Empowering people in the age of AI: 3 essential skills for 2025

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By: Yolanda Seals-Coffield

 

In 2024, the widespread adoption of generative artificial intelligence was nearly impossible to ignore. From boardrooms to team brainstorms to industry conferences, the message was clear: AI is reshaping the future of work.

As we settle into 2025, nearly every conversation I’ve had with my team, our clients and our people has explored what comes next and what skills we’ll need to succeed. If AI is the new table stakes, what else do employees need to help future-proof their careers and thrive?

3 skills for 2025, thanks to AI

Here are three skills that will likely be key this year:

Enhanced collaboration

AI’s impact is only as strong as the people behind it. Successful integration demands not just tech adoption but also strong human collaboration. In 2025, your workforce could effectively double with the addition of AI agents, making it essential to move beyond surface-level technology use to fostering stronger team dynamics. As employees begin to work with AI agents on more complex challenges, they won’t want to navigate this journey alone. That’s why this year, enhancing collaboration among teams and individuals will be just as critical as seamlessly integrating digital workers into workforce strategies.

The more we create shared experiences to explore AI, the more likely people will be to continue leveraging it in their day-to-day work. Organizations should be intentional about offering ongoing, interactive opportunities to help their people connect around this ever-evolving technology.

Since March 2024, our firm has hosted AI prompting parties to give our people and teams hands-on experience with gen AI tools. Through over 500 of these “parties” of varying sizes hosted across multiple functions, participants have had opportunities to share useful prompts, iterate on new prompts, practice prompting techniques and connect with one another. They share tips and tricks, successes and lessons, all while fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

As companies consider how to use AI in new ways, it’s just as important to challenge employees to collaborate in new ways. Continue reading →

Can org design help when ‘the dignity of work’ is shaken? A guide for HR leaders

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By: Jill Barth

 

The relentless pace of change is one of the biggest challenges facing organizations, with no signs of slowing, according to recent research. Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change report finds that most C-suite leaders and employees anticipate significant transformation this year, with the rapid rise of generative AI accelerating this shift and making technology and talent top priorities.

However, taking advantage of AI often requires rethinking work structures, organizational design and workforce strategies.

“As we look to the future, predictive AI will enable HR teams to foresee workforce trends, spot skill gaps and customize training programs,” says Kelly Jones, chief people officer at tech company Cisco. “Additionally, AI-powered sentiment analysis will help us gauge employee engagement and wellbeing, allowing us to offer timely interventions when needed.”

HR leaders must navigate the dual challenge of transforming their own function while supporting broader business reinvention. Businesses now have more options than ever to use AI solutions, but to be successful, HR leaders must address two urgent challenges, according to Karalee Close, Accenture’s global lead for its talent and organization practice. These are: Restructuring organizations to align with new work models and ensuring employees have the right skills.

Organizational design around new tech

AI is expected to change how employees spend nearly half their working hours, creating an opportunity to refine training and development strategies. Companies can use AI and data analytics to personalize learning, make training materials more accessible, and align development with employee needs. Understanding what motivates employees and how they prefer to learn allows organizations to create meaningful growth opportunities at all levels. Continue reading →

7 Ways to Build a Winning Leadership Style That Inspires Teams

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by Peter Economy

 

A surprising chunk of managers are often uncomfortable communicating with employees.

Great leadership is not just about doing work or leading projects. It’s also about encouraging and inspiring others to achieve their full potential. No matter what kind of organization you work in, the way you manage your team is important to its ultimate success. As the old saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work.

Here are seven practical ways to create a leadership style that will inspire your team to get really big things done.

1. Cultivate emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is one of the keys to inspiring leadership. EQ about self-awareness, empathy, and being able to handle your feelings and those of others. Think first about your emotions and how they impact your interactions. Be an active listener, which means listening intently to the thoughts of the people on your team, to get to know their perspective. This rapport builds trust and makes your teammates feel like they’re appreciated and supported.

2. Model open communication.

If you want your teams to work at their very best, you need to communicate effectively. Research shows that a surprising 69 percent of managers are often uncomfortable communicating with employees. Create an environment where people in your team can openly voice their opinions, feedback, and suggestions. When you model transparency and openness, then you’ll build an environment where people feel safe to do more and be more.

3. Be adaptable.

Being flexible is an invaluable leadership attribute in these days when change is accelerating all around us. Approach change positively and be tolerant of new concepts. Encourage your employees to think outside the box and to adapt as the situation dictates. Such resilience not only creates trust but helps build proactive teams.

4. Lead with vision.

A visionary leader makes the future tangible. Bring your vision to your team and show how each of them has a role to play in it. This sense of purpose can spark passion and devotion. Don’t forget to have little successes along the way to keep yourself—and your people—motivated. When your employees understand how their work fits in the big picture, they will be more motivated and focused.

5. Empower others.

Empowerment is letting your employees take responsibility for their roles. Pass responsibilities down and empower your people to take action. Give resources and assistance where you need to but don’t micromanage. Once you trust your people, they’ll trust you and they’ll usually deliver.

6. Practice recognition and appreciation.

When you acknowledge and praise the work of your teammates, you increase morale. Make sure you regularly celebrate both individual and collective successes, whether through verbal compliments in meetings, personalized thank-you notes, or official awards. When employees feel valued, they’re sure to be motivated and loyal—two elements in an inspired team environment.

7. Model a growth mindset.

Inspiring leaders see adversity as a learning experience. With a growth mindset, you empower your team to learn from mistakes rather than dread them. Share your own stories of overcoming challenges and highlight what you’ve learned along the way. This transparency creates a culture where your team members will be encouraged to come up with new solutions and approaches.

This post originally appeared at inc.com.

The Vice President Sales/Chief Growth Officer

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The Vice President Sales/Chief Growth Officer is responsible for cultivating a presence and expanding top line growth for our client delivering premium technology solutions. This includes identifying new markets to enter, creating strategies to achieve growth targets, and growing the firm’s presence and revenues across specific markets – including New Logo Sales, Account Acquisition and Organic Expansion. Leadership span of control is global and includes both top line and bottom-line revenue responsibilities.

  • To be successful in this role, the candidate must bring significant experience and relationships in specific markets—motivated by winning financial incentives as well as career growth.
  • This person will bring a deep understanding of the delivering premium technology solutions marketplace and familiarity with competitor offerings in support of growth strategy and investment initiatives.

The Vice President Sales/Chief Growth Officer will have oversight of the following:

  • Developing named account strategies, building consensus on targeted logos and pursuing delivery of high value and high growth new logos.
  • Building a predictable pipeline of new business to generate repeatable and profitable revenues across
  • Developing and executing a Go-to-Market Strategy that will hit or exceed revenue targets.
  • Executing go-to-market plans thru targeted campaigns and other sales channels including advisors, influencers, conference attendance, industry events, etc.
  • Collaborating and developing 3rd party and advisor relationships to build credible analytics voice globally to generate new opportunity channels. Generate opportunities from this channel
  • Submitting and handling proposals with full ownership and accountability for the opportunity – working closely with the Sales Enablement teams to ensure high quality of proposals.
  • Building relationships is key to this role and possessing established and current relationships with COO’s, CFO’s, CEO’s, CDO’s, CIO’s/CTO’s and Customer Service Directors is critical to this role.
  • Big-deal experience –should have proven experience in closing deals with ACV > $5M and TCV > $20M.

If you are interested or know someone who might be, please let me know!

Larry Janis, Managing Partner ISSG , janis@issg.net

Americans Kiss Job Hopping Goodbye

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Story by Matt Grossman

The U.S. job market is still solid. But more workers are staying put, because the chance to trade up to a better job is rarer.

Americans quit 39.6 million jobs in 2024, down 11% from the year before and down 22% from a recent peak in 2022, according to Labor Department data published Tuesday. The share of employees who quit their jobs each month has fallen below the prepandemic level, and some economists expect more decreases ahead.

Unemployment remains modest and the economy is still creating jobs. Layoffs are limited. The Labor Department will release its latest monthly jobs report on Friday, and economists expect another month of decent job growth and a steady unemployment rate at 4.1%.

But there are now just 1.1 job openings per unemployed worker, down from a high of 2 in March 2022. For workers who do get laid off or who want a new role, the path to an offer is far more challenging.

“It’s not immediately clear to me what’s going to turn this around,” said Neil Dutta, an economist at research firm Renaissance Macro.

Workers in well-paid office jobs are encountering an especially challenging job market. Companies in tech, law and related industries hired fast a few years ago, and many now have less need for new employees. There are still plenty of jobs in hands-on industries such as healthcare and hospitality.

“The past 18 to 24 months have been just more of a steady malaise” for top-level white-collar jobs, said Michael Distefano, chief executive of Korn Ferry’s professional-search business. He said the office-job market has shown signs of picking up in 2025, but it will depend on whether Trump administration policies encourage business investment, and how the Federal Reserve sets monetary policy.

The Fed’s quest to tame inflation through high interest rates works in part by discouraging too much investment and hiring, because a hot job market can in turn lift wages and raise prices. The Fed paused further rate cuts last week with inflation still modestly above target, and traders are betting that the central bank might not bring rates lower again until June.

As the race for talent has cooled, companies are more focused on controlling salary costs.

Meta plans to cut 5% of its workforce this month. Its finance chief, Susan Li, told analysts last week that while the tech giant is still adding technical talent, it has eased off hiring business staff. RTX, the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon, is investing in automation “that will continue to drive productivity without the need to add head count,” its CEO, Christopher Calio, said on the company’s earnings call last week.

What happens next depends on how well companies can keep a lid on costs without turning to layoffs—which have stayed at a low level after spiking early in the pandemic.

“This labor market has shown that it can keep cooling for a long time without things breaking,” said Guy Berger, an economist at the Burning Glass Institute, an employment think tank. “Forever? Probably not, but maybe there’s more room for the labor market to cool in a mostly painless way.”

Source: Americans Kiss Job Hopping Goodbye (msn.com)