💥 AI disruption? Transformation is the norm - HR is the constant

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💥 AI disruption? Transformation is the norm - HR is the constant

🎯 From chaos to clarity: How one HR leader took the lead

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AI disruption? Transformation is the norm - HR is the constant

Let’s not sugar-coat it — AI landed. And suddenly, everyone’s an expert. We’re being told what to implement, what to fear, and which miracle solution to buy. “Advice” is flying at us from every angle, yet nearly ALL of it ignores the single most important thing: us.

HR.

Because while AI is today’s headline, it’s merely the latest disruption in a long line of business transformations. And we’ve been here for them all. 

Think about it. Over the past 50 years, we’ve navigated some seismic shifts in how we work:

Each one disrupted how business operated. And every time, HR didn’t just survive — we recalibrated, adapted and we kept the business moving forward. We are the enablers of change.

And yet, in every one of those moments, we felt what many of us are feeling right now: overwhelmed. The pace of change triggers fear, making challenges look bigger than they are. Our brains shut down. We freeze or shut off completely. That’s natural, but it’s not where we stay.

So here’s my answer to the question above and what I remind every HR leader I coach when they hit that wall:

1. Centre yourself in the value you bring as an HR leader

Our strength isn’t in implementing every shiny new tool. It’s in enabling people, teams, and leadership to function as one to achieve our business goals. 

At a strategic level, we coach, align and drive business change. We work with exec leaders to focus and tackle the biggest business challenges — together.

At a functional level, we build the infrastructure that moves strategy into action. Hiring, performance, reward, development — every system and process is designed to reinforce the outcomes the business needs to achieve.

2. Your focus hasn’t change: Business problem first, solution second

Trendy doesn’t mean useful. Whether it’s adopting an AI tool or implementing a benefit, every solution should solve a real, defined business and people problem. If we don’t know what we’re fixing, we’ll waste time, money and energy.

And never never forget this

If any function can rally an organisation, can unite people around a shared goal — it’s us. 

So if fear has crept in, if the noise is distracting and if you feel the weight of every ‘must-do’ is piling up…pause. Breathe. Centre yourself. Then do what we’ve always done best: lead the change.

From chaos to clarity: How one HR leader took the lead

Let me tell you about an HR leader I’ve been coaching, let’s call her Anna.

Anna felt stuck. She wasn’t just under pressure to deliver her HR roadmap, her company was sprinting on multiple fronts: embedding AI, scaling revenue from their core product and staying competitive in a volatile market. Everything felt urgent. And it wasn’t just her — every exec was sprinting, but with no clear direction.

How could she prioritise when the business itself wasn’t clear on where it was heading? Uncertainty is part of start-up life. But when leadership fails to define even the next 12 months, it turns into chaos, and eventually burnout.

Step 1: Identify – What are we solving for?

Anna could’ve sat in frustration, hoping her founder would magically “clarify the strategy.” Instead, she stepped up as an exec and recognised she had the skills to coach her founder to get specific: What must the business prioritise in the next 12 months to survive and grow?

It took her a couple of months, but the answer brought focus. Yes, AI was the long game, but the now was scaling their core product. To unlock the next round of funding, they needed go-to-market repeatability. That clarity cut through the noise and gave Anna (and the whole team) a real anchor for action.

Though she’s leading long-term AI transformation for long-term organisational efficiency, she focused her energy on solving the most pressing business challenge first.

Step 2: Diagnose – Understand the present state

She began mapping the full customer acquisition journey. Like most start-ups, Sales, Marketing and Customer Success (CS) each owned part of the funnel. But as she dug deeper, one thing became clear: no one owned the whole journey. There was no cross-functional view. Everyone was operating in their ‘lane’ — efficiently, but in isolation.

That lack of visibility was the real problem. Without a shared view, no one could optimise the funnel — blocking their critical goal: go-to-market repeatability!

Step 3: Develop – Design targeted interventions

Anna rallied the Sales, Marketing and CS leaders and raised this gap with the founder. She proposed a cross-functional workshop to review the customer journey and uncover the blind spots. That session is now part of their offsite this month – she is leading that discussion (Read: HR front and centre!).

She also made a deliberate choice: pause the HR initiatives that are not urgent. With day-to-day HR ops stable, her focus is sharp — no nice-to-haves. Solve the business-critical problem first.

Step 4: Intervene – Implement the solution

This is the easy part for HR leaders, we know our specialist craft. The real heavy lift was strategic: getting her founder and exec team aligned on priorities for the next 12 months.

Now that Anna’s done that, she’s ready to act. Depending on what emerges from the offsite, HR interventions could include:

*GTM = go-to-market (marketing, sales & CS)

Step 5: Measure – Track the right outcomes

When Anna measures the outcome of the solution, she won’t just track HR metrics like time-to-hire or engagement. She’ll be accountable for the same outcomes her peers care about — conversion, velocity and growth across the customer journey. She’s not just at the table as an HR Leader. She’s owning her seat as a Business Leader (who just happens to specialise in HR 😉).

The first step is the hardest

The 5 steps above are OD (Organisational Development) in action. It’s systems thinking and the ability to step beyond just ‘people issues’ and see the full picture: how people, processes and structures connect to drive business outcomes.

So, if you’re stuck in the chaos, just focus on the first step. Get clear on what the business truly needs right now. 

Once you do, the next step becomes clearer. Then the next.

Scaling your start-up?

Let’s make sure your leadership, people and org are ready. Here are 3 ways I can help:

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