Courage to find the value in AI
Keynotes and workshops on the hard calls leaders must make to turn AI tools into business value, built on current research and my own transformation experience.
“Tejal made the event fun, using a series of brilliant metaphors to convey complex ideas.”
Every talk is about the difficult decisions and judgements leaders face as AI reshapes the business, and how to think them through holistically across strategy, the work, people and culture.
Every talk can be tailored to your audience and format, from a 20-minute keynote to a 2-hour workshop or a 1-2 day session with your leadership team, or we can shape a new one.
AI adoption and business value
Sweet, Sour, Salty and Spicy: lessons in AI adoption
Signature keynote
Sweet, Sour, Salty and Spicy: lessons in AI adoption
Signature keynoteA candid, story-led account of AI adoption inside a PE-backed global business, told through four flavours: what created value, where tension showed up, how culture decided what stuck, and the decision most leaders avoid.
You leave with An insider view of what creates value beyond pilots, why leaders and managers make or break it, and one named decision to act on.
See this talk at Mills & Reeve Future of Work · Also delivered at Courageous Leaders
Where AI is safe to start in HR
Where AI is safe to start in HR
AI can make a bad HR process much, much faster. This working session starts with three questions to ask before any AI use case: should we, how should we and is automation safe? Participants then debate real HR processes live and sort them into safe to automate as they stand, needs guardrails first, or a straight no-go.
You leave with Better judgement on AI in people processes: how to test whether a use case solves the right problem, whether the process needs redesigning first, and who carries the consequence if the AI gets it wrong.
The Smart Shift: redesign before you augment
The Smart Shift: redesign before you augment
Four moves for turning AI curiosity into structured execution: sense, shape, steer, sustain.
You leave with A filter for telling signal from noise before your next AI initiative, and the subtractive mindset as a leadership discipline.
Leadership and organisational change
Bending without breaking: organisational readiness for AI-driven change
Bending without breaking: organisational readiness for AI-driven change
Constant change exhausts people when the organisation was never designed to flex. Hear about 5 levers to bring more agility and flex into your organisation by treating strategy as a hypothesis, the power of experimentation and the kind of culture that holds teams together.
You leave with Why AI readiness is a design question rather than a literacy one, and why subtracting before adding decides whether change is absorbed.
The end of the expert? A leader's identity crisis
The end of the expert? A leader's identity crisis
Why AI feels like a threat to leaders' identity, and the stance that works: unromantic about how the work gets done, romantic about why it matters.
You leave with A reason why letting go of having the answers feels threatening, and what stays human about leadership.
The future of talent and work
Mind the Gap: Equity and bias in AI on people processes
Mind the Gap: Equity and bias in AI on people processes
How AI amplifies existing gaps in progression and pay, and what People teams can do to get it right.
You leave with The progression equation (performance x visibility x sponsorship), five questions every People team should ask and three pillars for inclusive AI adoption.
Workforce planning in an unpredictable environment
Workforce planning in an unpredictable environment
Strategic workforce planning used to predict future demand. When the world keeps changing, its job is to build the capability to be ready for whichever future arrives.
You leave with A way to see where your workforce planning sits today, seven ways to source capability beyond hire and fire, and one move to take back to your team.
Staying relevant as AI automates talent acquisition: from filling roles to shaping work
Staying relevant as AI automates talent acquisition: from filling roles to shaping work
AI is taking over sourcing, screening and scheduling. Two case studies show how TA stays relevant by moving upstream, from filling roles to shaping work and advising the business on how to source capability.
You leave with A clear view of which TA work AI takes first, three lenses for deciding where TA adds value next, and the skills TA must build to move upstream.
What event hosts and audiences say
Her session was engaging, insightful, and delivered with real depth and authority. Tejal made the event fun, using a series of brilliant metaphors to convey complex ideas. Participants universally praised the session, noting both the relevance and practical nature of her content, as well as the actionable key takeaways she provided.
Tejal has a commanding stage presence, and her arguments are well reasoned and genuinely thought provoking. She freely welcomes the audience to challenge her thinking, as she will freely challenge theirs. Her audiences leave with real clarity on the topic at hand and concrete opportunities to further develop practices within their own organisations.
Tejal is easily one of the most level-headed, commercially-minded, and strategically sharp leaders I've had the pleasure of working with. Both her sessions were incredibly well-received, with enthusiastic feedback from peers, partners and participants alike. Tejal was not only a delight to work with - collaborative, communicative, and full of ideas - but also brought a generous warm spirit, always ready to support and add value wherever she could.
Rooms have ranged from c90 leaders at Courageous Leaders to c250 at Mills & Reeve Future of Work and c300 at RecFest UK.
Events
- Courageous Leaders
- RecFest UK
- Level 20
- HR Analytics Summit
- House of Visionaries
- Mills & Reeve Future of Work
- Workforce Solutions Conference, part of World of Learning
- City HR Conference
- Talent & Leadership Club
Panels and podcasts
Planning an event?
Tell me the audience, the length and the outcome you want, and I will suggest the talk.