The Change Lab- Kissinger Group

AI strategy gets a lot harder when the stakes are high, the organization is large, and the technology keeps moving underneath you.In this conversation, Sondra Kiss sits down with Rob Alger of Kaiser Permanente to explore what responsible AI leadership actually looks like inside a complex healthcare environment. They discuss how leaders can balance speed with safety, why Kaiser does not use AI to make clinical decisions, what “human in the loop” looks like in practice, and why the emerging orchestration layer matters as agents, vendors, and data systems become more interconnected.Rob also shares one of Kaiser’s most successful AI applications so far: ambient listening that helps clinicians reduce documentation burden while improving the quality of patient interaction.This episode is especially useful for leaders thinking about AI governance, operating model design, vendor risk, and how to move beyond pilots into real production value.What you’ll learnWhy speed versus safety is the wrong oversimplification for AI leadershipWhy Kaiser keeps clinical decisions with cliniciansWhat “human in the loop” means in a real service environmentWhat the orchestration layer does in an agentic AI environmentWhy privilege, auditability, and vendor sprawl matter more than most organizations realizeWhy AI adoption stalls when teams try to bolt it onto old processesWhat a real AI success story looks like in practiceThese conversations reflect leaders sharing their own experiences navigating real transformation work. The perspectives expressed are personal and don’t necessarily represent their organizations.

Many organizations have big AI ambitions. Far fewer are investing with the same intensity in workforce readiness.In this episode, Sondra Kiss speaks with Julianne Sobral, Chief People Officer at  IQT, a strategic investor that identifies and accelerates cutting-edge technologies for national security.  Julianne is a certified leadership coach and trusted advisor with 20+ years leading people strategy, organizational transformation, and executive development across sectors. They unpack what “AI fluency” actually means, why fear blocks adoption, and what leaders can do to build trust, confidence, and real workflow change across a workforce with wildly different starting points.What you will learn in this episodeA practical definition of AI fluency: using AI effectively, responsibly, and confidentlyWhy the AI conversation often starts from fear, not facts, and how leaders can reset the narrativeHow IQT approaches AI fluency as top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer changeHow IQT built AI Learning Days to create space for adoption (not “one more thing” on a crowded plate)How to segment learning for different starting points: AI novice, AI curious, AI practitionersThe biggest lesson from IQT’s first learning day: adults want hands-on practiceWhy middle managers are the unlock for adoption (and why they are getting squeezed)Why data readiness is the foundation (and why “golden data sets” matter)Four under-discussed barriers: time, middle management, data, fearA simple leadership frame: trust, time, and translationConnect with the guestJulianne Sobral (LinkedIn):https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliannesobral/ #AIFluency #WorkforceReadiness #ChangeLeadership #HRLeadership #FutureOfWork #IQTThese conversations reflect leaders sharing their own experiences navigating real transformation work. The perspectives expressed are personal and don’t necessarily represent their organizations.