{"id":87769,"date":"2026-01-16T21:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/degreed.com\/experience\/?p=87769"},"modified":"2026-01-16T21:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:59:56","slug":"managers-use-ai-for-team-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/degreed.com\/experience\/blog\/managers-use-ai-for-team-development\/","title":{"rendered":"How Managers Can Use AI for Team Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learning isn\u2019t about how much content people consume. It\u2019s about what they can do with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, the learning and development metrics that most businesses track have long focused on exposure, consumption, and completion: Attend the class, finish the program, check the box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real development doesn\u2019t happen as a result of skimming a slide deck or attending a one-time workshop. It happens through application, practice, feedback, and iteration. It happens when people try, reflect, adapt and try again.

And that\u2019s where managers come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers are uniquely positioned to turn learning into development by creating the space to apply and pressure test new skills. They unlock moments to practice and experiment, and they can lead by example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s always been true, but what has<\/em> changed is how quickly and effectively managers can make skill development happen with AI.

But first, let\u2019s take a step back. Why does experiential learning and practice matter so much?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiential Learning for Team Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Early in my career, I led the retail training team at Cabela\u2019s, an outdoor retailer. There, learning was practical and experiential by necessity. Employees weren\u2019t just expected to know about the outdoor products they sold, they had to demonstrate how to use them. Fly fishing demos. Dutch oven cook-offs. Tent speed setups. We had to have active experience using the products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers expected expertise in the products we carried, and the business\u2019 success depended on it. If you were selling it, you were expected to know how it worked because you\u2019d actually done it. These events and demos helped us get real experience with the products we were selling. We practiced our skills in real time. Learning was hands-on, social, and\u2026 fun. And it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same principle applies in today’s workplace, even when work is largely virtual. People learn best when they practice in conditions that resemble reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as effective as \u201creal-world\u201d practice is, it\u2019s still practice. At Cabela\u2019s, we were learning and attempting to use these products, but in a gamified way where we were surrounded by peers. We weren\u2019t learning at the moment that a key sale was at risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice in safe, low-risk environments builds confidence. Repetition builds muscle memory. Feedback accelerates improvement. And it\u2019s the manager\u2019s job to coach their team, helping them upskill and be well-rehearsed for the moments that matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Managers Create the Right Learning Opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Organizations can provide employees with the content, the tools, and even the key focus areas for upskilling, but it is managers who are best positioned to build a culture of development and create opportunities for real-world practice. Managers can say, \u201cI know how hard you\u2019ve been practicing, why don\u2019t you try that next presentation?\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019ve been learning how to do that with AI, why don\u2019t you try it for this project?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers have four key responsibilities to help boost development:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Define the boundaries<\/strong>. Teams need clarity on which skills matter now and which ones will matter next. That starts with clear goals and a shared understanding of what \u201cgood\u201d looks like now, and how the standard is changing.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Encourage\u2014and model\u2014experimentation.<\/strong> Telling people to use AI is easy. Learning out loud is a lot harder. When managers experiment themselves, they can share what works (and what doesn\u2019t), and learning accelerates. It sets the tone and standard for the whole team.\u00a0
    I once had to build basic business intelligence dashboards without any prior experience. My first version wasn\u2019t great. I shared it anyway. Someone on the team said, \u201cHey boss, nice idea, but this isn\u2019t very good,\u201d and they took it further and did it ten times better. That person became the expert, the team got better data, and learning was celebrated as valuable for everyone on the team. But they were unleashed to try and fail because I had done so first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Build the learning culture. <\/strong>Culture shows up in small behaviors and habits. How often people are encouraged to practice. How often they get feedback. How safe it feels to try and fail. When learning is integrated into the job, not an extra chore, development follows.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Highlight learning wins.<\/strong> Organizations celebrate deals closed, products shipped, and targets hit. Learning deserves the same spotlight. When managers showcase newly developed skills, recognize progress, and reward experimentation, they reinforce behaviors that drive long-term growth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    But even the best leaders face real constraints. Time is the biggest one. Calendars fill up quickly, coaching becomes reactive, rather than proactive and development slips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is where AI-powered learning experiences fundamentally change the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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