountability, and leave their teams without clear direction. The data is there. The nudges are automated. The system may have flagged an issue weeks ago. And yet the manager still hasn't said a word.
The technology isn't the problem. The behavior is.
Here's what's happening inside most organizations right now: managers are sitting on performance issues they don't know how to address even when AI is there to help. They're approving mediocre work because saying something feels harder than saying nothing. They're using "I'm waiting for the right moment" as a strategy. And HR is watching it happen in real time, with better visibility than ever and the same limited ability to make managers do something about it.
This is the manager gap. And no software is going to close it.
If the gap doesn't close, the costs are real. Underperformance spreads. Top performers leave. Hiring managers keep failing new hires in the first 90 days. HR absorbs the fallout from every conversation a manager refused to have. And organizations keep buying better tools for a problem that was never about the tools.
In this practical, no-sugarcoating webinar, executive leadership coach Leila Bulling Towne and Chief People Officer Cris Barrett, with thirty years of experience building high-performing organizations, tackle the gap between having the data and having the conversation. Leila brings the behavioral framework and the manager coaching lens. Cris brings the organizational reality of what it takes to shift manager culture from the inside. Together, they’ll give you and your leaders a clear diagnosis and a plan you can use asap.
This webinar is for you if:
- You have performance management tools your managers aren't using well
- You can see the problem in your data but can't get managers to act on it
- You're tired of being the person who cleans up what a manager should have addressed months ago
- You want practical language and frameworks, not another theory about why change is hard
Key Takeaways:
- Why AI and performance management tools fail when underlying manager behaviors don't change and how to spot the pattern in your organization
- The specific behaviors blocking manager effectiveness and what HR can do about them
- How to use the systems you already have to hold managers accountable, not just informed
- What it takes to close the manager gap without adding headcount or launching another training program
What You'll Walk Away With:
A clear framework for diagnosing manager behavior gaps; practical language and tools HR leaders can use immediately; and a concrete plan to make your existing performance systems finally work the way they were designed to.
Meet the Presenters
-
Leila Bulling Towne
Leila Bulling Towne is the creator of AwesomeLeader.com and founder of The Bulling Towne Group. She’s been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, NBC.com, Inc magazine and the BBC.com. She’s also the host of the podcast, “The Leadership Shot.” Her clients range from startup executives to super smart technical people managing teams for the first-time leaders with EQ challenges to newly promoted directors with a new span of control, to seasoned execs at Fortune 500 companies. Her sweet spots include emotional intelligence, teamwork and collaboration, executive presence, leadership brand, self-esteem as a high achiever, teamwork dysfunction and 1:1 “training” in leadership and management skills. She has over 270,000 online students.
-
Cris Barrett
Cris Barrett is a seasoned talent and organizational development leader with three decades of experience shaping cultures, growing leaders, and building high-performing organizations. An architect, facilitator, and change catalyst, Cris partners with executive leaders and teams to sharpen strategy, elevate people practices, and deliver lasting business impact for employees, customers, and shareholders.
Over the course of his career, Cris has held senior leadership roles spanning global business partnership, employee communications, talent acquisition, talent management, rewards & recognition, IT and facilities at companies including Silicon Graphics, Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo!, Facebook (Meta), and Aurora, as well as several smaller high-growth technology and healthcare organizations.
His work has included launching large-scale leadership and technical development programs, advising executives through complex organizational transformations, and designing communication strategies that align thousands of employees around a shared vision.
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.