What happens when AI starts doing the work of managers? Does power shift to the teams creating value, or does control simply move somewhere else?
AI promises flatter organizations, faster decisions, and less bureaucracy. But removing management doesn’t necessarily remove control. It might just make that control harder to see.
In this episode of LeSS CaféTalks, Bastiaan talks with Michael about how AI is changing power, influence, and control inside organizations.
Drawing on Michael’s experience with the LeSS adoption at BMW’s autonomous driving division, they explore what happens when traditional hierarchies give way to self-managing teams and how AI could accelerate, complicate, or even reverse that shift.
Organizations are rushing to adopt AI, often without questioning the organizational consequences.
What if AI eliminates coordination work but leaves people even more overloaded? What happens to product discovery when people stop challenging the questions being asked and simply accept AI-generated answers?
And perhaps most importantly: Are we using AI to empower people, or are we building a new, invisible layer of management?
Michael challenges the assumption that automation automatically improves organizations. The conversation explores why organizational design, human interaction, and the ability to innovate may matter even more in an AI-driven workplace.
If AI could take over most of your organization’s management activities tomorrow, what would you actually want it to manage?
