In this episode of The Modern People Leader, Sarika Lamont, Chief People Officer at Vidyard, joins us to unpack her non-traditional journey into HR and how AI is reshaping the role of People teams.

She shared practical AI use cases from onboarding automation to AI coaching, along with the mindset shifts HR leaders must make to lead change rather than fear it.

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Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode276

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(08:20) Sarika’s career origin story and non-linear path into People leadership

(15:06) Transition from traditional roles into strategic talent leadership

(27:14) AI product evolution and challenges of layering AI into existing platforms

(29:41) AI change management and leadership mindset shifts

(32:01) Grassroots AI adoption and building excitement without fear

(36:05) Fear, resistance, and why HR teams struggle with AI adoption

(43:07) HR as a strategic driver in AI transformation

(46:20) Onboarding as the first AI workflow use case

(48:50) Automation outcomes, manager enablement, and measurable impact

(52:44) Lessons learned from AI-powered onboarding transformation

(54:33) AI coaching as the next frontier in HR

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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

#292 - Faith - When Faith Fails