Sam Wong.黃力桐Let’s talk training

TRAINING DECISIONS

AI training for managers in Hong Kong: what leaders actually need

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Short answer: managers do not need the same AI course as their teams. They need to see what AI can do for their kind of work today, to judge and review AI output, to set the rules for what data goes in, and to decide where the team should use AI first. Good training for managers is hands-on, but the exercises are about decisions and communication, not features.

Sam Wong (黃力桐) is a corporate AI trainer based in Hong Kong. 11,000+ people trained, 70+ organisations, 13 countries.

What should AI training for managers cover?

Four things, in this order:

  1. What is possible today. Not a tour of the AI market, but a live demonstration on work that looks like theirs.
  2. Judgement. When to use AI, when not to, and how to check what it gives back before it goes to a client or a board.
  3. Rules. Which data may go into which tool, and who decides. Staff wait for this answer before they move.
  4. Direction. Which team, which task and which people go first, and how the manager will know it worked.

How is it different from training for staff?

Staff training is about doing a task faster. Manager training is about deciding which tasks matter, setting the conditions for the team, and communicating clearly. The tools can be the same. The exercises are different: a manager practises briefing, reviewing and deciding, not just drafting.

At a Hong Kong Productivity Council seminar in May 2026 I described the people side like this: every employee AI-literate, about 10% as AI champions, about 10% as builders who set up workflows, and leaders able to set direction and allocate resources. Managers are the last group, and the one that decides whether the other three happen.

What did this look like at the Hong Kong Jockey Club?

The Jockey Club's Management Trainee Programme rotates future leaders through departments. Their two-day workshop with me in April 2025 was not about automation. The trainees needed to communicate strategically and understand where AI fits in that. They practised a three-layer method on memos, briefings and stakeholder emails:

By day two, trainees were combining all three layers in single prompts on their own work. Read the Hong Kong Jockey Club case.

Should managers be trained before or after their teams?

Both orders work, but managers must be in it. At Garden, the Hong Kong food manufacturer, the programme started with HR, moved through five more functions, and included senior management as its own cohort. When managers know what their teams have learned, they can ask for the new way of working instead of the old one.

For business owners, seeing is often what moves them. At a YPO AI day in Los Angeles in November 2025, I worked at the lectern with Adaptig colleagues, using a chain of AI tools to build a fictional steakhouse from nothing in 45 minutes: market research, website, investor deck and an AI customer-service agent.

What should a manager do in the week after the training?

  1. Pick one task per team that repeats every week and agree how AI will be used on it.
  2. Write down the data rule, even in three lines.
  3. Name the people who volunteered energy in the room. At Garden, seven of the 19 colleagues in the first cohort volunteered to champion AI in their departments.
  4. Check back in a month on that one task, not on "AI adoption" in general.

For how I run training for teams across a company, see corporate AI training in Hong Kong (中文).

FAQ

What should AI training for managers in Hong Kong cover?

AI training for managers in Hong Kong should focus on four key areas: understanding current AI capabilities, developing the judgement to review output before it reaches clients or boards, learning data rules for information security, and determining which tasks should be prioritised. The training focuses on practical exercises involving briefing, reviewing, and decision-making rather than just technical execution.

How is AI training for managers different from staff training?

While staff training focuses on completing tasks faster, manager training helps leaders decide which tasks matter, establish rules and conditions for the team, and communicate clearly. Although tools like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT may be the same for both groups, managers focus on mastering briefing, reviewing, and deciding rather than just drafting content.

Should managers be trained in AI before their teams?

Training can occur in any order as long as managers are included. When managers understand what their teams have learned, they can better request new ways of working. For example, at Garden, a Hong Kong food manufacturer, Sam Wong's programme started with HR, moved through five functions, and included senior management as a separate cohort.

What did the Hong Kong Jockey Club's management trainees learn about AI?

In a two-day workshop in April 2025, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's management trainees practised a three-layer method for memos, briefings, and stakeholder emails. This involves ensuring precision regarding audience, scope, and format; defining structure before AI writing; and providing context that accounts for the reader and inter-departmental politics. By day two, they applied all three layers to their own work.

What should a manager do after AI training?

After completing AI training, a manager should select one weekly task per team and agree on how AI will be used for it. They should document the data rule, identify enthusiastic participants as AI champions, and review progress on that specific task after one month. Focusing on a single reviewed task is more effective than setting a general target for AI adoption.

Planning AI training for your managers? Message me on WhatsApp and tell me a little about your team.

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