The Manager Skill Builder courses are adaptive, meaning that every user’s individual learning path is tailored based on their prior knowledge and confidence. When you start a course, you rate your proficiency level. Each question also gives you the opportunity to rate your level of confidence in your answer. Based on how much you think you know, and how confident you are about it, you’ll progress more quickly through what you already know or learn in more depth as needed.

The personalized courses are meant to save learners time and focus on key areas for growth. If an organization wants to upskill their managers in only a few areas, for example, they can choose learning pathways that target those areas rather than doing the whole suite of courses.

We partnered with another organization, Area9, to learn how to design these AI-driven adaptive learning experiences. This gave our project management another level of complexity while providing our team with an important source of support.

Our Process

Three of us started working on the Manager Skill Builder courses back in August 2024. We began with an elearning process, taking courses about how to design adaptive courses. There was an initial learning curve to climb. We spent a couple of months discovering how AI-driven courses operate, how to design for optimal learning, and building a course of our own, with a team from Area9 on hand to review our course design and answer questions. I was the first on the team to earn my certification as an Adaptive Learning Engineer with Area9 Lyceum.

Once the elearning phase was complete, we started building the rest of the 36 courses. As the team member most familiar with our content library, I looked through our learning resources and organized them into categories to give to the AI agent, which created slideshows and questions to guide managers through customized learning.

Having done the heavy lifting of creating a similar course from scratch, we were well positioned to check over everything the AI came up with. While advanced technology was invaluable in turning our raw material into interactive learning experiences, our experienced human eyes were responsible for quality control, making sure everything flowed sensibly and bringing slideshows and questions to life. This combination of technical ingenuity and content expertise makes the courses shine.

The Challenges of Innovation

Doing something new can involve disruptive processes or technologies. Sometimes innovation can drive an organization to new heights in terms of productivity and impact. At other times, it can be more talk than action – or it can drive unnecessary action.

Using AI technology, like the Manager Skill Builder courses do, can be done mindfully or implemented unnecessarily. Along with my Mindtools work, I’ve attended several lectures and meetups hosted by the Brighton AI group, where speakers have often raised the question: Does this use case need AI?

There’s an environmental impact to consider from this technology, and there’s a very real possibility of fatigue from seeing “AI this and that” in every company’s every new application. Sometimes the best-quality product is created by using something new; at other times, trendy methods are a waste of time, and the best tools for the job are ones we already have.

If you’re a decision-maker in your organization, how do you know when to embrace the new and when to stick with the tried and true? And when disruption is best, how to practice it?

The Harvard professor who developed the theory of disruptive technologies, Clayton M. Christensen, and his colleague Joseph Bower, developed a process for assessing disruptive innovations:

1. Decide whether the innovation you’re considering is sustaining or disruptive. A “sustaining” innovation builds on something that already exists. A “disruptive” one is new and transforms existing markets.
2. Assess your innovation’s potential. Does it offer a competitive advantage? Is it something that customers don’t yet know they want?
3. Identify the innovation’s market. How will it be used and who will use it? Will it create a whole new market?
4. Create an independent organization to pursue the project. Sometimes a nimbler setup, like a startup, is best for pursuing innovation while the main company focuses on its existing product base.
5. Keep the disruptive organization independent. This allows for flexibility and helps to avoid clashes of resources.

These steps can be useful if you’re considering a brand-new “thing.” Rather than creating an independent organization, Mindtools folded its Manager Skill Builder into our array of existing products, since it builds on and complements our other offerings, such as the Manager Skills Assessment.

Our project team faced a learning curve when creating these courses, and we learned a lot from it. Project management involved being flexible, investing time in our own learning, and adapting our process as we went. If you’re working disruptively, or with something novel, flexibility will probably be an important skill for you, too. You may find yourselves, like we did, iterating and troubleshooting the process and product several times. And don’t forget to enjoy the excitement of trying something new!

What’s Next?

You can learn more about the Manager Skill Builder here.

If you’re working with innovative tools like our project team has been doing, you may be interested in our article on Disruptive Technologies. We also have two articles that tackle the use of artificial intelligence specifically: What Is AI? and How to Use AI as a Manager, along with a video featuring AI expert Daniel Hulme discussing AI at Work.

Tip of the Week

How to Make Sensitive Decisions

By Simon Bell, Mindtools Content Writer and Editor

Good decision-making is about much more than simply crunching through some numbers to reach a conclusion.

Well-rounded decisions take account of possible bias and are based on a broad range of perspectives. They are also ethically sound and consider the potential impact on other people.

Most decisions affect people in one way or another, and some decisions (like those affecting people’s jobs, promotion prospects or salaries) can be particularly sensitive.

So when you’re faced with an ethical decision, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can I be proud of the decision I have made?
• Am I respecting the rights of others in making this decision?
• How would I feel if other people (such as my colleagues, family and friends) knew I came to this decision?
• Does the decision I have made feel “fair” and equitable, given the circumstances?

They can help to ensure your decisions are as ethically sound as possible, even where the impact on others may be considerable.

Pain Points Podcast

Don't miss the latest episode of our "Pain Points" podcast, exclusive to Mind Tools members!

Does hybrid working ... work? That’s the question we posed to hybrid expert Gary Cookson in this week’s episode. Discover what the stats really say about remote, how to preserve your workplace culture, and why we need to rethink hybrid – from the ground up.

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News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

Culture Club: Making Work Culture Work

Bruce Daisley is a leading expert on workplace culture and the future of work. In an interview with HRZone, he shares six key trends managers and leaders should focus on in developing a workplace culture.

1. Performance shifts from “Me” to “We.” Organizations will broaden performance measurement beyond individuals to emphasize team success.
2. Culture as a core value. Managers need to actively enforce and embody organizational culture in daily decisions.
3. Multigenerational engagement. Businesses will need to accommodate diverse employee needs across up to five generations.
4. The four-day workweek gains momentum. Employee demand for flexibility will rise, despite ongoing return-to-office mandates.
5. Employee-employer tensions increase. Economic pressures and workload demands may escalate workplace conflicts.
6. AI self-education will rise. Employees will upskill independently if companies fail to provide AI training.

Plenty there for managers and leaders to chew over. If Bruce is right – and he often is – these trends will need seriously proactive leadership if positive workplace cultures are to thrive.

Burned Out, Locked In?

Workplace burnout hit record highs in 2024, with 82 percent of knowledge workers surveyed by DHR Global reporting exhaustion. Yet, paradoxically, many remained highly engaged – 88 percent described themselves as “very” or “extremely” engaged, as reported on the Fortune website. This suggests burnout isn’t just about overwork. There’s another paradox in play: roles stagnate even in times of constant change. Career mobility drops in a tight job market.

Some employees disengage when burned out, but others throw themselves deeper into work. HR leaders must ensure they don’t overburden their most dedicated employees, as this can push them to leave when better opportunities arise. Instead, managers should get ahead of the game, identifying stressors, offering growth opportunities, and clearly defining company culture.

As the job market shifts, organizations that support employee wellbeing while maintaining engagement will be best positioned to retain top talent and sustain productivity. Understanding what drives burnout within their workforce is the first step for managers in navigating this challenge.

If you’re worried about burnout, check out our Burnout Self-Test, and if you want to avoid it (and you should), take a look at our article Avoiding Burnout.

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mindtools team!