Last week, Financial Times columnist Isabel Berwick posed a powerful question:

"Are AI coach bots going to transform management? I think so."

She'd been wondering about this topic for a while, and after her conversations with myself and Lindsay Pattison, WPP’s Chief People Officer, she felt more confident answering yes. 

Why? Because companies like WPP have thousands of employees using Nadia for everything from career planning to role-play to navigating team dynamics. As Lindsay says in the piece, “Nadia, despite being AI, is seen as very personal, a safe space to ask questions, and people particularly like the confidentiality, always-on access, and personalisation.” 

Nadia and AI coaches are the future of work, an assistant with a powerful memory, integrated into existing systems of work, and capable of tailoring advice to the specific situation at hand. 

As the FT points out, AI coaches feel like the best answer to one of the biggest workplaces challenges today:

Managers need more support.

According to the recently released 2025 Gallup State of the Global Workplace report: employee engagement continues to dip, and the groups seeing the biggest declines? Managers—especially young and female managers. 

This is a problem. But, seen another way, there’s an enormous unlock available for executive leaders: Businesses that are able to drive employee engagement can separate themselves from the pack.  

Gallup recommends three priorities for organizations:

• Deliver management training for every manager
• Teach effective coaching skills
• Provide ongoing support to strengthen manager wellbeing

But in a world where managers are increasingly overwhelmed, the question isn’t whether they need more support—it’s how to deliver that support at scale. And there an AI coach is the most powerful tool organizations have available. 

As an AI coach, Nadia is not a one-size-fits-all chatbot. She’s designed to meet each person where they are, with the support they need most. She can act as a proactive thought partner on a critical project, role play the most charged conversation, prompt deeper reflection and insight into team dynamics, streamline and support more effective performance reviews, and help with career and skill development.

Whatever the issue might be, Nadia is ready to help—every manager, every day.

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Parker Mitchell is cofounder and CEO at Valence, where he helps people work better and contribute to a world where potential is more important than credential. He has been recognized by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year and been named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.