HR leaders are being asked to modernize faster than their organizations are ready for. New AI tools appear weekly, vendors promise transformation, and the pressure to “do something” keeps mounting. At the same time, most HR teams are still running complex, multi-step processes built for a very different era.

In this episode, Josh Bersin helps cut through the noise by reframing what AI transformation actually looks like inside HR. Rather than chasing dozens of tools or fearing job displacement, he argues that the real work ahead is architectural. Deciding what to build versus buy. Determining which processes matter most. And putting human ownership around data, judgment, and governance so AI can scale responsibly.

You’ll hear why onboarding, learning, feedback, and career development are not isolated workflows, but interconnected systems that AI can finally stitch together if HR leads the design. Josh also explains why organizations that get this right will not reduce HR’s importance, but elevate it.

This conversation is for HR leaders who feel both excited and overwhelmed, and who want a clearer mental model for where to start, what to prioritize, and how to partner with IT without losing their seat at the table.

About our guest
Josh Bersin is a global HR industry analyst, researcher, and founder of The Josh Bersin Company. He has spent decades advising CHROs and executive teams on talent, leadership, and workforce transformation, and is a leading voice on how AI is reshaping the HR function in practice, not theory.

Stay connected with foHRsight

To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/

Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/

future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

Support the show

If you’re leading HR right now, it can feel like the ground is moving under your feet. You’re still expected to deliver flawless service, keep costs down, and manage risk, while your CEO quietly expects you to redesign the workforce for an AI era that’s arriving faster than most operating models can handle.

In part one of this conversation with Josh Bersin, we explore a reframe that changes everything: AI isn’t just personal productivity. The real disruption is enterprise-level “super agents” that automate whole sequences of work, and force HR to rethink hiring, talent strategy, and even the idea of “a job” itself.

We also dig into why CHRO tenure may be shrinking, what that signals about expectations on HR leaders, and why “talent density” is becoming a more useful lens than traditional talent management as companies try to scale without simply adding headcount.

About our guest
Josh Bersin is a leading HR and workplace industry analyst and the founder of Bersin by Deloitte (now The Josh Bersin Company). He advises senior executives on HR, talent, and organizational transformation, with a sharp focus on what’s actually changing inside companies as AI moves from experimentation to enterprise reality.

Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn:
Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/

Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/

future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

Support the show

You can be brilliant, hardworking, and respected — and still feel like you’re running full-speed into an invisible wall. For many senior leaders (especially high-achieving women), the instinct is to push harder: take on more, prove more, hold more. But the higher you go, the more that strategy quietly limits influence, sponsorship, and sustainability.

In this episode, we explore the tension HR leaders see every day: individuals are trying to thrive inside systems that weren’t designed for them — and organizations keep investing in “fixes” that don’t address the real blockers. Carolyn Lawrence and Jennifer Laidlaw unpack why burnout is often a signal your mind is in survival mode, how “resisting the system” can unintentionally keep inequity in place, and what it looks like when inner leadership shifts meet system-level redesign.

About our guests
Carolyn Lawrence partners with organizations to redesign systems so they stop reinforcing outdated patterns — removing invisible barriers so talent can thrive without overperforming for legitimacy.

Jennifer Laidlaw is an executive coach focused on the inner transformation required of modern leaders, helping them achieve breakthrough results sustainably with strong teams and thriving culture.

Stay connected with foHRsight
To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, visit http://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark Edgar – www.linkedin.com/in/markedgarhr/

Naomi Titleman Colla – www.linkedin.com/in/naomititlemancolla/

future foHRward – www.linkedin.com/company/future-fohrward/

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/futurefohrward/

Support the show