Earlier this week, ManpowerGroup, in partnership with Human Resources Online, hosted a series of impactful events—including an exclusive CHRO roundtable and a webinar featuring Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup.
The webinar, titled “A Workforce Wake-Up Call for Leaders: Connection, Collaboration, and Creativity in the Age of AI,” brought together industry leaders to address a critical question on every executive’s mind: How do we strategically manage talent in the age of AI?
Speakers including Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Peck Kem Low, CHRO, Public Service Division; and Uday Burra, Head of People Care – APJ, Nokia, shared powerful insights on how AI is not just a tool for efficiency, but a catalyst for unlocking human potential.
Here are some key takeaways.
From Fear to Empowerment
While AI continues to raise concerns about job displacement, the speakers emphasized the need to reframe the narrative. The future of work lies in striking a balance between human and machine capabilities.
As Uday noted, leaders must first acknowledge the fear surrounding AI. Then, they must rethink how AI adoption is communicated across teams. Is efficiency the right metric to lead with? Or should we focus on how AI can automate repetitive tasks and bring the “human” back into work — enabling empathy, creativity, and connection?
From Efficiency to Effectiveness
Many organizations may view AI as a means to achieve efficiency — doing more with less. But the discussion highlighted a more strategic approach: effectiveness.
This means using AI to enhance the quality of every interaction, from improving candidate experiences to enabling faster, more informed decision-making. As Peck Kem puts it, “As we go high-tech, we must also go high-touch. Our business (as HR) is built on human touchpoints.”
Leadership in the AI Era
Tomas underscored a vital truth: “If you optimize only for productivity, you’re treating people like machines.”
In the age of AI, leaders must evolve into coaches — nurturing growth mindsets, fostering experimentation, and building human-centric cultures. He added, “Even if AI is doing the work, leaders must be there to show appreciation and care. Work should fulfill a deeper human need, not just deliver output.”
Ultimately, it’s the human-to-human connection that defines great leadership.
Three Wake-Up Calls for Leaders
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic also outlined three critical wake-up calls for leaders navigating the AI era:
- Reskill Mid-Level Managers: Managers must understand how to redeploy time saved through AI and lead AI-augmented teams effectively.
- Reimagine Human Potential: Organizations should shift focus from credentials to personality, values, and soft skills — potentially moving toward portfolio-style career models.
- Create Conditions for Creativity: Leaders must design environments where employees can outsource repetitive tasks and focus on ingenuity, curiosity, and creativity. As Tomas noted, “That won’t be easy, and it won’t be something that AI solves. It’s a fundamental human and leadership challenge.”
AI Is a Co-pilot, Not a Replacement
The consensus was clear—AI is not here to replace humans, but to work alongside them. By automating low-value, repetitive tasks, AI enables people to focus on what they do best — building relationships, solving complex problems, and leading with empathy.
The goal is to shift from human versus machine to human with machine — a powerful partnership that enhances both performance and purpose.
Choosing the Right AI Tools Starts with Strategy
With countless AI tools available today, organizations must be strategic in their adoption — starting with a clear understanding of their desired outcomes.
Before selecting a solution, leaders should assess their organization’s size, structure, and existing skill sets. From there, they can identify how AI can supplement current capabilities and fill critical gaps. Speakers highlighted that even off-the-shelf solutions can be powerful enablers when applied with clarity and purpose.
HR’s role in this? To create environments of trust and mobility, where skills can be deployed seamlessly and careers can evolve dynamically — a reminder that technology should serve people, not the other way around.
HR Must Lead the Transformation
HR’s role is no longer reactive. CHROs and HR leaders must take the lead in workforce transformation — anticipating future skill needs, redesigning roles, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.
For HR, it’s essential to be "soft-hearted but not soft-headed"—guiding with empathy, clarity, and vision, whilst making strategic, evidence-based decisions about AI implementation, and shifting from being technical experts to coaches, balancing data-driven decisions (AI's IQ) with human connection.
By doing so, HR becomes a strategic partner, guiding the organization through technological evolution and ensuring that people remain at the heart of progress.
Let’s Shape the Future Together
There are two sides to the age of AI. On one hand, it’s a disruption to the world of work; on the other, it’s an opportunity to innovate and lead differently.
By embracing AI as a strategic enabler — and leading with empathy, clarity, and purpose — organizations can unlock human potential, drive meaningful transformation, and build a future of work that is both high-tech and deeply human.
