ChatGPT for managers: a practical guide for leaders | Keryc
Team management is made of decisive moments: 1:1s, feedback, hiring, performance reviews and difficult conversations. Much of the work isn’t the conversation itself, but the preparation and the follow-up. What if you could get time back without sacrificing human quality? ChatGPT aims to be that tool that helps you go from a blank page to a clear plan.
How ChatGPT helps in management
ChatGPT doesn’t replace your judgment or the responsibility to comply with HR or legal policies, but it speeds up repetitive tasks that eat your time.
Prepare conversations without going in circles: turn your notes into a plan with talking points, relevant examples and clear next steps. That way you arrive prepared and avoid improvising.
Improve and standardize writing: draft neutral, concrete copies for feedback, team updates, job descriptions and performance notes. You check for accuracy and fairness; the AI takes off that first layer of work.
Repeat the basics with quality: create templates and checklists for 1:1s, onboarding, performance cycles and interviews so the team experience is consistent.
ChatGPT speeds up the administrative side and leaves you more time for the human stuff: coaching, decision-making and developing your team.
Practical cases by area
Here’s a list of common scenarios and the outputs ChatGPT can generate when you give it real context (notes, survey topics, role expectations):
Strategy and planning: simple strategic plans, OKRs, annual or quarterly roadmaps and executive summaries.
Performance and development: draft evaluations, feedback frameworks, growth plans and coaching scripts.
Hiring and org design: job descriptions, interview kits, headcount models and org charts.
Communication and alignment: executive updates, all-hands scripts, team memos and decision narratives.
Decision-making and prioritization: pros-and-cons analyses, priority matrices and structured recommendations.
Meetings and leadership rhythm: agendas, 1:1 templates, meeting summaries, action trackers and follow-up messages.
Change management: rollout plans, communications, stakeholder maps and risk-mitigation strategies.
Reports and outcomes: structured KPI dashboards, business reviews and board-ready summaries.
Culture and engagement: surveys, cultural initiatives, recognition programs and manager playbooks.
Risks and escalations: escalation briefs, incident summaries and drafts of executive communications.
Also, ChatGPT can help with multi-step projects, basic data analysis, research and image generation for more engaging materials.
Best practices to use it (and not mess up)
Bring concrete context: 1:1 notes, survey results or project excerpts make the difference. With real data, outputs are more useful.
Use templates and versions: ask for several tones (direct, empathetic, formal) and adapt the one that best fits the situation and your company’s culture.
Check for bias and accuracy: responsibility remains yours. Verify that examples, dates and judgments are correct and fair.
Don’t share sensitive data: avoid entering personally identifiable information or confidential data without proper safeguards.
Align with HR and legal: use ChatGPT to draft and organize, but validate hiring, firing or disciplinary decisions with formal processes.
Automate the repetitive, not the critical: let the AI do the first draft, the summary or the structure; you provide the human context and the final decision.
How to measure its impact on your team
You don’t need a perfect metric to start. Watch for practical signs:
Efficiency: time recovered on recurring tasks like preparing 1:1s, summarizing updates or writing feedback.
Consistency: whether key communications and documents keep a uniform standard over time.
Team outcomes: more coaching sessions, better-prepared reviews, faster onboarding and improved follow-up on decisions.
Perceived quality: team feedback about clarity in expectations and communications.
Look for both efficiency indicators (hours saved) and effectiveness (better coaching, clearer goals, faster ramp-up).
A smart and human use
In the end, ChatGPT is a tool to reduce friction in management. If you use it well, it lets you spend more time on what matters: supporting people, making hard decisions and designing strong teams. Can you imagine how much better your 1:1s could be if, instead of starting from scratch, you had a clear plan in minutes?
