The AI X Manager: when manager and AI work together

I'll admit it: even I was surprised. I've been following AI for years, tried dozens of tools - and yet, when I first properly set up Claude Desktop, I understood something. This isn't just another tool. It's a different way of working.

It's not about "occasionally asking AI something." Not about "help me phrase an email." It's about a part of my work - the part I never liked but always had to do - simply being handed over to someone else. Someone who never gets tired, never forgets, and never asks "is this really my job?"

A manager's daily life - what everyone knows

If you're a manager, you know this:

Three projects, five Slack channels, ten open documents - and somewhere in there is the information you're looking for
Context switching every other minute - by the time you return to your original task, you've already forgotten where you left off
Administration, administration, administration - status reports, meeting notes, documentation updates, and of course everything was due yesterday
The team is waiting - while you're struggling with "background work" instead of focusing on them

And meanwhile, the question lingers: "This isn't what I signed up for. Why do I spend half my time on things that have nothing to do with why I became a manager?"

The AI X Manager - a new type of leader

I'd like to introduce a new concept: AI X Manager.

The X can be replaced with anything: AI Product Manager, AI Project Manager, AI Delivery Manager, AI Engineering Manager. The point isn't the position. The point is the way of working.

An AI X Manager is not someone who "sometimes uses AI." An AI X Manager is a leader who:

Actively and consciously integrates AI tools into their daily work
Uses these tools at a professional level - not just "tried it once"
Thinks in systems - doesn't ask individual questions, but transforms workflows

This isn't the future. This is the present. And the barrier to entry is lower than you'd think.

Claude Desktop: the AI that actually works with you

Many know Claude as a chatbot - you ask a question, you get an answer. But Claude Desktop is something entirely different. It's an interface where Claude doesn't just respond - it works.

What makes it special?

1. Intuitive, user-friendly interface

No command line, no complicated settings. If you can write an email, you can use Claude Desktop. This matters because most managers - understandably - don't want to code. And they don't have to.

2. Cowork: when Claude works independently

The Cowork feature is Claude Desktop's newest capability. The concept is simple: you designate a folder on your computer, and Claude gains access to the files within. It can read, edit, and create documents - independently.

What does this mean in practice?

Scattered notes? Claude gathers them and transforms them into a structured document
Messy downloads folder? Claude categorizes and renames the files
Need a spreadsheet from screenshots? Claude extracts the data and creates an Excel file

And most importantly: Claude doesn't wait for constant instructions. You get a plan, approve it, and it works. Meanwhile, you can focus on something else.

3. Connectors (MCP): Claude in your existing tools

This is where the AI X Manager concept truly comes to life.

Connectors (MCP) allow Claude to directly access the tools you already use:

Google Docs, Sheets, Calendar - reading and editing documents, calendar management
Slack - understanding message context
Jira, Confluence (through Atlassian Rovo) - project data, documentation
And much more - Asana, Amplitude, ActiveCampaign...

Imagine: you don't need to copy data from one place to another. You don't need to "give context" to Claude about what happened on the project. You simply ask: "What's the status of Project X based on Jira, and create a summary in Docs" - and it happens.

4. Agent Skills: document wizard

Claude can natively create and edit:

PowerPoint presentations - with slides, formatting, and visual elements
Excel spreadsheets - with formulas and charts
Word documents - structured and formatted
PDFs - final, shareable format

You don't get a draft that you then spend hours formatting. You get usable, finished documents.

What does this look like in practice?

Let me show you a concrete example.

Monday morning, traditional manager:

Open Jira, review the sprints
Open Confluence, search for the latest meeting notes
Open Slack, read back what happened over the weekend
Open Google Docs, start writing the weekly status report
Meanwhile three people message me, context switch, I forget where I was
Two hours later the report is done - I'm exhausted

Monday morning, AI X Manager:

Open Claude Desktop
"Create a weekly status report for Project X. Use the current Jira status, the Confluence meeting notes from last week, and the main points from the Slack #project-x channel. Format it according to our standard status report template, and put it in Google Docs."
Claude works, I have my coffee
Twenty minutes later I review it, maybe modify a sentence or two
Done - and I'm still fresh

The difference isn't in time. The difference is that one exhausts you, the other liberates you.

For the tech-curious: Claude Code

If you've read this far and you're thinking: "This is all great, but I want to get even more out of this" - I have good news.

Claude Code can do everything Claude Desktop can, but goes one step further. This is the tool for developers and technically-minded managers, where:

You can fully customize Claude's behavior
Create your own skills and agents - with specialized knowledge and workflows
Build deeper integration with your own systems

You don't need to be a programmer to use it - but if you have technical affinity and like to "look under the hood," endless possibilities await.

Claude Desktop and Claude Code aren't alternatives to each other. Desktop is the entry point, Code is the next level - if and when you're ready.

What an AI X Manager can and cannot do

It's important to establish that an AI X Manager is not someone who delegates everything to AI.

An AI X Manager knows exactly:

What AI helps with:

Repetitive, structured tasks
Information gathering and synthesis
Documentation and report creation
Understanding context from multiple sources

What remains human:

Responsibility
Decisions about people
Team building and motivation
Creative problem-solving
Empathy and relationships

An AI X Manager doesn't use AI to work less. They use it so that more time remains for what matters. For people, for strategy, for real leadership work.

How to get started?

If you've read this far and feel that "I need to try this" - good news: getting started is simpler than you'd think.

First steps:

Download Claude Desktop - a free version is available to try it out
Start simple - summarize a meeting note, draft an email
Enable Connectors (MCP) - select the tools you already use
Experiment with Cowork - give access to a folder and see what it can do

You don't need to become an AI X Manager in one day. But you do need to take the first step.

Back to the people

When I first truly used Claude Desktop - not just tried it, but integrated it into my work - something changed.

It wasn't primarily the efficiency that surprised me, though that too. It was the feeling that I got something back. I reclaimed the time and energy I had been wasting on things that never gave me anything.

And now that time and energy is where it should be: with the people.

With the team I work with. With the problems that require real attention. With the decisions that truly matter.

An AI X Manager isn't someone who replaces humans with machines. An AI X Manager is someone who can finally do what they became a manager to do.

Are you ready to become an AI X Manager?