Published in Artificial Intelligence
Jonathan
The Effective Project Manager
February 9, 2025
Why Project Management isn’t Going Away (Sorry AI)
The same pattern has been repeating since Medieval Europeans farmed by hand. And wealth transfer from the have’s to the have-nots is happening again. But the project manager is uniquely positioned to take advantage. Learn how. Because you do not want to be left behind.
Let’s begin with a story.
In Medieval Europe, from the 9th to 15th Century, rich lords owned land.
They had hordes of farm workers working their land.
However, things changed.
Farming became more mechanised. Labour wasn’t as needed anymore.
The tractor was invented.
Suddenly, nobody would have farm jobs anymore.
What were they all to do?
Panic. That’s what they did.
But then the Industrial Age happened.
Wealth was taken out of the hands of the lords.
You didn’t need acres of land anymore, just a small factory.
Workers found new work in these factories.
And it wasn’t just the lords who were rich now.
Anyone could be rich.
Sound familiar?
…
The same thing has happened multiple times in history. From Medieval Europe to the Internet Revolution and now with the growth of Artificial Intelligence.
Wealth has been transferred from the privileged few to the masses; several times.
The workers have been dismayed at the thought of becoming jobless; several times.
…
So how do you make sure that you do not become irrelevant and unemployable? Or better yet, how can you become one of the new rich?
Simple.
Learn the skills of the new age.
Simple, but not easy.
Luckily, project management is a skill for the new age.
And I’ll explain why.
And I’ll give you the skill stack you need to succeed.
…
AI Needs a Project Manager
AI is a tool, not a leader.
It can generate insights, automate workflows, and crunch data faster than any human. But it lacks vision. It doesn’t have instincts. It doesn’t know when to push forward, when to pivot, or when to step back and listen.
AI needs an organizing force. It needs direction.
Someone who takes a broader view and decides how AI should intervene. Someone who examines its outputs with discernment, deciding what’s useful and what’s noise.
AI needs someone to integrate the output from the software with the emotions of the human team.
You need to read the subtle cues of others. See the signs on their faces. Then make adjustments. Create and speak and write in a way that fulfils their needs and creates the transformations they desire.
That’s where you come in.
AI won’t replace the project manager. But the best project managers will be the ones who master AI—just like those before us who mastered the personal computer.
The Skill Stack of the AI-Era Project Manager
To thrive, you need more than just technical knowledge. You need a skill set that blends strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and adaptability.
AI Fluency – You don’t need to be a coder, but you must understand how AI tools work, what they can do, and where they fall short. You need to know how to ask the right questions, give the right prompts, and critically assess the answers.
Emotional Intelligence – AI can’t read the subtle cues of a frustrated engineer or a disengaged stakeholder. But you can.
You need to read the subtle cues of others. See the signs on their faces. Then make adjustments. Create and speak and write in a way that fulfils their needs and creates the transformations they desire. You need to see the tension in a client’s face before they voice a concern. You need to sense when your team is overworked before burnout hits.
Big-Picture Thinking – AI can optimize a task. But only you can connect multiple outputs and see the bigger picture. You need to read a news article about new government regulations and instantly think: How will this impact my infrastructure project? Then, you need to feed that context into an AI tool, compare it with your past projects, and use the results to make a smarter decision.
Creativity and Innovation – AI can analyze past patterns, but it doesn’t invent the future. The best ideas don’t come from algorithms, they come from a moment of insight on a long walk or an epiphany in the shower. You still need to dream up solutions.
The Future Belongs to Those Who Adapt
AI is not your competition. It’s your leverage.
The project managers who thrive in the AI era won’t be the ones who fear automation. They’ll be the ones who master it. Those who blend human intuition with machine intelligence.
This is how you create something better than either of you could do alone.
So, don’t fight the future. Learn the skills. Build the stack. And make yourself indispensable.
