Robots won't replace you (yet): but a Project Manager with more Power Skills will.

We have been told that AI will replace us. And yes, I think that’s true, especially if your job is based on tasks and processes that are done mechanically.

But if there is one thing that robots cannot replicate (at least not yet), it is the deeply human skills: reading context, building trust and psychological safety, navigating conflict, leading with empathy….. These skills are still and will be necessary for organisations, projects and our own personal and collective evolution. These skills are still and will be necessary for organisations, projects and our own personal and collective evolution.

If you lead projects the real risk (for now) is not that you will be replaced by a robot: but by another human being with better Power Skills than you! Why? Here are some reasons:

• The future is not only technical, it is emotional. A project manager who only masters tools will become replaceable. One who knows how to communicate, lead and motivate… will not.

• AI doesn’t make you a better leader. You are. You are. ChatGPT can help you write an email… But it can’t have that awkward conversation with your stakeholder. Or read your team’s silence. Nor can it make decisions for you. That’s yours!!! Yes, it can help you to prepare: I’ve used it to help me to raise a difficult conversation; but again… it doesn’t talk for you (at least not for now, although who knows? maybe in the future we’ll develop message intermediary robots, but for now it’s up to us to talk).

• It’s not about knowing more, it’s about learning better. Technical knowledge is becoming more and more accessible. The big difference is in our ability to learn and unlearn, both the technical and the skills that make a difference, including Power Skills and Meta Skills.

• The most memorable Project Managers don’t command, they influence. And influence is not automated. It is built with confidence, presence, listening, self-awareness….

So yes, let’s keep preparing and adapting to the age of automation. Let’s learn tools, frameworks, AI… But, above all, let’s develop that which cannot be programmed: our ability to communicate, connect and lead from the human.

Because robots are not going to replace you.

But a project manager with better power skills… probably will.

-Claudia Salas-