Courage to Advance: The AI Leadership Crisis with Kevin Oakes, CEO, i4cp

Feb 20, 2025

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Welcome to Courage to Advance, hosted by Kim Bohr and brought to you by SparkEffect, in partnership with The Empathy Edge.

Tune in to our subseries every 3rd Thursday, right here on The Empathy Edge! Or check us out at CourageToAdvancePodcast.com.

The AI skills gap is widening between high-performing organizations and those falling behind. With only 27% of HR leaders feeling ready to advance their AI strategy, what separates the leaders from the laggards? Join Kim Bohr and i4cp CEO Kevin Oakes as they dive into groundbreaking research on workforce readiness in the era of AI, revealing shocking statistics about executive training and organizational success.

Drawing from extensive research comparing high and low-performing organizations, Kevin shares how leading companies are leveraging AI to achieve up to 30% higher productivity through comprehensive training programs. Discover why companies like Moderna and Mastercard are succeeding with AI adoption rates of 80%, while others struggle to start.

Learn why waiting to embrace AI might be the biggest risk of all, and how to position your organization for success in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Tune in every 3rd Thursday, right here on The Empathy Edge!

To access the episode transcript, please search for the episode title at www.TheEmpathyEdge.com

Key Takeaways:

High-performing organizations are 17 times more likely to train their executive leaders on Gen AI, creating a significant competitive advantage
Only 11% of organizations are fully embracing AI across their enterprise, with top performers focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness
Organizations successfully scaling AI achieve up to 30% higher productivity through comprehensive training programs
The role of HR in AI strategy has dramatically improved, with non-involvement dropping from 41% to 22% in recent years
Creating a "change-ready" culture is crucial for successful AI implementation, emphasizing learning over knowing

"You want to create a workforce and a leadership team that are agile and that not only can roll with the punches but can embrace them and figure out how to use this change to our advantage." - Kevin Oakes

About Kevin Oakes, CEO at i4cp

Kevin is CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), the world's leading human capital research firm focusing on people practices that drive high performance. He is the author of Culture Renovation®, an Amazon bestseller which details how high-performance organizations successfully change organizational culture. Kevin has an extensive background in HR technology and corporate development, previously founding SumTotal Systems and serving as Chairman & CEO of Click2learn. He currently serves on several boards and is dedicated to advancing human capital practices that create lasting organizational success.

About SparkEffect

SparkEffect partners with organizations to unlock the full potential of their greatest asset: their people. Through their tailored assessments and expert coaching at every level, SparkEffect helps organizations manage change, sustain growth, and chart a path to a brighter future.

Go to sparkeffect.com/edge now and download your complimentary Professional and Organizational Alignment Review today.

Connect with Kevin Oakes

I4cp: i4cp.com

Book: Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company

Connect with Kim Bohr and SparkEffect

SparkEffect: sparkeffect.com

Courage to Advance recording and resources:

sparkeffect.com/courage-to-advance-podcast

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/sparkeffect

LinkedIn for Kim Bohr: linkedin.com/in/kimbohr

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books on empathy: Red-Slice.com/books