Webinar Recording

How Citi Is Redefining Talent Strategy for the AI Workforce - 2026 Next Practices Weekly (i4cp login required)

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:44:00 GMT

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Sachin Jain, Managing Director and HR Leader for Fixed Income Spread Products and Commodities at Citi for a forward-looking conversation on how artificial intelligence is reshaping talent strategy - and why the future of AI will depend as much on people, skills, governance, and organizational capability as it does on technology. Jain shared insights from Citi's AI journey, including its efforts to democratize access to AI, safely scale new use cases, and introduce AI agents into the flow of work while maintaining strong human oversight.

Moderated by i4cp's Katheryn Brekken, PhD and Tom Stone, the conversation explored how Citi is moving from individual AI-enabled productivity to enterprise process transformation. Jain highlighted practical applications already underway across HR, including AI-powered employee support, recruiting, and performance management, as well as Citi's growing ecosystem of AI agents. Throughout the discussion, he emphasized that HR and technology must work in partnership to prepare employees, establish responsible governance, and ensure that critical talent decisions remain firmly in human hands.

Key Topics Discussed

Democratizing AI to Accelerate Workforce Adoption: Citi has taken a broad-based approach to AI access, with approximately 180,000 employees across 87 jurisdictions having access to its AI tools at the time of the discussion. Rather than limiting AI experimentation to technical teams, Citi is enabling employees to identify productivity opportunities, share effective practices, and help shape new use cases - while maintaining regulatory and risk controls.
Moving from AI Productivity to Enterprise Transformation: Citi's strategy extends beyond making existing work faster. Jain described an approach that progresses from individual productivity and reusable AI "presets" to larger operating-model initiatives designed to reimagine processes with an AI-first mindset. The goal is not simply to automate pieces of existing workflows, but to reconsider how work itself should be designed.
Managing AI Agents with Governance and Human Oversight: Citi is beginning to scale agentic AI through an internal platform designed to provide governance, testing, and a centralized repository for agents. Jain noted that Citi had approximately 400 agents in use at the time of the session. A core principle is clear accountability: AI can assist, summarize, automate, and execute defined tasks, but critical employee decisions - including hiring, ratings, and promotions - remain with humans.
Putting AI to Work Across the HR Lifecycle: Jain highlighted several HR applications already delivering value. Citi HR Assist has evolved from answering employee policy questions to supporting certain transactions through connected HR systems. In recruiting, AI-supported matching has contributed to an approximately 20% reduction in time to offer. Performance Assist gives managers a starting point for employee reviews by synthesizing goals, feedback, self-assessments, and other available data - while leaving the final evaluation and rating to the manager.
Building AI Fluency as a Core Human Capability: Citi is pairing technology deployment with significant workforce education and change management. Its "Prompt Like a Pro" program introduced employees to more effective prompting, while AI champions help bring emerging practices and use cases into local teams. Businesses and functions are also dedicating recurring learning time to AI. Jain emphasized that as technology becomes increasingly accessible, human capabilities such as curiosity, empathy, agility, and learning agility will become even more important differentiators.

For Human Capital leaders, the session offered a compelling view of what workforce transformation can look like at enterprise scale. From AI fluency and change management to human-in-the-loop governance and the growing role of digital workers, Jain provided practical lessons for HR teams navigating the next phase of AI adoption. Watch the recording to explore how Citi is building the capabilities, guardrails, and talent practices needed for a workforce increasingly powered by both people and AI.

Resources Shared

The New Rules of Succession Management
Discover how leading organizations are strengthening talent pipelines, bench strength, and future leadership readiness. Download the Executive Brief.
Calling Senior Learning & Talent Leaders!
Connect with senior peers, exchange next practices, and access research-backed insights through i4cp's Chief Learning & Talent Officer Board.
2027 i4cp Next Practices Now Conference -Stay ahead of emerging HR trends at i4cp's 2027 Next Practices Now Conference, where HR executives gather in a vendor-free environment to gain practical insights and strategies that drive immediate impact. Register today

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants are not permitted to attend.

Building HRBP Capability - Toolkit Tour (i4cp login required)

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:56:00 GMT

HR Business Partners are being asked to operate differently than they have in the past. AI is changing the nature of work, workforce planning, and the demands for business partnership being placed on HRBPs. The role increasingly requires stronger consulting skills, greater comfort with workforce data, and the ability to help leaders solve business problems.

i4cp's resources designed to help HRBPs strengthen those capabilities Were highlighted in a toolkit tour by Judy Albers, Product Experience Director for Tools and Resources.

Culture by Design: Lessons from Cummins - 2026 Next Practices Weekly (i4cp login required)

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:44:00 GMT

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Marvin Boakye, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Cummins Inc., for a compelling conversation on one of today's most consequential leadership priorities: intentionally building a culture that accelerates business performance. Boakye shared how Cummins moves culture beyond aspiration by translating organizational values into clear behaviors, leadership expectations, and measurable practices that can be reinforced across the enterprise.

Moderated by i4cp's Kevin Oakes and Tom Stone, the discussion explored how Cummins brings culture to life through intentional design, leadership role modeling, continuous development, and measurement. Boakye emphasized that culture is ultimately defined by what an organization practices, promotes, and permits - making leadership behavior and accountability critical to ensuring that stated values are reflected in the everyday employee experience.

Key Topics Discussed

Make Culture Intentional. Cummins defines culture through what an organization practices, promotes, and permits, helping leaders connect stated values to the everyday employee experience.
Turn Values into Action. Cummins translates its values into clear, memorable behaviors employees can apply in daily decisions and interactions.
Leaders Bring Culture to Life. Boakye emphasized that leaders must visibly model desired behaviors while demonstrating self-awareness, authenticity, and vulnerability.
Build Culture Through Continuous Development. Leadership development, coaching, feedback, and leaders-as-teachers practices help reinforce culture throughout the organization.
Measure What Matters. Cummins uses employee listening, analytics, and leadership accountability to assess culture with the same discipline applied to other business priorities.

For senior Human Capital leaders, the session offered a practical perspective on making culture a true business discipline. From translating values into observable behaviors to equipping leaders to model the culture and using data to assess progress, Cummins provides a powerful example of how HR can connect culture, leadership, talent, and performance. Watch the recording for actionable ideas to strengthen your organization's culture and ensure it delivers on both your people and business priorities.

Resources Shared

Change Ready Assessment - Ready to build a stronger, more change-ready culture? Take i4cp's Change Ready Assessment and receive instant results: Take Assessment
The AI-Enabled HR Operating Model - Download Executive Brief. Explore i4cp's latest research on how AI is reshaping HR roles, structures, and operating models in future-ready organizations. Access The AI-Enabled HR Operating Model Executive Brief.
2027 i4cp Next Practices Now Conference - Stay ahead of emerging HR trends at i4cp's 2027 Next Practices Now Conference, where HR executives gather in a vendor-free environment to gain practical insights and strategies that drive immediate impact. Register today

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.

Webinar - AI Is Transforming Work: Is Your HR Operating Model Ready? (i4cp login required)

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:27:00 GMT

As AI rapidly reshapes how work gets done, HR leaders face a critical question: Is the HR operating model keeping pace? In this research webinar, Kevin Martin, Katheryn Brekken, and Amber Burton unveiled findings from i4cp's latest global study, revealing that future-ready HR organizations are distinguished not by how they structure their teams, but by how deeply they embed AI into HR workflows and how strategically they influence enterprise AI decisions. The session challenged conventional thinking about HR transformation, demonstrating that organizations achieving the greatest business impact have moved beyond redesigning org charts to fundamentally redesigning how HR work is performed, how decisions are made, and how HR partners with the business to lead AI-enabled transformation.

Key Takeaways

AI is redefining HR work - not just HR technology. The research found that AI is fundamentally changing how work is executed across HR functions, requiring organizations to rethink workflows, decision-making, and service delivery rather than simply adopting new tools.
Operating model changes alone won't close the gap. While many organizations are redesigning HR structures, i4cp's research showed that organizational design itself is not the strongest predictor of strategic impact. The differentiator is how effectively AI is integrated into day-to-day HR operations.
Strategic influence matters more than structure. Organizations where HR plays an active role in enterprise AI governance are 4.5 times more likely to report that AI has elevated HR's strategic impact, positioning HR as a driver of business transformation rather than a support function.
Every HR role is evolving. AI is reshaping the responsibilities of HR Business Partners, Centers of Excellence, and Shared Services, shifting work away from administrative tasks and toward higher-value consulting, workforce strategy, and business partnership.
Future-ready HR organizations start with practical adoption. High-performing organizations are embedding AI into everyday HR processes, developing AI fluency across the function, and creating governance models that enable responsible innovation while accelerating business outcomes.

The discussion reinforced that the future of HR will not be defined by a new organizational chart, but by a new way of working. As AI continues to transform every business function, HR leaders have a unique opportunity to lead enterprise change by embedding AI into their own operations while shaping broader organizational strategy.

Watch the on-demand recording to explore i4cp's latest research and discover the practical actions future-ready HR organizations are taking to redesign work, strengthen strategic influence, and unlock greater business value through AI.

Resources Shared

The AI-Enabled HR Operating Model - Download Executive Brief. Explore i4cp's latest research on how AI is reshaping HR roles, structures, and operating models in future-ready organizations. Access The AI-Enabled HR Operating Model Executive Brief.
2027 i4cp Next Practices Now Conference - Stay ahead of emerging HR trends at i4cp's 2027 Next Practices Now Conference, where HR executives gather in a vendor-free environment to gain practical insights and strategies that drive immediate impact. Register today

To ensure open and candid discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.

Talent Without Limits: Trane Technologies Skills-Based Hiring - 2026 Next Practices Weekly (i4cp login required)

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 21:25:00 GMT

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Amy Volz, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Impact and Executive Director of the Trane Technologies Foundation, and Katie Runey, Talent Acquisition Global Center of Expertise Leader at Trane Technologies for an insightful discussion on how the organization transformed its talent strategy by embracing skills-based hiring. Facing growing workforce shortages across manufacturing and HVAC, Trane Technologies challenged traditional degree requirements, recredentialed key roles, and built a scalable framework that prioritizes demonstrated skills over educational credentials. Their approach has expanded access to opportunity while helping the organization compete for critical talent in an increasingly competitive labor market.

Hosted by i4cp's Mimi Turner and Tom Stone, the conversation explored the governance, executive sponsorship, and organizational change management required to make skills-first hiring successful at enterprise scale. Amy and Katie emphasized that skills-based hiring is far more than removing degree requirements, it requires thoughtful job redesign, continuous skills validation, manager education, and a culture committed to employee growth through reskilling and internal mobility.

Key Topics Discussed

Building a Skills-First Talent Strategy That Scales - Trane Technologies began by identifying high-volume, business-critical roles and systematically evaluating the skills truly required for success. Cross-functional collaboration between talent acquisition, HR, business leaders, and hiring managers enabled the organization to build sustainable governance around skills-based hiring rather than treating it as a one-time initiative.
Expanding Opportunity by Recredentialing Roles - The organization recredentialed more than 60 positions and opened over 80% of its available roles, including many leadership opportunities, to qualified candidates without four-year degrees. This strategic shift significantly broadened the talent pool while maintaining rigorous hiring standards focused on capability and performance.
Creating Career Mobility Through Skills and Continuous Learning - Rather than viewing careers as rigid ladders, Trane Technologies encourages employees to build transferable skills that create flexibility across functions and future roles. Investments in reskilling, upskilling, apprenticeships, and internal development strengthen workforce resilience while supporting long-term employee growth.
Driving Executive Alignment and Change Management - Successful implementation required strong executive sponsorship, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and educating hiring managers to evaluate candidates based on demonstrated skills rather than traditional credentials. The speakers emphasized that changing hiring behaviors requires consistent communication, updated job descriptions, and clear accountability.
Strengthening Business Performance Through Broader Talent Pipelines - Skills-based hiring has become a competitive advantage for Trane Technologies by helping address persistent manufacturing and HVAC talent shortages while strengthening employer brand, improving workforce accessibility, and creating more diverse pathways into critical business roles.

The July 9 conversation with Trane Technologies offers a practical look at how HR leaders can move beyond traditional hiring models and build broader, more resilient talent pipelines through skills-based practices. Watch the recording to hear how Amy Volz and Katie Runey approached enterprise-wide role recredentialing, secured alignment, and created new pathways for candidates without four-year degrees - while strengthening business performance and workforce accessibility.

Continue the Conversation

Interested in more practical workforce innovation strategies? Join us at the 2027 i4cp Next Practices Now Conference to connect with HR leaders and learn from the latest next practices.

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.

Developing Senior Leaders for Tomorrow - Flash Call (i4cp login required)

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 23:18:00 GMT

Developing senior leaders has never been simple, but the challenge facing organizations today feels fundamentally different. Business leaders are navigating AI, rapid technological change, shifting workforce expectations, economic uncertainty, and increasingly complex operating environments, often all at once.

During this member requested Flash Call, talent and learning leaders from organizations including Intuitive Surgical, McCormick, Codexis, and others explored how they're identifying future leadership capabilities, balancing immediate business demands with long-term readiness, and rethinking traditional approaches to executive development.

AI at Work: How Levi Strauss Is Reimagining Work - 2026 Next Practices Weekly (i4cp login required)

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:44:00 GMT

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Bernard Bedon, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss & Co., for a timely conversation on how the iconic company is approaching AI transformation by starting not with technology, but with the work itself. Bedon described an approach centered on understanding how the business creates value, examining workflows and decisions, and then determining where technology can improve outcomes while preserving the human judgment, relationships, and expertise that matter most.

Cohosted by i4cp's Dr. John W. Boudreau and Tom Stone, the conversation explored HR's opportunity to play a central role in AI-enabled work redesign. Bedon shared how Levi Strauss is thinking about a "human-led hybrid workforce" - one in which people remain at the center while working alongside increasingly sophisticated technologies and digital agents. He also demonstrated how process and workflow mapping can help leaders move beyond abstract discussions about AI and make practical decisions about efficiency, effectiveness, employee and consumer experience, roles, decision rights, and the capabilities needed for the future.

Key Topics Discussed

Start with Work, Not AI. Redesign workflows around business outcomes first - then determine where AI can accelerate performance and where human expertise adds the greatest value.
Build a Human-Led Hybrid Workforce. Levi Strauss is keeping people at the center while integrating AI and digital agents to create new opportunities for productivity, innovation, and growth.
Redesign Work Before Reducing Roles. AI-driven productivity requires more than removing headcount. Leaders must rethink the work itself to capture value without creating new friction or undermining performance.
Make AI Transformation Tangible. Workflow mapping gives executive teams a practical way to identify pain points, clarify decisions, and pinpoint high-value opportunities for AI.
Optimize for the Right Outcome. The goal isn't always efficiency. HR leaders can help organizations intentionally design AI-enabled work around the right mix of effectiveness, efficiency, and employee and customer experience.

For Human Capital leaders, the session offered a practical blueprint for moving AI conversations from technology adoption to enterprise transformation. Bedon's examples show why HR's expertise in work design, organizational effectiveness, leadership, culture, and change is increasingly critical as AI reshapes organizations. Watch the recording to hear how Levi Strauss is translating these principles into action - and to identify ideas your organization can apply as it redesigns work for a human-led, AI-enabled future.

Resources Shared

i4cp Member Tool: Workflow Mapping Tool - Explore how AI can reshape workflows, identify opportunities for greater efficiency, and help redesign how work gets done.
2027 i4cp Next Practices Now Conference - Stay ahead of emerging HR trends at i4cp's 2027 Next Practices Now Conference, where HR executives gather in a vendor-free environment to gain practical insights and strategies that drive immediate impact. Register today

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.

How Mastercard’s Chief Learning Officer Is Scaling Leadership Development - 2026 Next Practices Weekly (i4cp login required)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:44:00 GMT

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Emily Lin, Chief Learning Officer at Mastercard, for a compelling discussion on how organizations can elevate leadership development from a collection of learning programs into an enterprise-wide capability that drives business strategy. Drawing on her experience leading learning and capability at one of the world's most innovative organizations, Lin shared how Mastercard aligns leadership development with business priorities, builds learning into the flow of work, and equips leaders to navigate continuous transformation.

Hosted by Kevin Wilde and Tom Stone, the conversation explored how learning leaders can create measurable business impact by focusing on performance, skills, AI fluency, and enterprise-wide leadership capability. Lin emphasized that effective leadership development begins by solving business problems, not simply delivering training, and requires a culture that balances high performance with deep care for employees.

Key Topics Discussed

Building Leadership Development as a Business Capability
Rather than treating leadership development as a standalone portfolio of programs, Lin encouraged organizations to position learning as a strategic business capability. Every leadership initiative should directly support enterprise priorities, strengthen organizational capability, and enable long-term business growth.
Connecting Learning Directly to Business Performance
Lin shared her performance-based philosophy for learning, encouraging HR and learning leaders to first identify the business challenge, determine workforce capability gaps, and then design learning solutions that deliver measurable organizational outcomes.
Scaling AI Fluency Across the Enterprise
Mastercard is moving beyond AI literacy toward enterprise-wide AI fluency. Lin discussed how organizations should enable employees, people leaders, and executives to safely integrate AI into everyday workflows, embedding learning directly into the flow of work to accelerate adoption and impact.
Creating an Enterprise-Wide Leadership Mindset
Leadership development at scale requires leaders to think beyond functional silos. Lin emphasized cultivating an enterprise-wide perspective that enables stronger collaboration, better decision-making, and greater alignment with organizational strategy.
Building a High-Ambition, High-Care Culture
One of Mastercard's distinguishing characteristics is its commitment to pairing ambitious business goals with genuine care for employees. Lin highlighted how leadership development should reinforce both accountability and empathy, helping leaders create environments where people can thrive while delivering exceptional business results.

Emily's practical insights offered a valuable roadmap for learning and HR leaders looking to modernize leadership development in an era of constant change. From connecting learning investments to business outcomes to preparing leaders for an AI-enabled future, the discussion was filled with actionable strategies that organizations of any size can begin applying today. If you missed the live session - or want to revisit the conversation - be sure to watch the recording to hear firsthand how Mastercard is scaling leadership development to drive enterprise performance, strengthen leadership pipelines, and prepare leaders for what's next.

Resources Shared

Designed for Disruption - Download the Report: Future-ready organizations don't just adapt - they're built for disruption. Explore the agility routines driving performance in this latest research from Institute for Corporate Productivity. Access the Designed for Disruption report.

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.

AI Fluency with S&P Global’s Chief People Officer - 2026 Next Practices Weekly (i4cp login required)

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:47:00 GMT

Next Practices Weekly welcomed Girish Ganesan, Chief People Officer at S&P Global, for a forward-looking discussion on what it truly takes to build an AI-fluent workforce. Rather than positioning AI as a standalone technology initiative, Ganesan shared how S&P Global is embedding AI into its broader business transformation strategy - equipping employees with both technical AI capabilities and the uniquely human power skills that will define future success. Throughout the conversation, he emphasized that organizations must balance rapid technological advancement with curiosity, trust, continuous learning, and human judgment to create sustainable business value.

Hosted by i4cp's Beverly Parnell and Tom Stone, the discussion explored how HR leaders can lead enterprise-wide AI transformation by redefining workforce readiness, evolving learning strategies, and preparing leaders and employees alike for new ways of working. Attendees left with practical insights for building AI confidence across the organization, fostering a culture of experimentation, and ensuring that human capabilities remain a competitive advantage in an increasingly AI-enabled workplace.

Key Topics Discussed

Building AI Fluency as a Business Transformation - Not a Training Initiative
Ganesan challenged organizations to move beyond viewing AI as another learning program. Instead, he encouraged HR leaders to treat AI adoption as an enterprise transformation effort that aligns workforce strategy, leadership, culture, and business outcomes.
Balancing AI Skills with Human Power Skills
S&P Global's AI learning curriculum intentionally combines technical AI literacy with critical human capabilities including judgment, curiosity, adaptability, collaboration, and influence. These skills help employees apply AI responsibly while preserving trust and strengthening decision-making.
Creating AI Confidence Across the Workforce
Rather than attempting to turn every employee into an AI expert, S&P Global has focused on creating AI confidence for everyone. Enterprise-wide learning, accessible AI education, and practical experimentation are helping employees embrace AI regardless of role or technical background.
Culture as the Foundation for AI Adoption
Successful AI implementation depends less on technology than on organizational culture. Ganesan emphasized that curiosity, continuous learning, integrity, and respect enable employees to embrace change while maintaining the human-centered values customers and colleagues expect.
Turning Experimentation into Enterprise Value
Through initiatives such as enterprise hackathons, dedicated AI leadership within HR, and cross-functional collaboration, S&P Global is moving beyond AI pilots toward measurable business impact. HR plays a central role in helping scale successful use cases across the organization while supporting long-term workforce transformation.

Resources Shared

Designed for Disruption - Download the Report: Future-ready organizations don't just adapt - they're built for disruption. Explore the agility routines driving performance in this latest research from Institute for Corporate Productivity. Access the Designed for Disruption report

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.

i4cp 2026 Conference Introductory Session (i4cp login required)

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Hear from thought leader Kevin Oakes, author of the bestselling book Culture Renovation®, as he offers his predictions for the year ahead and outlines the challenges (and opportunities) HR leaders face. You'll also gain insight into what to expect from i4cp in 2026 from our new CEO, Terry Waters.

Coaching as a Superpower (i4cp login required)

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Angela Beatty spent a decade at Accenture leading talent transformations, most recently focused on AI. After stepping away from the CHRO role this past January, she used the transition to build a new capability—enrolling in Brown University's ACT leadership and performance coaching program, which combines neuroscience with 100 hours of coaching practice.

What she found is that coaching is widely misunderstood—and significantly underutilized by HR leaders.

The Work HR Leaders Already Do

Consider the conversations that define a typical week in HR leadership: aligning a fragmented executive team, advising high performers on advancement, helping CEOs address decision bottlenecks, guiding managers through difficult feedback, and supporting employees navigating burnout or personal challenges.

Increasingly, those conversations also include uncertainty around AI: What does this mean for my role? What should I do next?

Beatty's point: this is what HR leaders do all day, and it is exactly the territory where coaching is the right tool. You're already in the room. You already have the trust. The only question is whether you're using the most effective skill for the moment.

Coaching is Not Mentoring

Here's where Beatty got honest about herself. For years, she thought she had been coaching people. Looking back, she realized she was mostly mentoring, advising, and consulting. All valuable. None of them are coaching.

The differences matter:

Mentoring is topic-focused; coaching is client-focused.
Mentoring solves problems; coaching generates new possibilities.
Mentoring relies on expertise; coaching develops underlying mindsets.
Mentoring is directive; coaching is collaborative.
Mentoring offers advice; coaching relies on inquiry.

The leadership shift Beatty is asking for is moving from being the advice-giver to being the thinking partner.

In practice, this shift is reflected in language. Mentors often say, "If I were you …" or "What you need to do is …" Coaches ask, "What is most important to you?" or "What outcome are you aiming for?" or "How will you move forward?"

When was the last time you caught yourself saying "If I were you" when the more useful move would have been a question?

Why Coaching Works

Beatty spent a minute on why coaching is effective at the brain level, because this is where it stops being a soft skill and becomes something closer to a biological advantage.

Picture a senior executive walking into a high-stakes C-suite meeting. They're capable. They have the idea. They sit through the whole conversation and don't say it. Afterward, they tell you, "I had it. I just didn't speak up."

The standard feedback is "be more confident" or "you need to speak up more." Neuroscience says something else is going on. The brain is reading that room as a social threat. Status, reputation, and evaluation are all on the line. As David Rock describes Coaching with the Brain in Mind, even mild uncontrollable stress degrades the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for strategic thinking, decision-making, emotional regulation, and executive presence.

fMRI research shows that social threat lights up the same brain regions as physical pain, particularly the anterior cingulate cortex. So those high-stakes leadership moments are not just business situations. They are neurological threat events. When the brain detects threat, it pulls resources away from the prefrontal cortex and reroutes them to more reactive, survival-based systems.

What we label a confidence problem is often a brain-under-threat problem. Coaching helps people get back above the line where their best thinking actually lives.

Above the Line, Below the Line

Beatty showed a simple sketch of a stick figure standing above a horizontal line and a second one crouched below it. Above the line, you're open, curious, and committed to learning. Below the line, you're closed, defensive, and committed to being right.  

All of us live on both sides of that line. The question is what put us below it.

She invited the room to do something quietly: think of a recent moment, at work or at home, where you weren't showing up as your best self. Not because you didn't know what to do, but because something got triggered. What was actually happening underneath?

That question is the entry point to coaching yourself, and it's the same question you can offer to someone else.

The Coaching Mindset

Beatty outlined four core shifts required to coach effectively:

Center on the client's agenda. The role is not to solve your version of the problem, but to help the individual clarify what matters most to them.
Be present and curious. Effective coaching requires active listening, adaptability and inquiry—especially when something does not immediately make sense.
Assume capability. Individuals are not "fixed"; they are resourceful and able to generate solutions.
Focus on the person, not just the issue. The underlying thinking patterns and assumptions are often more important than the immediate topic.

Listening at a Deeper Level

If there is one skill to take home, Beatty said it's how you listen. There are three levels.

Level 1 is listening to yourself. Someone is talking and you are mostly tracking your own thoughts: what do I think, what should I say next, how does this relate to me? Completely natural, completely self-focused.

Level 2 is listening to their topic. You're tracking their words, their tone, their meaning. This is where most of us operate when we're being intentional, and it's already a step up from Level 1.

Level 3 is listening to the person and their relationship to the topic. You're picking up energy, emotion, what is not being said, the bigger picture underneath the words.

Try this with the next conversation you have today. When the other person is talking, where is your attention? Are you mostly rehearsing what you'll say, tracking their words, or noticing what's underneath? Most of us discover we live in Level 1 more than we'd like to admit.

Coaching in the Age of AI

Angela closed by looking forward. We're moving toward a workforce where machines process information, generate content, and scale insight, and humans interpret, decide, collaborate, and lead. Those four human verbs are exactly what coaching strengthens.

In the conversations she's having with CEOs and boards, she hears the same realization landing: AI is not just a technology transformation. It's a human transformation. If that's true, coaching gets more important, not less.

She saw this firsthand at Accenture. The team built and scaled an AI-enabled performance feedback coach to help people give effective feedback to each other. What was interesting to her wasn't the technology. It was why it worked. The AI wasn't replacing coaching. It was reinforcing the core principles of coaching at scale.

How Will You Use Your Superpower?

Beatty's closing was a direct one: every HR leader in the room has the chance, every day, to lift up people, leaders, and organizations through coaching. The question is whether you'll pick the tool up.

Action items

Run a Level 3 listening check on yourself this week. Remember the three levels: Level 1 is listening to your own thoughts, Level 2 is tracking the other person's words, and Level 3 is picking up the energy, emotion, and meaning underneath. After your next three one-on-ones, ask yourself honestly which level you were operating at. The point isn't to feel bad about Level 1. It's to notice the pattern, because you can't shift what you don't see.

Catch yourself in the act of mentoring when coaching is the better move. Pay attention to phrases like "If I were you" or "What you need to do is" or "That reminds me of when I…" When you hear yourself starting one of those sentences, stop and ask a question instead. The shift from advice-giver to thinking partner happens one conversation at a time, and 1:1s are where most managers slide back into advice mode without noticing. A Leader's Guide to Optimize 1:1s is a research-informed, two-page editable template that structures the conversation around six elements (trust, purpose, development, accountability, strategy, alignment) and explicitly calls for the direct report to lead half the meeting. That structural cue alone forces the shift Angela is describing.

Build a small bank of coaching questions you can pull from. Angela offered several worth keeping close: What is important to you about this? What impact is this having on you? What do you want this to look like a year from now? What are you learning? How will you put this into action? These work in nearly any conversation where someone brings you a problem.

When you're about to label something a confidence problem, ask whether it's actually a threat-response problem. This reframe matters because the interventions are completely different. Telling someone to "be more confident" doesn't change what their brain is doing in a threat state. Helping them lower the perceived threat does.

Treat tough feedback conversations as a coaching moment, and prepare for them like one. "How do I give this feedback without demoralizing the person?" was one of the questions Angela named as showing up on HR leaders' desks every week, and it's exactly the kind of high-stakes moment where managers default to either avoidance or bluntness. Research from i4cp and the USC Center for Effective Organizations links strong feedback cultures to higher profit margins, better retention, and improved return on equity.

Two i4cp resources help managers prepare with more structure.

The Performance Feedback Coach, an AI assistant built on six widely used feedback models, lets managers and peers work through real scenarios and practice delivering feedback before the actual conversation.

Performance Conversations Made Easy is a card deck (inspired by a tool one of our member organizations built) that gives managers prompts to make feedback conversations easier and more productive. Use the above-the-line, below-the-line frame in your own self-awareness practice before you use it on anyone else. When you notice yourself getting closed, defensive, or committed to being right, name it. The moment you can see it, you have the option to come back up. [Check for additional i4cp tool references — leadership development or self-awareness resources]

Where in your own week could a coaching question replace a piece of advice you were about to give?

Remote Work Actually Works: Unlocking People Leadership | Akamai | i4cp 2026 Conference (i4cp login required)

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Anthony Williams, EVP & CHRO, Akamai Technologies & Amber Burton, Sr. Research Analyst, i4cp

Today, "where we work" is constantly debated. Akamai's Flexbase strategy proves that location is secondary to leadership. Productivity isn't defined by a desk in an office; it's defined by effective people leadership and a commitment to culture, community, and connection.

In this fireside chat, Anthony will dive into the heart of why Akamai's workplace flexibility succeeds. The hybrid, flexible model (termed "Flexbase"), allows for work on/off site for over 95% of its employees. Launched in May 2022, this program allows employees the autonomy to decide where they work best - from their homes, a traditional office space, or a blend of both. Join us to learn how they are doing things differently, and leading differently, to ensure their teams remain high-performing, connected, and supported, regardless of geography.

Leading through Integration: Bringing Together Unique Workforces | NRG | i4cp 2026 Conference (i4cp login required)

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Peter Johnson, SVP, Head of Talent & Culture, NRG Energy

When NRG acquired Vivint in 2023, our workforce more than doubled overnight—jumping from 6,000 to over 15,000 employees. But with this expansion came a challenge: integrating two vastly different workplace cultures. The corporate, structured environment of NRG met the dynamic, entrepreneurial spirit of Vivint, creating a unique crossroads that tested our adaptability and leadership.

Mergers and acquisitions often spark uncertainty, and this transition was no exception. Combining teams, redefining roles, and fostering a unified culture required deliberate effort—but the payoff was extraordinary. Through collaboration and commitment, our employees embraced the journey, shaping a bigger, better NRG in the process.

As Peter Drucker famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Navigating cultural integration isn't just important—it's essential for long-term success. The challenges, breakthroughs, and triumphs of merging two large companies have forged a stronger, more versatile organization ready for the future."

Wisdom at Work: An Undervalued Strategic Asset (i4cp login required)

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

At the 2026 i4cp Next Practices Now Conference, Chip Conley and John Boudreau argued that wisdom—not knowledge—is the human advantage AI cannot replicate. The question for HR leaders is whether organizations are managing it intentionally.

For decades, work rewarded those who knew the most and moved the fastest. But in a world where knowledge is searchable, scalable and increasingly generated by AI, that advantage is eroding.

What retains—and may increase—its value is wisdom.

Not expertise. Not tenure.

Wisdom, as Conley defined it, is "metabolized experience, mindfully shared for the common good." It emerges when individuals reflect on experience, distill insights and share them in ways others can apply.

That distinction matters. Knowledge can be stored and retrieved on demand. Wisdom must be developed. AI can synthesize information and identify patterns, but it cannot draw on lived experience to form judgment. Organizations that recognize and leverage that difference will have an advantage.

Experience is the raw material. Wisdom is what individuals make of it.

Conley illustrated this through his own experience at Airbnb. He joined at age 52, when the company's average employee age was 26, and described his role as a "mentern"—both mentor and intern. He contributed business perspective, emotional intelligence and pattern recognition, while learning speed, digital fluency and new ways of thinking from younger colleagues.

The exchange worked because it was reciprocal.

The insight is not about age; it is about the intersection of different forms of value—experience, curiosity, technical skill, judgment and fresh perspective. Organizations benefit when they create conditions for that exchange to happen consistently.

Conley's "kitchen" metaphor reinforced the point. A 70-year-old may have 70 ingredients but lack the ability to combine them effectively. A 30-year-old may have fewer inputs and still produce a strong outcome. Experience alone does not ensure wisdom.

Experience provides inputs. Reflection and application create value.

A Tension Leaders Recognize

That perspective resonated with many leaders. In a post-session reflection, one executive described the pressure to build AI fluency while managing an already complex role. What shifted was not her commitment to learning, but her understanding of where she adds value.

Her role is not to master every new tool. It is to apply judgment, provide context and guide better decision-making.

This framing avoids two common traps: overestimating the need to become a technical expert, or disengaging from AI entirely. The goal is to understand what AI enables—and where human leadership remains essential.

Managing Knowledge vs. Managing Wisdom

Most organizations are effective at managing knowledge. They document processes, scale expertise and capture information.

Few are equally intentional about managing wisdom—helping employees reflect, share judgment and learn across roles, levels and generations.

That gap presents an opportunity.

Closing it does not require a large-scale initiative. It requires targeted practices and greater visibility into where wisdom already exists.

What Intentional Wisdom Management Looks Like

Map it. Identify who employees seek out for perspective beyond formal reporting lines. Informal networks often reveal where judgment resides.
Make it mutual. Pair employees across generations and functions with an expectation of two-way learning. Different strengths—technical fluency, pattern recognition, systems thinking—should be exchanged, not transferred in one direction.
Design for it. Build teams with varied experience levels. Diverse perspectives can improve decision quality by balancing speed, context and judgment.
Reflect on it. Incorporate structured reflection into leadership routines. A simple prompt—What was your most important lesson this quarter, and how will you apply it?—can convert experience into shared insight.
Reframe it. Move away from measuring leadership by speed of answers. In an AI-enabled environment, value increasingly comes from framing better questions, connecting insights and enabling sound judgment across teams.

The traditional model rewarded those with answers. The emerging model rewards those who ask better questions and help others translate experience into judgment.

As knowledge becomes more accessible, wisdom may become the differentiator—if organizations are deliberate about cultivating and applying it.

Cloud HQ: Designing a Distributed Culture that Outlasts Disruption | Zillow | i4cp 2026 Conference (i4cp login required)

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Speaker: Dan Spaulding, Chief People Officer, Zillow

In 2020, Zillow made a bold strategic decision: go distributed-first and unlock access to the best talent anywhere. Six years in, that model drives tangible business results and has redefined how a growing business can operate. In this session, Zillow shares the lessons learned and the challenges still to solve.