The defining question of our time

This week, I had the chance to speak to a group of CHROs as part of the Conference Board’s CHRO Summit. I put to these leaders a question that I believe should be top of mind for every HR and business leader as AI upends our old ways of working: What will define our legacy?

I believe it won’t be: Did we adopt AI? That is a given. We will adopt AI. The more interesting question will be how. Did we and our workforces learn to ride the AI wave? Did we use this technology to build a stronger, more capable organization—not just cut costs?

If that’s the legacy-defining question of our time, we have to treat it that way. This moment isn’t happening to HR leaders—it’s being shaped by them. Through new policies, smarter processes, and future-ready tech stacks.

Six months ago, most were experimenting. Today, the best are scaling—unlocking capacity, empowering managers, and redesigning work as human + AI. And the leaders doing it? They’re the ones who got their hands dirty early. They didn’t wait for the perfect vendor or outsource the problem.

Three principles for HR leadership in AI

1. We must be using AI and leading the way in understanding how we apply the technology to our work.
2. We must be dedicating our smartest leaders to rethink how work gets done.
3. We must act now—not sometime in the future and put augmentative AI into the hands of our employees.

That’s exactly what we’re building at Valence. Since 2017, we’ve believed that team performance—not just individual talent—is everything. Our early tools helped 100K+ people become better teammates and leaders. Then in 2022, right after ChatGPT launched, we began building Nadia—the AI coach we all wished we’d had.

Today, Nadia is the most widely deployed AI coach in the Fortune 500.

Our vision at Valence is clear

• AI that augments, not replaces humans, bringing more performance and purpose to every role.
• Talent development based on potential, not just credentials.
• A platform built for modern work that supports frontline teams, empowers managers, and offering coaching that travels with individuals across roles and companies.

This vision is already becoming a reality. This week, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel with four of our customers — ABM, Prudential, Hearst, and VML. Each has used AI coaching to create entirely new ways to develop talent, reinforce strategy in the flow of work, and give managers, especially those on the frontlines, greater support.

https://youtu.be/JQ5K16xTTY4

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HR’s moment to lead

At our virtual summit last month, I asked Geoffrey Hinton (yes, the Geoffrey Hinton) what the most overused word in AI is. His answer: Hype. Then he surprised me: “AI is under‑hyped.” I agree. 

The call is urgent: not to react, but to lead. To design the playbook. To define what good looks like for this new era of work.

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Parker Mitchell is cofounder and CEO at Valence, where he helps people work better and contribute to a world where potential is more important than credential. He has been recognized by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year and been named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.