Latest news with #HumanIntelligence
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Courage To Lead With Values In An Age Of Uncertainty: Insights From Workhuman Live 2025
Eric Mosley takes the stage at Workhuman Live 2025 to share how Human Intelligence is transforming ... More the workplace. I came into Workhuman Live 2025 with a question I was eager to explore: In a moment defined by acute disruption and technological acceleration, what does it take to lead with clarity and conviction, meeting the needs of both the business and people in it? Our speakers and attendees were posing the same question. Across every stage and side chat, I saw a thread running through the conversation: the importance of values, and how staying aligned to those values can drive forward both employee wellbeing and business performance. The theme of the week soon became clear: In times of uncertainty, values are cultural anchors. And the moral courage to stand by them is a leadership differentiator. As Kelly Jones, EVP and Chief People Officer at Cisco, put it in our Wednesday panel: 'Leadership without moral courage is weak tea.' As Kelly explained, oftentimes, when you're in times of disruption, employees want to know where you stand. 'This is the moral courage part,' she explained. 'Your culture comes to life through what you do, not what you say. And so you know, these moments of being able to communicate often and inclusively about who you are and where you stand on these things are very important.' But to act with courage, leaders need more than just instinct or good intentions. They also need visibility into the unbiased truth of their organizations: how people work, where culture thrives or breaks down, and where values are lived or lost. Moral courage doesn't mean having all the answers. It does mean being willing to seek out the truth. And this points to the other major threads of the conference: Having curiosity and seeking answers even when it's hard. In other words, finding and building on better data. Adam Grant reminded us of this in his keynote, urging attendees to seek out the truth about their own leadership and organizations. Finding a source of truth is important, he noted, even if it is uncomfortable or leaders feel uncertain. As Trevor Noah also observed in his keynote, 'Fear is an interesting emotion in that it lives in uncertainty. It breathes in uncertainty. And so there are a lot of leaders who are unsure, but I don't think a leader needs to be sure. What a good leader needs to be is communicative.' Culture, Clarity, and Alignment Moral courage and values may be the north star, but to lead with them consistently, you also have to see clearly how they are being practiced across your organization: where your culture is thriving, where it's under strain, and how people are actually experiencing work. Kerry Dryburgh, Chief Human Resource Officer of bp, offered a powerful example of this during our CHRO panel, reflecting on the company's decision to exit Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. It was a decision made quickly, but with a deep conviction rooted in bp's values. As Kerry explained, it wasn't just a political or financial choice. It was a people one. A recognition that you can't hold a values statement in one hand and do something misaligned with the other. That kind of clarity – knowing what matters, and acting on it – demands both insight and courage. But even with strong values, alignment doesn't happen by accident. It takes intentional leadership at every level of the organization. 'I think the first thing you have to think about is what's right in what context,' Kerry said. 'And it doesn't always mean that everything has to be the same… building authentic leaders, because at the end of the day, any moment for an employee is very largely impacted by the teams they work with and the leaders they work for.' It means making sure your people understand where the company is going, and how their work connects to that journey. 'Individuals tend to be more energized and motivated when they can see a direct line of sight between the company goals and what they're actually focused on,' Kerry said. 'So you've got a line of sight to outcomes and are rewarding accordingly.' But when that clarity is present, and when people feel seen, informed, and connected to the mission, it transforms the experience of work and business results. Human Intelligence as a Tool for Courageous Leadership This idea – that you don't need certainty to lead, but you do need clarity – is where many of our discussions this week converged. And, of course, getting to the truth starts with the right data. Whether feedback, answers, or people data, as Kelly Jones from Cisco said: 'Your data has got to be good or this will not work.' She reminded us during her session that no AI platform, however sophisticated, can create meaningful results without first starting with high-quality data. That's where Human Intelligence comes in. It's where values, data, and action converge, and where leaders can ensure they have the clarity to lead with both conviction and confidence. Recognition data as a source is uniquely powerful in this way because it is voluntary and specific, reflecting how work actually happens in an organization. It captures the informal networks, hidden contributions, and behaviors that don't always show up in traditional systems. That makes it a vital tool for aligning people with values, surfacing influence, and understanding the lived experience of culture in real time. Recognition itself functions first as a values-alignment tool, revealing who is modeling your organization's principles, where momentum is building, and where attention is needed. It shows not just what is rewarded, but what is remembered. And when used intentionally, it helps reinforce purpose and direction at every level of the business. Combined with AI, recognition also becomes a values measurement tool. Too often, leaders rely on lagging indicators or incomplete survey data to assess culture, skills, and engagement. But Human Intelligence offers real-time insight into what's working, what's shifting, and where leaders need to lean in. That kind of visibility supports better decisions, grounded not in assumptions, but in patterns of actual behavior. And critically, Human Intelligence is a performance engine. When leaders are working from clean, behavior-based data instead of fragmented, transactional metrics, they can invest in what's creating value, course-correct where needed, and scale what's working. As I shared in my keynote, we are surrounded by behavioral data in the workplace, but most of it is locked inside messy systems. Unlocking that data and making it visible, usable, and human-centered gives leaders a foundation not just for culture and performance but also for confidence and more ethical decision-making. And in a world where values and performance are increasingly intertwined, that source of truth is essential. Moral Courage Is Not a Solo Sport: Community as Infrastructure Of course, even the strongest values can falter in isolation. Courage is easier to summon when you're not the only one carrying it. That's why I was especially proud to help launch the WSJ Chief People Officer Council at Workhuman Live 2025, a new peer forum created by The WSJ Leadership Institute in partnership with Workhuman. At a time when people leaders are being asked to lead through transformation, uphold culture, drive performance, and navigate intense social scrutiny all at once, this kind of space is crucial. The Council reflects the growing reality that CPOs and CHROs have become co-authors of the business agenda. And this council will be a space for bold ideas, real influence, and shared experience in leading through the complexity of our time. Trevor Noah issued a challenge to our audience on Wednesday to 'Be curious, so that fear is not the emotion you're experiencing.' The CPO Council is designed for just that sort of curiosity. It will be a place where questions are welcome, doubt is respected, and progress is built through collective curiosity. What It Takes to See – and Lead – Clearly If I emerged from this week with one insight, it is that in times of noise, the real competitive advantage is clarity. Clarity of purpose. Clarity of culture. Clarity of data. Clarity about what your organization stands for, and how that shows up in action. And moral clarity, which cuts across every aspect of people leadership and every topic on our agenda – from business performance to AI transformation, to DEI. As Valeisha Butterfield said during our panel: 'We determined that [DEI] was good for business, not just because it was a popular thing to do, and then holding the line and saying, 'This is good for my company. This is good for my industry. We're seeing gains. We're seeing bottom-line returns. So we're going to have courage in this moment, because we know, not only that it's the right thing to do, but it's actually good for our business.' That kind of courage may emerge as a defining trait of leadership in the AI era. The future of people leadership will belong to those brave enough to act in alignment with their values – with clarity, connection, and at scale. When data makes values visible, and community makes them actionable, leaders are equipped not only to respond, but to lead with courage. You can learn more about the CPO Council at
Business Wire
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
A Decade of Human Connection: Workhuman Wraps It's Tenth Workhuman Live Conference; Announces Workhuman Live 2026 in Orlando, Florida
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Workhuman ®, the world's leading employee recognition company, wrapped the tenth instance of its flagship event Workhuman Live, in Denver, where thousands of HR leaders gathered to reimagine what it means to create thriving workplace cultures. This year's Workhuman Live wasn't just a look ahead—it was a mirror held up to the profession. It asked HR leaders not just to adapt to change, but to own it. To stop supporting from the sidelines and start architecting the future of work with data, dignity, and bold decisions. From May 12–15, thousands of HR leaders, practitioners, and executives from around the globe gathered. The mainstage came alive with headlining speakers like Trevor Noah, Adam Grant, and a who's who of industry trailblazers, offering fresh insight into leadership, workplace culture, and the human experience at work. Workhuman customers shared how they're using recognition not as a perk, but as a performance strategy—showing measurable impact on engagement, retention, and inclusion. 'Workhuman Live has become more than a conference—it's an entire movement,' said Tom Libretto, President of Workhuman. 'It's where people leaders come to recharge, rethink their impact, and return to their organizations with the tools and momentum to build better workplaces.' And this year's event proved that the work of the HR industry has never been more important. Among the many highlights, Workhuman and The Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute announced the launch of the inaugural CPO Council —a first-of-its-kind coalition bringing together visionary Chief People Officers to elevate the role of HR in shaping strategic business outcomes. The Council represents a bold step forward in redefining the impact of people leaders at the highest levels of the enterprise. Innovations in Human Intelligence: Turning Recognition into a Live View of Workplace Culture Another defining moment of this year's event was the debut of Workhuman Topics™, the newest addition to Workhuman's Human Intelligence™ suite. Topics uses advanced AI to turn recognition moments into a living, breathing map of how strategic priorities—like inclusion, innovation, or leadership behaviors—are actually showing up in the culture. No forms to fill out. No added workload. Just continuous, real-time insight into how values and strategies are being reinforced across every team, function, and geography. Topics is the newest innovation in Workhuman's launch of Human Intelligence—new AI-powered tools that help companies understand what's really happening in their culture. While others focus on giving rewards, Workhuman leverages recognition data to help leaders see who's making an impact, how teams are working together, and where support is needed. Workhuman Live 2026 The next frontier of business isn't digital, it's human. In a world driven by AI and automation, Workhuman is calling HR to lead with purpose, insight, and recognition as a growth lever. HR leaders are encouraged to enhance their learning, networking, and professional growth at Workhuman Live 2026, which will take place April 27–30, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. Early registration is now open at and code WHL26PRESS will provide a 20% discount. As attendees head back to their organizations, the message is clear: Workhuman is leading the next era of HR. One where recognition fuels performance, culture becomes a competitive advantage, and human intelligence drives business growth. About Workhuman Workhuman ® is the world's leading recognition and rewards platform, serving organizations of all sizes—from the Fortune 500 to fast-growing mid-market companies—across more than 180 countries. With over 25 years of category leadership, we support 7 million employees worldwide and have facilitated more than 100 million moments of connection that elevate culture and drive performance. With over a decade of consistent profitability, Workhuman ® stands as proof that investing in people delivers lasting business value. Our pioneering Human Intelligence™ technology transforms recognition into strategic insight, empowering organizations to unlock the full potential of their people while driving measurable business impact and culture transformation. Learn more at
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
AI Can't Lead, But Agentic AI Can Find Your Leaders – If You Let It
Powered by good data, agentic AI can dynamically map skills across your workforce, revealing hidden ... More strengths and untapped potential. Leadership is one of the most complex and uniquely human capabilities we have. It draws on emotional intelligence, judgment, communication, and the ability to bring others along toward a shared goal. And over the years, we've gotten better at developing those qualities. We invest in coaching. We create growth pathways. We give people stretch assignments to help them build confidence and perspective. When it comes to nurturing leadership, we've made real progress. But spotting the next generation of leaders? That's where we still often struggle. We've built systems to identify 'high-potentials.' We've leaned on résumés, performance reviews, and succession plans. Sometimes we go outside the organization hoping for a fresh perspective or a quick win. And yet, time and again, we find ourselves asking: How did we miss that person? We miss them because the tools we've used were designed for a different kind of workplace – one where leadership was tied to hierarchy, and success followed a fairly straight line. But today, the signals of real leadership – collaboration, creativity, influence – are much harder to pin down. They show up in unexpected places and aren't always captured in a KPI or performance review. As a result, the people doing the most meaningful work, the ones holding teams together or moving projects forward, can easily go unnoticed. That's where things are shifting. We now have something new at our disposal: a different kind of AI, known as agentic AI. Unlike traditional systems that simply report back, this technology actively assists. In the case of Workhuman's AI Assistant, it can scan for emerging patterns across your workforce, surface hidden strengths, and offer recommendations you might not have seen coming. In essence, it works like a digital Strategic Talent Advisor – constantly learning, always observing, and ready with insight that helps you act. When used with care and intention, this AI doesn't make work less human. In fact, it makes our decisions more human, because by using human data derived from information-dense sources, it helps us see the potential that was always there in our people. AI Is Already Better Than Humans at Spotting Talent As much as we'd all like to think we're good at recognizing potential, the truth is we're working with some built-in limitations. Managers, understandably, tend to reward the people they see most often or hear from the loudest. HR systems still lean heavily on output and tenure, rather than influence or collaboration. And bias – in all its forms, unconscious or otherwise – creeps in quietly, distorting who gets noticed. That's where AI already helps a lot – and in particular what we call Human Intelligence™, or HI. When it's analyzing the right kinds of signals – like who people turn to for help, who gets recognized by peers, who bridges teams – it starts to reveal a different picture of leadership based on actual day-to-day impact. And what's fascinating is how often that picture surprises us. I've seen examples where a mid-level specialist turned out to be one of the most influential people in a global organization – not because they managed the biggest team, but because they were the person everyone trusted to solve tough problems. And that insight didn't come from their résumé or review. It came through behavioral signals that traditional tools tend to miss – patterns of recognition from peers, paired with an AI Strategic Talent Advisor. How Agentic AI Changes the Talent Game I don't mean ChatGPT. Unlike generative AI, which creates content or ideas, agentic AI is focused on achieving outcomes. As technologist Bernard Marr has put it: 'Generative AI is about producing something new, while agentic AI is about achieving something specific. One creates, and the other acts.' And that's exactly what makes agentic AI such a compelling fit for talent strategy. It surfaces insights – but it also proactively recommends action. It can suggest the right person for a high-stakes project, flag early signs of attrition, or identify someone whose influence is quietly growing across the organization. Agentic AI can say, 'Here's someone who's emerging as a leader in your culture – maybe it's time they were given a new opportunity.' It can flag when someone's influence is growing or when a team might be at risk of losing a key contributor because their talents aren't being recognized. In that sense, agentic AI can help organizations do something they've always wanted to do but haven't been able to pull off at scale: make talent decisions based on real impact, not just visibility. The promise here is massive and far from theoretical. As Marr also wrote, 'While previous iterations of AI focused on making predictions or generating content, we're now witnessing the emergence of something far more sophisticated: AI agents that can independently perform complex tasks and make decisions.' That shift – from insight to orchestration – is what puts agentic AI in a category of its own. It's also what makes agentic AI such a compelling fit for talent strategy. It can recommend which team should take on a high-stakes project, or identify your next generation of leaders. It can suggest succession paths, flag flight risk, and help orchestrate everything from mentorship to mobility. Great, right? But there's a catch. And it's a big one. The data. Another futurist, Kolawole Samuel Adebayo put it succinctly: 'While data remains the cornerstone of AI performance, it's also the biggest bottleneck for agentic AI. AI agents are only as good as their data.' That's the part of the conversation that's often overlooked – and is arguably one of the most important. The Data Hygiene Problem The truth is talent management has a big data problem. Most organizations are still feeding their AI systems data that's either incomplete, transactional, or unintentionally biased. Things like self-assessments, old performance reviews, or even data that was generated by other AI systems. When that happens, the results can look intelligent on the surface – but they're often just reinforcing the same blind spots leaders were already struggling with. It's a bit like building a high-powered telescope and then pointing it at a foggy window. No matter how sophisticated the technology is, if the input is flawed, the insight will be too. So, what does good data look like? In my experience working with many global Fortune 500 companies who are focused on building great places to work – one thing is clear. The most valuable signals come from records of human interactions – especially moments of peer-to-peer recognition. These are real-time, voluntary, and often unfiltered reflections of how people work together, solve problems, and support one another. They show influence, not just output. They capture leadership in motion – not just in theory. This is why we've been intentional about how we use AI in our platform. For instance, we don't let generative AI write recognition moments. That may seem counterintuitive in this AI-obsessed moment, but there's a reason. Those moments carry emotional and cultural weight. They're human. And we've found that when people are coached to write unbiased, data-rich recognition – rather than having their words replaced – by AI, the result is far more meaningful. And from a data standpoint, much more valuable. An Agentic AI Strategic Talent Advisor Once you have that kind of data flowing in, the role of agentic AI becomes something far more strategic. It's surfacing patterns and orchestrating decisions. Powered by good data, agentic AI can dynamically map skills across your workforce, revealing hidden strengths and untapped potential. It can suggest project teams based on how people actually collaborate and contribute. It can flag rising leaders before they've been officially promoted, and help create a more inclusive path to advancement by looking beyond the usual suspects. This is where it starts to function as a true Strategic Talent Advisor. A strategic partner that helps leaders see the full picture of what their people are capable of – and how to put that capability to work. And when you can do that at scale, across an entire organization, something powerful happens: you become more agile. You can move faster, make smarter bets, and retain the people who make the biggest difference. It's a better use of AI. It's also a better way to lead. AI as Equalizer vs. Differentiator AI is exciting and new. But soon enough, if not already, the technology itself will be ubiquitous. It won't be the differentiator. It is table stakes. In fact, even agentic AI is already on its way to becoming a common capability – available to most organizations in some form. That means the real competitive advantage in the future won't come from having AI. It will come from how you use it, what you feed it, and how it helps you to deploy your real differentiator: your people. Imagine two competitors with the same tech stack. One is training its agentic AI on recycled data from rigid processes and annual surveys. The other is feeding it a living stream of authentic, peer-generated signals that show how work really happens. Which one moves faster? Innovates more? Builds a healthier, more resilient culture? The Future of Leadership Is Human Intelligence Organizations that use agentic AI as a Strategic Talent Advisor will make better decisions, faster. HR managers can spot talent earlier. Talent Acquisition can build stronger, more collaborative teams. CHRO's can retain the people who matter most. This makes the entire team stronger and elevates HR's strategic contribution to the business. But it starts with data that's worthy of the people it represents. That's why, at Workhuman, we place such a strong emphasis on recognition – as a cultural practice, but also as a source of truth that reflects the richness, complexity, and potential of human contribution. As Mark Benioff recently observed, 'With Agentic AI, we can revolutionize work and create a more prosperous, sustainable world. By focusing on trust, accountability and our common humanity, we can ensure that Agentic AI becomes a force for good.' And as powerful as agentic AI is today, what's coming next may be even more transformative – and more complex. Soon, these systems will be capable of not just suggesting action but executing them independently. That shift will raise critical questions about autonomy, ethics, and accountability. But as I recently shared in my recent conversation with futurist Jacob Morgan on his Future Ready Leadership podcast, no matter how advanced AI becomes, we'll always need human oversight in talent decisions. AI can spot potential, but only humans can define purpose. And leadership, at its core, is a deeply human endeavor. We must ensure that the future of AI in HR is not just intelligent – but also principled. If you're curious about where to start or just want to talk these ideas through, I invite you to come to Workhuman Live in Denver in May. Human Intelligence™ will be a big topic of conversation and you can get a look at our own agentic AI solution. Let's keep the conversation going.
