Fresh from the largest gathering of forward-looking people leaders at Transform, our Founder and CEO reflects on the signals that matter most for the future of work. These aren’t just trends—they’re tectonic shifts reshaping how we lead, build, and thrive in this next era of business.
By Coco Brown – Founder and CEO of Athena Alliance
I just returned from Transform—arguably the largest and most compelling gathering of Chief People Officers and their top lieutenants stewarding the future of work. The conversations were honest, the questions challenging, and the trends impossible to ignore.
I had the privilege of speaking again this year, but more important is what I learned. Here are are my four big takeaways:
We’re still feeling the long tail of the pandemic. Many companies have spent the last few years focused on the individual needs of their people—flexibility, wellbeing, belonging. That work isn’t disappearing, but we’re now seeing a shift back toward the business itself: its mission, its performance, and its resilience. That doesn’t mean employee support is being deprioritized. Quite the opposite. No business thrives without its people—and no employee thrives in a failing business. Investing in the mission means investing in the people who carry it forward.
As companies evolve, clarity is becoming a superpower. Clarity in values. Clarity in expectations. Clarity in what success looks like. Vague promises and broad cultural aspirations no longer cut it. In a rapidly changing market, companies must define—and redefine—the principles that guide how they work and who they hire.
But clarity doesn’t always mean certainty. In fact, part of leading in this environment is normalizing the phrase “I don’t know.” It takes real humility to acknowledge when we’re navigating something entirely new—and even more courage to bring teams along through ambiguity. The best leaders aren’t pretending to have all the answers; they’re building trust by being transparent, adaptable, and grounded in shared purpose as they figure it out.
The “DEI” title was always too reductive for the complexity and importance of the work. And in many organizations, the function was siloed—positioned as an initiative rather than embedded into business strategy. That model was never going to be sustainable. Today, forward-thinking companies are moving beyond performative labels and integrating equity into the core of how they operate—from hiring and promotions to decision-making and accountability. I do want to take a moment to bring back this article I posted at the beginning of the year. I still see it this way :).
At the same time, we’re seeing a resurgence of “meritocracy” as a hiring ideal. But meritocracy only drives equity when we’re honest about how we define “merit.” As a side note to this conference I wanted to point out Liat Ben Zur’s article that does a great job of breaking this down. Historically, merit has been a proxy for access—favoring polished resumes, elite credentials, and chummy networks that exclude high-potential talent from non-traditional backgrounds. When merit is redefined to include resilience, trajectory, lived experience, and results—not just pedigree—it becomes not a barrier to diversity, but a catalyst for it.
The reality is, many women and professionals from underrepresented groups have had to outperform peers in less forgiving systems just to reach the same milestones. When we adopt structured, inclusive evaluation processes and expand our view of talent, we don’t lower the bar—we reveal how high it’s already been for some. That’s what embedding equity truly means: building systems that recognize talent in all its forms and make opportunity more than a matter of luck or legacy.
We’re operating in a time of significant uncertainty—economic headwinds, shifting workplace norms, and geopolitical complexity. But at Transform, I was struck by the sense of optimism, particularly around AI.
Yes, it’s a buzzword. But it’s also a breakthrough. And it’s not about automating jobs or making humans less relevant—it’s about using artificial intelligence to elevate human intelligence. The most compelling conversations weren’t about replacing people, but about unlocking new levels of creativity, critical thinking, and insight. AI has the potential to accelerate how we work and deepen the way we think. That’s where the real excitement lies—and the leaders who embrace it thoughtfully will be the ones who shape what’s next.
These shifts aren’t just theoretical—they’re happening now. And the companies who navigate them with clarity, integrity, and boldness will be the ones who lead the future of work.
© Athena Alliance 2025
