Management | Arete Coach

The Feedback Loop No One's Coaching For: Giving Performance Reviews to an AI Employee

Most executives can now name the AI agent handling their expense reports, drafting their first-pass contracts, or triaging their inbox. Fewer can say what a “good quarter” looks like for that agent, or what happens when it quietly underperforms. While executive teams have gotten comfortable deploying AI colleagues, they have not yet gotten comfortable evaluating them. The scale of the shift explains the urgency. Gartner projects that by the end of 2026, 40% of enterprise appl

3 days ago4 min read

Are your leaders “Quiet Cracking”?

In recent years, the corporate world has been preoccupied with Quiet Quitting: the phenomenon of employees doing the bare minimum while they look for an exit. But for executive coaches and C-suite leaders today, a more destructive trend has emerged: Quiet Cracking. Unlike those who are checked out and waiting to leave, people who are cracking aren't trying to quit. They are often your high-performers, your long-tenured managers, and dedicated specialists. They want to stay, b

Jan 86 min read

Leading Employees Past AI Fear

Across industries, an obstacle to AI adoption is shifting from technology to mindset. When employees view AI as a threat instead of a tool, pilots stall, value is lost, and talent disengages. But when leaders reframe the narrative, employees lean in, and transformation gains momentum. What the Data Tells Us Employee sentiment is conflicted. In a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, just over half of U.S. workers reported worry about the impact of AI on their careers, with nearly

Aug 29, 20255 min read

Who’s Really Shaping Your Culture? The Hidden Hand of AI

Company culture has traditionally been shaped by leadership, values, rituals, and human relationships. However, artificial intelligence (AI) is now influencing the subtle norms of how employees think, communicate, and make decisions. The result is a transformation of company culture driven by algorithms that were not part of traditional hiring processes. The Rise of the Algorithmic Middle Manager AI tools, while designed to boost productivity, are assuming roles akin to invis

Jul 4, 20254 min read

Redesigning Workflows with AI: From 100 Steps to 10

If you're a CEO or team lead, you've probably encountered this: a process that was supposed to take a day takes two weeks. A simple onboarding checklist becomes a 17-tab spreadsheet. A client proposal gets bounced between legal, finance, and sales before disappearing into inbox limbo. These aren’t edge cases — they’re standard operating procedure in most businesses. Why? Because most workflows weren’t designed. They accumulated. Step-by-step, layer-by-layer, we’ve added appro

May 2, 20258 min read