As organizations accelerate their adoption of AI, much of the conversation has focused on efficiency, automation, and productivity gains. But new research from Gallup points to a more complex reality emerging beneath the surface. Richard Stein, CEO of HSiQ, examines why the next challenge for business leaders may not be deciding what AI can do, but understanding which forms of human judgment, leadership, and institutional knowledge remain indispensable—and how that shift could reshape the future of executive search.
Gallup’s recent data should give boards, CEOs, and executive search firms more reason for pause than many realize. Eighteen percent of U.S. employees now believe AI could eliminate their jobs within five years. In finance, insurance, and technology, that figure rises to roughly 30%.
These are not random groups. They sit inside many of the functions increasingly viewed as vulnerable to AI disruption including finance, legal, audit, governance, and layers of management. For the last two years, the AI conversation has centered on productivity, automation, and efficiency. A more complicated discussion is now emerging underneath it.
Organizations are starting to ask a different question: Which forms of human judgment are still necessary? That question may itself become one of the defining issues for executive search over the coming years.
Many of the functions now under considerable pressure were never really built to produce a visible output. Their value was more preventative; finance teams reduced reporting risk before problems actually surfaced, audit teams identified inconsistencies before they became failures and legal teams contained exposure before it reached the headlines. Middle managers translated strategy into execution and quietly kept operating systems moving. Their success often looked invisible.
The risk today is that organizations may mistake invisible value for unnecessary value. Richard Stein, CEO of HSiQ – the talent intelligence advisory unit of Hunt Scanlon – believes this is where the market becomes far more complex.
“AI is forcing organizations to redesign work, but many are still viewing capability primarily as a cost,” says Mr. Stein. “Leadership depth, institutional memory, governance, process ownership, and judgment rarely appear as line items. Remove them too aggressively and companies may discover they eliminated far more than expense.”
“Executive search historically arrived after a change occurred. The next evolution moves talent intelligence upstream.”
Talent is no longer simply a workforce issue anymore. It is becoming part of enterprise architecture, operating design, and value creation.
Historically, executive search entered after decisions had already been made. A restructuring occurred or a transformation was launched. It was only then that the executive search firm was brought in to rebuild capability after the change was announced.
Talent Intelligence Moves Upstream
That model may no longer be sufficient. Organizations increasingly need help understanding what capability disappears before they remove it. The leadership market itself is already changing.
Tomorrow’s mandates may not ask for traditional operators because they will demand hybrid leaders – finance executives who understand AI, governance, and risk; CHROs who can navigate workforce redesign, capability planning, and enterprise resilience. They will require technology leaders who combine transformation, operations, data, and change management as well as legal executives who understand automation while preserving accountability and oversight.
Role specifications are evolving faster than many talent markets can keep up. Scott A. Scanlon, co-founder of HSiQ and CEO of Hunt Scanlon sees this as a pivotal moment for the recruiting industry.
“Executive search historically arrived after a change occurred,” says Mr. Scanlon. “The next evolution moves talent intelligence upstream as organizations will increasingly need help understanding capability risk before restructuring decisions are even made, not after critical knowledge has already left the system.”
The Gallup numbers may matter for quite another reason. They measure concern and what sits underneath that concern is a universal awareness. Large parts of the workforce already understand that work itself is changing.
The real question is no longer who leaves but which capabilities will continue to remain indispensable. Much of what appears to be verification work often turns out to be judgment work just hidden behind operational titles.
That may become the next chapter of executive search where the work shifts from filling roles after decisions are made to helping organizations understand what capabilities remain essential before change begins.
HSiQ Insights Lab was created to examine exactly this intersection – where data, technology, and human potential converge. As the workforce contracts, advantage will not come from doing more with less. It will come from seeing more of what already exists – and using it intelligently.
For more information on how HSiQ can help your business succeed, please contact us today.
Article By
Richard Stein
Richard Stein is CEO of HSIQ. He has a distinguished career supporting the C-suite of many of the world’s top corporations and financial services organizations in all aspects of talent acquisition, development and retention. Richard is one of the industry’s top advisors with experience across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
