AI Agents for Leaders Who Have No Time to Learn AI · Section 5 · Prepared example

Clara and Darius, a Prepared Example

The page the lectures open: an assumed motive replaced by an observation and a question, a reply repaired after role-play, and an assignment Tessa can truly own.

Arun Nagarathanam · 20 Oct 2026 Template · 35 of 42 in this course

Section 5 · Lectures 5.1 to 5.5

About this page

Prepared fictional example. Clara, Liam, Darius and Tessa are invented for this course. The shift records, role-play exchanges and written assignment are authored teaching material, not output from an observed agent run.

This is the text of the people leadership page shown in Section 5. The same page, with its four tabs, is in the starter zip as practice/people-leadership-prep.html.

Files and links

Open the interactive people leadership page/downloads/leaders/section-05/people-leadership-prep.html
Clara and Darius case files: the records and rounds it was prepared from/resources/library/leaders/clara-and-darius-case-files

Tab 01 · Lectures 5.1 and 5.2

Observation vs. assumed motive

Clara separates what the shift records prove from her frustrated guess about Liam’s motive.

From assumed motive to grounded opening

Stage	Wording	Why it matters
Initial frustrated thought (Assumed motive)	“Liam is rushing out the door at shift close and does not care about leaving a mess for the morning shift.”	Claims a motive the shift notes cannot prove; invites character defense instead of problem-solving.
Prepared coaching opening (Grounded in records)	“In Tuesday and Thursday’s shift notes, the 2 open billing problems were not listed, which meant 2 customers had to repeat their full history to the morning team. What made capturing those open issues difficult at the end of those shifts?”	Names the 2 specific shift notes and 2 repeat customer calls, then asks an open question that allows an honest explanation.

Draft · Clara’s prepared coaching opening

In Tuesday and Thursday’s shift notes, the 2 open billing problems were not listed, which meant 2 customers had to repeat their full history to the morning team. What made capturing those open issues difficult at the end of those shifts?

Said by Clara at the start of the 1-on-1

Judge any feedback opening by whether the colleague can

Recognize the specific event.
Understand why its impact matters.
Give an honest answer that could change your understanding of the problem.

Tab 02 · Lecture 5.3

Role-play rehearsal

Testing Clara’s opening across 3 plausible reactions exposes where she repeated a rule before listening to a late-call obstacle.

Round 2: Simulated colleague raises a late escalation 5 minutes before shift cutoff

First spoken reply (Before critique)	“Everyone gets late calls, so you still have to fill out the shift note before logging off.”
Revised spoken reply (After listening critique)	“That late escalation is important context, so tell me how you are currently handling the overtime limit and what would let you flag the open customer issue in one line for the morning shift.”

Answer · Clara’s revised spoken reply

That late escalation is important context, so tell me how you are currently handling the overtime limit and what would let you flag the open customer issue in one line for the morning shift.

Clara, aloud in Round 2

Simulated role-play responses are rehearsal possibilities, not predictions of a real colleague.

Tab 03 · Lecture 5.4

Written assignment for delegation

Darius repairs a micromanaged draft assignment for Tessa’s new-starter onboarding guide.

Four-part written assignment for Tessa: New-starter onboarding guide (Cohort arriving first of next month)

1. Desired result	A guide that lets a new starter complete all first-day essentials independently without hunting down a manager for basic setup steps.
2. Decision freedom vs. return point	Tessa chooses the guide’s layout and task sequence. Any change to which security permissions new starters receive on day one returns to Darius for a decision.
3. Available support	Existing rough onboarding notes + named IT contact (adjusted during meeting: Darius will confirm a backup IT contact by tomorrow afternoon while the primary contact is on leave).
4. Agreed check-in	Review one complete working draft 10 days before the cohort arrives, or sooner if an unresolved blocker appears.

Check any assignment by whether your colleague could explain

What result they are aiming for.
Which choices are theirs to make.
When they should come back to you.

Tab 04 · Lecture 5.5

What remains open for the room

Preparation states what you know and leaves one honest question open for the human conversation—while the same 3 things (the result, what can be done alone, and what must come back) prepare you for Section 6’s agentic workflows.

Prepared course illustration for Section 5. Simulated role-play responses are rehearsal possibilities, not predictions of a real colleague.