Last month I spoke about the rise of the frontier firm and the human skills we need to nurture to lead teams of agents and humans. Yet, across my clients and industry, I see dissonance.
Some are leaning back from AI, others are leaning in and running with it. Firms are hiring less, changing who they hire, and actively considering where technology can replace human effort – a move toward agentification.
Recently, a senior leader told me, “I reckon 80% of what we do now will be replaced by AI in 3 years.” I tend to agree, but we must acknowledge how this lands. Some people are excited, seeing potential and new ways of working. Others are fearful, worried that the skills and identity they’ve invested so much in will vanish, leaving them jobless and irrelevant.
Having people in this space of fear isn’t helpful. Our brains crave safety and security, and when we lack it, the limbic system, our fight, flight, or freeze mechanism takes over, catastrophising the future. In this state, people become paralysed, make rash decisions, or retreat into denial; the opposite of what’s needed.
But what if there was a third way? The world isn’t binary. What if, instead of losing people to AI, we harnessed and developed the human skills that enable them to thrive? This will mean reskilling, exploring roles we may not have imagined, and accepting that adaptation is non-negotiable.
Let’s remember we’ve been here before. The 20’s is the decade of change in the last four centuries from a technological perspective. Electricity, motor and jet engines revolutionised the 1920s; enabling manufacturing at scale, automation, the five day working week, and a whole host of new industries. AI will do the same – we adapted then, we can again – so let’s start learning some lessons, and getting ahead of the curve.
The World Economic Forum report from 2025, cites the following skills as being those most needed as we move into the AI enabled world of work 2030:
Analytical thinking – to enable interpretation of data and work strategically
Resilience, flexibility & agility – to withstand change and pivot
Creative thinking – 4th most essential, and rising in importance
Leadership & social influence – Critical for collaboration at every level
How then are you working with these core skills, and building them into your employee and leadership development offering. People won’t acquire them by magic, and you can’t buy them all in.
Ask yourself:
Is your 3-5 year strategy just a bunch of numbers, or is there a robust people plan that has been created future-back that will enable you to deliver that future growth and trajectory?
How are you building these skills into your workforce development plan?
Are you building your succession plan and enabling your leaders with coaching skills to develop their people, and thinking about the roles you’ll need in the future rather than the ones you need now?
How do we bring people on the journey? Enable them to swap disciplines, build capability and capacity and make sure they are skills ready.
This isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s basic strategic planning. Recruiting only for the structure you have today won’t get you to where you want to be in five years. As Marshall Goldsmith reminds us, “what got you here won’t get you there.”
Having the people, capabilities and structure to be future ready has to start now. It should have started long ago, but the next best place to start if it hasn’t, is now. What are you waiting for?
Annabel is an Executive and Team Coach, Leadership Facilitator and Coach Supervisor. If you would value a thinking space to put this all in place, why not reach our to Annabel for a chat via LinkedIn, annabel@successfultraining.co.uk, or visit www.successfultraining.co.uk