The Predictive Index asked CEOs and managers questions too different to compare

The two percentages came from different questions put to different groups. CEOs and business leaders were asked whether their managers are "very confident" handling tough people conversations on their own, and 74% said they are ^[1]. Managers were asked something narrower, and 42% said they know what they want to say but struggle with how to say it ^[2]. Subtract the second from the first and you get 32 points; add them and you get 116 ^[20][21].

That spread sets an impression of other people's composure beside a self-report about wording, so it does not record two groups disagreeing about one fact. The figure underneath it is sturdier: 80% of managers want a framework, a coaching guide or input from HR before they walk into the room ^[3][22].

Of the six people CNBC quoted, four work for companies that sell AI coaching or role-play tools, including the firm that ran the survey ^[23]. Posh sells a role-play trainer to businesses ^[6], LHH offers one through a subsidiary ^[7], and Xactly's Penny gives managers tailored scripts and real-time coaching guidance ^[8]. The academic in the piece argued for preparation itself. "Spontaneity is not a goal of a high-stakes work conversation," said Emily DeJeu, a professor of business communication at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business ^[9]. She said the tools are better than talking in front of a mirror because you actually get feedback ^[24].

The economic case is one sentence, and it comes from someone who sells human coaching. "Most companies aren't hiring 500 coaches for 500 managers," said Casey Schaffer, founder of Definitions Coaching and Consulting ^[11]. A firm with 500 managers never carried a 500-coach cost line, so a licence is measured against nothing and clears the bar easily. CNBC did not report prices for the tools or outcome data for managers who used them ^[25].

The feature list is where the liability sits. Megan Barbier, chief human resources officer at Xactly, said a manager can ask the tool to grade the delivery, give critical feedback on the message, or flag when the conversation moves into risky topics from a legal perspective ^[16]. The drill is also only as good as the scenario the manager thinks to type, since these tools want specific parameters and context, down to a sensitive employee who is habitually late ^[26]. In my view what firms are buying is a cheap licence in place of manager training they never staffed. Two findings would change that. If managers were put the same "very confident" question the CEOs got and the gap survived, the 32 points would be a genuine disagreement ^[1]. If one vendor published results from managers who drilled, the strongest evidence in the file would stop being what managers say they prefer ^[25].