The New Role of Managers in the Age of AI (feat. Joel Pipher)
Joel Pipher is Head of AI Transformation at The Predictive Index where he reports to the CEO and works across the business on how work actually gets done in the age of AI. He partners with leaders to identify bottlenecks and re-imagine workflows, decision rights, and operating rhythms around them to drive outsized impact. He measures impact by outcomes improved, work retired, and capacity created, not by AI adoption numbers.
HOST
Matt Poepsel, PhD
Vice President & Godfather of Talent Optimization
GUEST
Joel Pipher
Head of AI Transformation
AI transformation isn’t just a technology problem; it’s a management problem. Executives want faster adoption, employees are wondering what AI means for their jobs, and managers are stuck in the middle trying to turn all that uncertainty into something their teams can actually work with.
Matt Poepsel sits down with Joel Pipher, who leads AI transformation at The Predictive Index, to unpack what it takes to grow with AI without losing the human side of work. Drawing from his experience building AI programs inside large enterprises and startups, Joel breaks down why AI adoption needs a clear North Star, why experimentation has to become part of how teams work, and why managers can’t afford to sit on the sidelines.
Together, they explore what happens when managers start leading both people and AI agents, and why the leaders who learn to translate, experiment, and role-model the change will be the ones best equipped for what comes next.
What you’ll learn:
- Managers Aren’t Just Messengers: The middle manager becomes the translation layer between executive AI ambition and what the team actually needs day to day
- AI Adoption Needs a North Star: AI works best when it is tied to a clear business direction instead of becoming adoption for adoption’s sake
- Create Space to Experiment: Protect time, budget, and knowledge-sharing so AI experimentation becomes part of the work, not extra work
- Managers Will Lead Humans and AI Agents: The next challenge is figuring out how people and agents work together without losing the human side of management
Highlights:
(00:00) Meet Joel Pipher
(01:45) AI transformation puts managers in the middle
(02:42) Early lessons from AI transformation
(07:34) AI in a startup environment
(10:01) Why AI adoption needs a clear North Star
(13:29) The manager’s role as the translation layer
(15:13) Creating space for teams to experiment with AI
(17:07) How AI can help managers lead better
(18:07) Why managers need to role-model AI adoption
(21:48) Practical ways to build an experimentation culture
(26:15) What’s next for AI and managers
Resources:
Follow Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelpipher/
Learn more about The Predictive Index: https://www.predictiveindex.com/
Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/
Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex
Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com
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