The Manager OS: 7 Ways to Double Output with AI

Managers need to reclaim their time from admin to focus on talent development and strategy.

In the modern workplace, managers often find themselves drowning in a sea of administrative tasks. Endless reporting, back-to-back meetings, pre-meeting preparations, and overflowing inboxes consume an astonishing amount of time. A recent Harvard Business Review study, surveying over 1,700 managers across 14 countries, revealed that managers spend upwards of 50% of their time on administrative duties. This leaves precious little bandwidth for the core responsibilities that truly drive a business forward: performance improvement, talent management, upskilling, and strategic direction.

The HBR study highlights a stark reality: managers are only dedicating less than 30% of their allocated time each week to high-value work. The breakdown is eye-opening:

• Admin: ~ 50%
• Problem-solving and collaboration: ~ 30%
• Strategy and innovation: ~ 10%
• People development and stakeholder engagement: ~ 7%

This imbalance is problematic. According to a Quantum Workplace report, the most satisfied and effective managers dedicate the majority of their time to:

• Making key business or operational decisions
• Managing and motivating people
• Setting direction and strategy
• Managing external stakeholders

The takeaway is clear: a healthy balance for managers involves spending more than half their time on strategy, people management, development, and relationship-building – not getting bogged down by administrative overload. The solution? Artificial Intelligence (AI).

While it might sound like a buzzword, AI has proven its ability to reclaim valuable time. AI can potentially reduce your workload by up to 50%. Imagine the transformative impact on your role if you could leverage AI effectively. You’d have significantly more time to dedicate to strategic direction, team engagement, performance management, talent development, and upskilling – the very aspects that make a manager truly impactful.

How to Use AI to 2x Productivity & Reduce Burnout as a Manager

The conversation around AI's transformative power for leadership was a prominent theme at Asana’s Work Innovation Summit. Dr. Mark Hoffman's presentation, "How to Overcome the Five Barriers to AI Success," offered compelling insights into how leaders and managers can double their output and that of their teams. He outlined seven key actions:

1. View AI As a Team Member, Not a Search Engine

This is a critical shift in perspective. As Professor Jules White of Vanderbilt University noted, many treat AI tools like ChatGPT as mere search engines, limiting their potential. Instead, we should approach AI as a collaborator. Think about how to integrate AI into your existing processes and workflows, how to collaborate with it, and how to learn and iterate together. This holistic view unlocks deeper, more meaningful results.

2. Foster Cross-Functional AI Adoption

One of the most effective ways to encourage AI implementation, especially within skeptical teams, is to identify and empower an influencer or connector. These cross-functional collaborators have a natural ability to influence multiple teams, making your adoption efforts significantly smoother. As a manager, your role is to observe your team, identify these key individuals, and provide them with the necessary training and resources to champion AI. This investment will pay dividends in reduced workload and increased organizational agility down the line.

3. Embrace a Holistic AI Strategy

While it's tempting to keep the benefits of AI to yourself, true transformation comes from widespread adoption. Encourage everyone on your team to engage with AI tools. Actively model AI fluency and facilitate team sessions to brainstorm innovative ways AI can solve existing challenges. When AI becomes a "team sport" rather than an individual pursuit, you’ll witness the most profound improvements in productivity and innovation. Many SMEs are finding platforms like Maika make this holistic adoption much more accessible.

4. Use AI to Reduce the 'Connectivity Tax'

Asana's State of AI at Work report identifies several 'taxes' on productivity that AI can help alleviate. The 'connectivity tax' is a prime example – the frustrating search for that one crucial document, email, or sales deck buried somewhere in a disorganized system. Leaders can leverage AI to create centralized, searchable asset repositories, replacing outdated and inefficient workflows. This ensures that critical information is always readily accessible, saving immense time and reducing frustration.

5. Use AI to Reduce the 'Resilience Tax'

Dr. Hoffman defines the 'resilience tax' as an organization's inability to adapt effectively to challenges. AI can significantly bolster resilience by creating comprehensive knowledge banks that managers and teams can easily access during times of change or crisis. This centralized repository of information, best practices, and solutions empowers your team to navigate difficulties with greater confidence and speed.

6. Use AI to Reduce the 'Velocity Tax'

Another productivity drain AI can tackle is the 'velocity tax' – the bottlenecks caused by essential project tasks awaiting manager approval or sign-off. By identifying these choke points, you can use AI to streamline processes, simplify steps, and reduce the time required for approvals. This agility is crucial for maintaining momentum and ensuring projects move forward efficiently.

7. Use AI to Reduce the 'Capacity Tax'

Finally, the 'capacity tax' is the all-too-familiar feeling of being overwhelmed, often articulated as "I don't have the bandwidth." Many meetings and tasks could be handled more efficiently through quick calls, messages, or asynchronous updates. AI-powered tools can automate routine communications, organize information, and summarize key points, significantly reducing your cognitive load. For instance, imagine an AI chatbot handling routine customer inquiries, freeing you to focus on strategic client relationships. Platforms like Maika offer custom AI chatbot solutions that can be tailored to your specific business needs, directly addressing this capacity tax.

By applying AI to low-value, time-consuming tasks – whether it's decluttering your inbox or automating initial customer interactions – you free up your energy for the work you were truly hired to do: strategic thinking, fostering culture, and driving growth.

AI is most effective when viewed as an integrated team member, not just another tool.

The Future is Integrated

Managers and leaders who embrace these seven approaches to AI integration, who model AI fluency, and who strategically champion this digital transformation, will undoubtedly experience less burnout, improved employee engagement, and a significant boost in innovation. Why? Because the time previously lost to menial administrative tasks can now be reinvested in what truly matters: creativity, culture, and sustainable growth. It’s about making AI work for you, enhancing your capabilities and allowing you to focus on leading effectively.

Ready to Reclaim Your Time and Supercharge Your Business?

If you're a small or medium-sized business owner or a manager feeling overwhelmed by daily tasks and looking to leverage the power of AI without the complexity, Maika - Make AI Knowledge Accessible is your solution. We understand the unique challenges faced by SMEs and offer an intuitive, all-in-one AI platform designed to empower your business.

Stop letting AI complexity hold your business back.

• Struggling with high costs of AI implementation? Maika offers an affordable, accessible way to integrate powerful AI tools.
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Visit askmaika.ai today to learn how we can help you make AI knowledge accessible and drive your business forward.