Artificial Intelligence
June 2, 2026
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For Senior L&D and HR leaders, AI is causing quite a stir. But is AI really the problem, or is it exposing deeper issues in learning practice and leadership? Season 4, Episode 1 of our podcast show AI for the Average Joe welcomes Laura Overton to explore what AI really means for learning and development right now.
As 2026 kicks off, the noise around Artificial Intelligence has reached fever pitch. New tools, new platforms, new promises. And for many senior HR and L&D leaders, a familiar sentence keeps landing on the desk:
“You’ve been given AI.”
Position yourself. How would you react? Not from a hype-driven, tool-first angle — but from the reality of leadership, uncertainty, and people navigating change.
Well, here’s the uncomfortable truth: AI isn’t making L&D harder. It’s making the cracks more visible.
Laura made a powerful observation early in the conversation. Every year gets labelled as “the year of” something — transformation, wellbeing, resilience, digital. But underneath those labels sits a deeper question L&D has been avoiding for years:
Why do we exist as a function?
AI has arrived at a moment when many organisations are already stretched — economically, emotionally, structurally. Redundancies, restructures, role uncertainty, skills anxiety. Against that backdrop, AI feels less like an opportunity and more like another demand.
But as Laura put it, this could be the year of hope — if we stop chasing certainty and start grounding ourselves in purpose.
One of the biggest mistakes organisations are making is treating AI as a standalone transformation.
It isn’t.
Over two decades of research into high-performing learning and development teams shows the same pattern repeating again and again:
Technology doesn’t drive impact — practice does.
We’ve seen this movie before:
None of these correlated to better business results on their own. What mattered was how leaders applied them to real human behaviour change inside messy, complex organisations.
AI is no different.
If your L&D strategy lacks clarity, confidence or credibility, AI will expose that faster — not fix it.
Laura reflected on one HR leader who summed it up perfectly: “This is the first transformation where I can’t define the end state.”
That discomfort is real — and understandable. AI isn’t a fixed system; it’s a moving one. Trying to design a neat roadmap before understanding your role in it is a losing game.
Laura’s advice was simple but powerful: “Don’t ask what AI can do. Ask what you are here to do.”
When L&D leaders reconnect with their core purpose — enabling people to be equipped and ready for whatever comes next — AI becomes a support, not a threat.
Rather than another borrowed change model, Laura shared a framework rooted in L&D practice itself:
What’s really happening in your organisation?
With your people? Your leaders? Your culture? The wider world?
Pause before reacting. Listen before launching.
Respond with curiosity, not panic.
With learning science, not shiny features.
As an enabler of capability, not a producer of content.
Test. Learn. Adapt. Let go of what no longer serves.
This is not a one-off AI project — it’s an ongoing practice.
This cycle helps leaders regain a sense of control without pretending certainty exists.
There was an important distinction made between brassy bold and smart bold.
Smart bold leadership starts internally:
That kind of courage earns trust — and opens doors far faster than shouting about transformation.
Perhaps the most practical takeaway was this: capture what you’re noticing.
Whether it’s a physical notebook or a reflective practice using AI tools, recording observations helps leaders:
In a world obsessed with scale, this kind of reflective workplace learning is quietly powerful.
AI isn’t asking you to become a technologist. It’s asking you to become clearer, braver, and more intentional.
The organisations that will thrive aren’t the ones with the most tools — but the ones with leaders willing to rethink how learning actually works.
If you want to explore practical, people-first approaches to AI, learning strategy, and upskilling leaders for the future, get in touch.
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