Why replacing 1:1 meetings with AI isn’t the evolution we need—and how Egoless Leadership offers a more human path forward.
There’s a growing buzz about AI in the workplace—and much of it is warranted. Automation can remove redundant tasks, streamline scheduling, and even track performance more efficiently than we ever imagined. But when articles like this one in Fast Company suggest we rethink or even eliminate the most human part of leadership—the one-on-one conversation—we should be pausing, not applauding.
Yes, AI can support better leadership. But it should never replace it.
The article frames the traditional 1:1 as a ritual whose relevance is fading, pointing to increasing spans of control and limited manager capacity. It argues that AI can make feedback and recognition more timely and data-driven. But what it misses is this:
Connection is not a data point.
You can’t automate empathy. You can’t code psychological safety. And you definitely can’t train a chatbot to look a struggling employee in the eye and ask, “Are you okay?”
The Egoless Leader Shows Up—AI Can’t
In my work with leaders across industries, I teach the principles of Egoless Leadership—a philosophy rooted in presence, humility, and human connection. Egoless leaders understand that the core of their role isn’t control or perfection. It’s creating space—for growth, for trust, and for conversations that matter.
Replacing 1:1s with asynchronous check-ins or automated nudges might sound efficient, but it strips away the essence of leadership: being with people, not just managing them.
And make no mistake: the managers most likely to over-rely on AI tools are often the ones who struggle most with the people part of their roles. When given an out, they’ll take it. Not out of malice or laziness, but because the system incentivizes speed over substance.
But leadership isn’t a race. It’s a relationship.
A Dangerous Drift Toward Disconnection
We are already seeing the cracks.
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Gallup reports that only 1 in 3 employees strongly agree that someone at work cares about them as a person.
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McKinsey found that employees are 5x more likely to be engaged when their managers check in regularly in meaningful ways.
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Qualtrics research shows that 42% of employees say no one at their company has asked them how they’re doing during moments of crisis or change.
And yet, here we are—proposing that we remove one of the few consistent touchpoints many employees have with their leaders.
AI will never replace a leader who listens. A tool can remind you to say thank you, but it can’t make someone feel appreciated. Efficiency may be the currency of tech, but belonging is the currency of leadership.
The Future We Build Depends on the Leaders We Become
There’s a strange paradox at play: every survey tells us people want more empathy, more flexibility, more humanity at work. Yet the guidance being pushed in boardrooms and business publications seems to be heading in the opposite direction. If we’re listening to people—really listening—we wouldn’t be trying to make work colder and more transactional. We’d be doing the opposite.
This is our chance to choose differently.
Let AI take over the things that drain us—admin, reports, coordination—but let us hold on tight to the things that define us: care, presence, connection, and leadership that leads with people.
The Egoless Leader doesn’t ask, “How can I be more efficient?” They ask, “How can I be more human?”
And that’s the kind of leadership we need now more than ever.
Sources:
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Gallup, State of the Global Workplace Report (2023)
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McKinsey, The Great Attrition is Making Hiring Harder. Are You Searching the Right Talent Pools? (2022)
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Qualtrics, 2021 Employee Experience Trends Report