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[The Future of Management: How AI and Data are Redefining the Role of Builders]-[From managing people to managing AI: The leadership skills everyone needs now | Julie Zhuo (Facebook VP, Sundial CEO, The Making of a Manager author)]

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth · B2 · 2025-09-21

Technology
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📋 Summary

The Future of Management: How AI and Data are Redefining the Role of Builders

In a recent conversation on Lenny’s Podcast, Julie Zhu, former Head of Design at Meta and current founder of the AI-powered analytics company Sundial, discussed the profound shifts occurring in product leadership. As AI agents become increasingly integrated into workflows, the traditional boundaries of corporate roles are dissolving, ushering in an era where everyone is becoming a "builder."

The Flattening of Organizations and the Rise of the 'Builder'

Zhu observes a significant trend: organizations are flattening, and roles are becoming less siloed. "Everyone's becoming an IC [individual contributor] again," she notes. Previously, a manager needed to assemble a team of specialists to cover disparate skills like design, coding, and data analysis. Today, AI empowers individuals to perform many of these tasks themselves.

By dissolving the boundaries of traditional roles, companies can move faster and empower employees to take ownership of the entire product lifecycle. Zhu’s startup, for instance, has moved away from hiring traditional product managers, finding that smaller, cross-functional teams using AI tools can communicate more directly and achieve higher levels of accountability.

Management in an Age of Agents

Despite the flattening of organizations, management remains critical. Zhu argues that the core tenets of management—defining a "North Star," setting a vision, and assembling the right resources—have not changed; only the nature of those resources has. "Used to be people, but now it's basically models," she explains.

To lead effectively in this environment, managers must:

  • Define clear goals: The ability to articulate what success looks like is more important than ever. If you are "unclear about what success looks like," the AI output will inevitably suffer.
  • Be sturdy and flexible: Using the metaphor of a willow tree, Zhu suggests that today’s management is about being "sturdy while being flexible"—resilient enough to weather the "accelerating rate of change" but agile enough to adapt.

Diagnosing with Data, Treating with Design

Zhu, known for her design-centric background, has become increasingly obsessed with data. She offers a simple heuristic for product leaders: "Diagnose with data and treat with design."

She believes many fast-growing companies are currently "getting by on just good instincts and good vibes," but warns that growth eventually plateaus. When that happens, companies need an "observability model" to understand root causes. However, she cautions against the "false precision" of numbers. Data should be used to uncover reality and identify opportunities, not as a shortcut to bypass the creative, human-centric process of design.

Timeless Managerial Wisdom

Reflecting on her best-selling book, The Making of a Manager, Zhu emphasizes that while tools change, the human element of management is constant. Key takeaways include:

  • Manage Yourself First: Before leading others, one must understand their own strengths and weaknesses. Zhu views skills through the lens of "infinite dimensions," noting that "every strength is its own weakness." Self-awareness allows managers to be objective about their growth.
  • Feedback as a Daily Practice: Feedback should not be relegated to six-month performance reviews. It is a gift that helps calibrate one’s perception to reality. To deliver difficult feedback effectively, Zhu recommends establishing a culture of mutual growth early on and being vulnerable about the difficulty of the conversation.
  • The Win-Win Mindset: Managers should avoid adversarial mental models. Whether navigating a difficult project or managing performance issues, looking for a "win-win" solution—even when that means parting ways with an employee who isn't a fit—is essential for long-term health and trust.

Final Thoughts on AI and Human Potential

As AI continues to evolve, Zhu encourages a shift from fear to excitement. She emphasizes that while tools will get better, the fundamental human capacity for emotional regulation and introspection remains the most important skill to teach the next generation. "True freedom," she concludes, is the ability to "pick the things that are hard" and find pride in the process of becoming who you want to be, rather than seeking shortcuts that diminish the human experience.

🎯Key Sentences

1
Management is still really critical.
2
I'm not trying to say like everyone has to do everything.
3
I don't think that's very realistic.
4
I don't actually think a lot of the fast growing companies are using data well at this point.
5
I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Expand All

📝Key Phrases

1
flattening of orgs
2
dissolve the boundaries
3
assemble the Avengers
4
be sturdy while being flexible
5
diagnose with data and treat with design
Expand All

📖 Transcript

We're seeing this kind of flattening of orgs.
Everyone's becoming an IC again.
It used to be, okay, I don't have the skills to do 10 different jobs.
But now with AI allows me to do many of those jobs myself.
We need to dissolve the boundaries of these traditional roles and call ourselves builders.
I'd love for us to get to the world where that's the title.

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