Why Your Managers Are Your Untapped Advantage in an AI-Driven World

There's a tension building inside most revenue orgs right now and it's one that doesn't show up cleanly in your CRM.

On one side: pressure to move faster, do more with less, and let AI carry more of the operational load. On the other: a growing recognition that the skills separating top performers from the rest are harder to automate than anyone expected. Coaching. Judgment. The ability to read a rep, change the approach, and build genuine confidence in the field.

That tension is exactly what Ambition CEO and co-founder Jared Houghton will be exploring at the Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference in a roundtable titled "Balancing AI Efficiency & Skill Development: Why Managers are Your Untapped Advantage." He'll be joined by Sandler Chief Strategy Officer Seth Marrs, who will offer his perspectives from the training and methodologies side of the conversation.

The case for the manager

The rush to automate has created a blind spot. While orgs invest heavily in AI-assisted prospecting, forecasting tools, and workflow automation, front line managers have become an afterthought. They're still expected to develop reps, run effective 1:1s, and hold teams accountable but without the systems, data, or support to do it consistently.

The result? Strategy breaks down at the manager layer. Not because managers aren't capable, but because they're being set up to fail.

Jared's roundtable makes the case that this is where the biggest performance opportunity lives: not in the next tool, but in finally giving managers what they need to show up as coaches, consistently and at scale.

What the roundtable will explore

Jared and Seth will cover a range of topics, including: 

• How to balance AI-driven efficiency with the skill development that actually moves the number
• Why front line managers remain your highest-leverage asset and what's getting in the way
• What it looks like to build a coaching culture that holds up under the pressure of a real quarter
• How leading revenue orgs are using AI to support (not replace) manager effectiveness

Who this is for

If you're a CRO, VP of Sales, or Head of Enablement wrestling with how to scale performance without losing the human element, this is your room. Roundtables are intentionally small and discussion-driven. Bring your real questions.

Add the session to your agenda in the Gartner conference app. We hope to see you there! 

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