Podcast Summary: The Costly Mistake Leaders Are Making Right Now

Founder’s Story by IBH Media – Ep 313 with KeyAnna Schmiedl, Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman
Date: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host IBH Media speaks with KeyAnna Schmiedl, Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman, to explore the urgent leadership error of underinvesting in people amidst the AI revolution. Drawing on her global expertise and recent insights from the World Economic Forum, KeyAnna argues passionately for a people-first approach to digital transformation and discusses how leaders can foster trust, adaptation, and long-term business resilience—even as technology accelerates.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The AI Investment Disparity: “The Costly Mistake”

• Key Insight:
  Massive investments are funneled into AI technology, but a minuscule fraction goes to upskilling or empowering the people meant to use these tools.
  • “Deloitte...said...93% investment in technology and AI and only 7% investment in the people.” (01:55, KeyAnna Schmiedl)
• Implications:
  Focusing on tech alone ignores workers’ roles in delivering the productivity gains; when people are left out, the touted AI benefits rarely materialize.

2. Demystifying AI Adoption in Organizations

• Ease of Use:
  Modern AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) are increasingly intuitive—employees don’t need to be technical experts to integrate them meaningfully.
  • “I mean...the learning curve is not that big...Now you just write a sentence. It’s so easy.” (04:08, Host)
• Leaders’ Role:
  Leaders should model openness by sharing both their successful and failed experiments with AI, normalizing learning and experimentation.
  • “Share where you’re using it and where you’ve tried it and it did not work...Nobody is dreaming of their future being a prompt engineer.” (04:45, KeyAnna)
• Empowerment & Comfort:
  When leaders openly use and discuss AI, staff feel safer to adopt and collaborate with these new tools.

3. From Careful to Thoughtful Leadership

• Definitions:
  • Careful: Overly risk-averse, focused on preventing failure through restriction and policy.
  • Thoughtful: Aware of risks, but supports responsible experimentation and early course correction.
    • “Careful is...put in all of the policies to ensure it doesn’t go wrong. Thoughtful is, look, there is some amount of risk here...let people try it.” (08:38, KeyAnna)
• The Leadership Playbook:
  Recommend a period (1–1.5 years) of active investment in people’s use of AI before making sweeping staffing or process changes.

4. People as Assets, Not Costs

• Business Value:
  Reducing people to “costs” is short-sighted—the real advantage is the unique talents and creativity people bring in using common AI tools.
  • “Humans are your differentiator, your people are your differentiator.” (10:45, KeyAnna)
• Rethinking Layoffs:
  Some companies that cut staff for AI “gains” aren’t seeing the promised benefits—regret is becoming common, especially in engineering.
  • “You’re starting to see articles now asking organizations are they having regret about some of the layoffs...I’m telling you right now the shift needs to be who are the people that are here making a difference every day.” (11:00, KeyAnna)

5. Building Cultures of Trust and Co-Creation

• Culture Then vs. Now:
  The core question hasn’t changed: Do people feel they have a stake and a say?
  • “At the end of the day...it’s whether or not people feel like they have a stake in a say so.” (13:39, KeyAnna)
• Examples:
  • Change initiatives (“Change Starts at Home” at Wayfair) and hackathons at Workhuman often start with frontline ideas—not just leadership mandates.
• Transparency:
  Explicit, two-way communication breeds trust—even when answers must sometimes be “no.”

6. Authenticity, Humility & Transparency in Leadership

• Self-Perception:
  KeyAnna emphasizes knowing one’s limits and learning from others’ perceptions of your strengths.
  • “Other people have been able to call out to me the things that they think I do well...that are a different definition of leadership.” (17:55, KeyAnna)
• Consistency:
  Leading the same way with CEOs or new hires ensures genuine connection and predictability for staff.
  • “The way that...I talk with our CEO is the same way that I talk to our new hire employees.” (18:29, KeyAnna)
• Fallibility:
  Admitting mistakes and correcting them (including in public forums like Slack) is key to trust and improvement.

7. Unlimited Possibilities: KeyAnna’s Personal Journey

• Overcoming Barriers:
  Growing up as one of few Black families in her town taught her to question assumptions and be unafraid to “ask why and how and what.”
  • “My presence itself made people uncomfortable...that allowed me to maybe more fearlessly question why and how and what.” (21:35, KeyAnna)
• Unimagined Outcomes:
  Landing her role as Chief Human Experience Officer was once “unimaginable.” Her advice: Follow curiosity, let big questions guide you—even if you can’t see the precise destination.
  • “I wasn’t the type of person that dreamed about my career will be this...For me, it was just about making decisions that made sense, maybe scared me a little bit but also made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile day in and day out.” (23:37, KeyAnna)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• The AI Investment Gap:
  “93% investment in technology and AI and only 7% investment in the people.”
  — KeyAnna Schmiedl, (01:55)
• Human Value over Cost:
  “If you cut out the people, you don’t have a business. People are the engine that moves a business forward.”
  — KeyAnna Schmiedl, (09:46)
• Thoughtful Leadership:
  “Thoughtful is...let people try it...flag [risks] early enough that we don’t scale the bad, but also that we’re not hindering the good.”
  — KeyAnna Schmiedl, (08:40)
• On Resilience and Curiosity:
  “Don’t be afraid of where the question just kind of leads you down a path that actually may lead you to the thing that you never thought was possible.”
  — KeyAnna Schmiedl, (23:37)
• Authenticity:
  “The way that you and I are talking right now is the same way I talk with our CEO...That’s really important for me to feel like I’m consistent.”
  — KeyAnna Schmiedl, (18:29)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• AI Investment Statistics & the Human Oversight: 01:44–03:55
• How Leaders Can Build AI Comfort & Model Use: 04:43–08:00
• Careful vs. Thoughtful Leadership Explained: 08:36–11:12
• People as Differentiators, Not Just Cost Centers: 10:45–12:20
• Evolving Workplace Culture: 13:35–16:57
• Personal Growth & Authentic Leadership: 17:40–20:43
• Unlimited Possibilities—KeyAnna’s Journey: 21:26–23:59

Takeaways for Leaders & Founders

• Rebalance AI investments: focus equal attention on tech and the people who use it.
• Model open experimentation—share wins and failures around new tech.
• Embrace thoughtful risk: empower staff to try, learn, and optimize, rather than over-policing.
• Remember people’s contributions define your business’s uniqueness, even in an AI-powered world.
• Build genuine, transparent, and humble leadership habits—real trust accelerates transformation.
• Curiosity and courageous questioning open doors to “unimaginable” career and business breakthroughs.

Connect with KeyAnna Schmiedl

• LinkedIn: @KeyAnna Schmiedl — “I am hyper responsive if you reach out.” (24:28)

End of summary.