AI Ambition: Balancing Innovation with Trust, Connection & Human Relationships with CHRO of North America for McKinsey & Company, Wendy Miller. Your Work Friends Podcast

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AI with Intention…

AI is everywhere right now—fast, loud, and full of promises about efficiency and scale. But the smartest leaders aren’t chasing speed; they’re learning how to lead with intention. Because progress isn’t just about what you automate. It’s about how people adapt, connect, and grow through it.

In this episode, McKinsey’s Chief HR Officer for North America, Wendy Miller, joins Your Work Friends to talk about what it really takes to balance ambition with reality. From rewiring performance systems and reskilling teams to protecting trust through change, she shares how leaders can stay curious, human, and clear-eyed in the middle of AI’s acceleration.

Here’s the deal—AI promises a lot.
Efficiency, productivity, transformation. Every week, something new.

But work also runs on things like trust, connection, and human relationships. So the real question isn’t just how fast we adopt AI—it’s how we balance ambition with reality, timelines, people, and humanity.

In this episode, we sit down with Wendy Miller, Chief HR Officer for North America at McKinsey & Company, to talk about what balancing AI ambition and reality actually looks like on the ground. Wendy gets candid about the chaos, the learning curves, and what it really takes for leaders and teams to adapt without losing their footing—or their people.

We dig into the rewiring of organizations, the blind spots most execs miss, and why the real edge in the AI era isn’t speed—it’s humanity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why “go smaller, but go fast” might be the smartest AI adoption strategy yet

  • The cost of chasing speed before impact—and how to avoid it

  • How to upskill, experiment, and play without losing control

  • The new role of HR as the human side of digital transformation

  • Why trust and authenticity are still your best performance tools

  • What a “learner’s mindset” really looks like in practice

  • How to reinvest AI’s efficiency gains back into better leadership, better work, and better culture

Find Wendy on LinkedIn 

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host or the management.

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