AI Ethics, SHRM, and Building New Playbooks with Kristy McCann

What happens when one of HR's most seasoned leaders gets fed up with broken systems and decides to build new ones? Let’s find out! In this episode, we sit down with Kristy McCann, multi-time founder, CEO, and HR powerhouse, for a wide-ranging, energizing conversation about the real state of the future of work. We dig into why change management is ultimately just project management (and why most leaders are failing at it), the growing ethics and efficacy crisis around AI adoption in the workplace, what's gone wrong with SHRM as a certifying body, and why consumer power might be the most underutilized lever we have right now. Kristy also shares how she reads pattern recognition as a superpower, and what her next chapter looks like as she works to close the skilling gap she's spent her career fighting. It's one of those conversations where we left feeling genuinely fired up and we think you will too! Also in this episode: we introduce Ask the Librarian, our new AI-powered tool built on the Inclusion Geeks resource library. {blush emoji} Chapters 00:00 - Introduction & Episode Preview 01:14 - Introducing Ask the Librarian, Our New AI-Powered Resource Tool 11:47 - Welcome, Kristy McCann Flynn 12:03 - Kristy's Career Journey, From Scranton to HR Founder 18:02 - Rethinking Change Management for a World in Constant Flux 22:00 - AI in the Workplace, Enhancement or Replacement? 28:33 - AI Ethics, Data Privacy & the No-Guardrails Problem 31:11 - Leadership Gaps, Accountability & Why Ideas Aren't Enough 33:21 - Kristy's Stealth Next Chapter, Education, Skilling & AI Efficacy 35:13 - The SHRM Problem, When Certifying Bodies Lose Their Way 44:49 - Rebuilding Critical Thinking & Trust in Institutions 50:18 - Consumer Power, Boycotts & Collective Action 52:59 - Unionization, General Strikes & Protecting Workers 57:42 - Think Globally, Act Locally 61:14 - AI Displacement, What History Tells Us 64:31 - Closing Thoughts & Where to Find Kristy Visit us at InclusionGeeks.com to stay up to date on all the ways you can make the workplace work for everyone! Check out Inclusion Geeks Academy and InclusionGeeks.com/podcast for the code to get a free mini course.