Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

From managing people to managing AI: The leadership skills everyone needs now | Julie Zhuo (Facebook VP, Sundial CEO, The Making of a Manager author)

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Sep 21, 2025
Julie Zhuo, former VP and Head of Design at Facebook and author of The Making of a Manager, shares her insights on crucial manager skills needed in the age of AI. She discusses how to balance gut instinct with data using her 'diagnose with data, treat with design' framework. Julie also reveals how her team accelerates learning with AI and critiques the poor data infrastructure in hypergrowth AI companies. Plus, she offers tips on delivering effective feedback and reflects on what she’s teaching her kids about an AI-driven future.
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Managers Become AI Orchestrators

  • Management fundamentals (goal, purpose, process) translate directly to managing AI agents.
  • You must define clear outcomes and know model strengths to assemble the right agent stack.
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Make Success Measurable

  • Define success precisely so agents and teams know when you hit the goal.
  • Write objective evals and KPIs to turn fuzzy outcomes into testable signals.
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The Rise Of The Builder

  • AI empowers individuals to do multiple roles once split across specialists.
  • Teams should dissolve rigid role boundaries and become small 'builders' instead.
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