Need AI Talent? Ask This One Question

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Episode Description

Today’s leaders face a familiar frustration.
Ideas are not the problem. Digital, data, and AI initiatives are everywhere.
The real constraint is capacity.

Organizations feel stuck. Transformation seems to require larger budgets, more external hires, and endless contractors. This perceived bottleneck slows execution and often stops high potential initiatives before they begin.

But the evidence shows something surprising.
The capacity problem is solvable without adding headcount.

The solution is already inside the organization.

The One Question That Changes Everything

The approach is simple, almost deceptively so.
It starts with one carefully designed question sent to every employee.

That single question consistently reveals between 3 and 7 percent of the workforce. These employees are the hidden gems.

They are people who have independently taught themselves digital, data, or AI skills outside formal company programs. They did it on their own time, often with their own money, driven by curiosity and problem solving.

This is how organizations can staff transformation initiatives in weeks instead of quarters.

Who Are the Hidden Gems

On average, about 5 percent of employees respond yes to this question.

What makes them different is agency.
They were not nominated by managers.
They were not assigned training by HR.

They chose to learn.

These employees often sit deep inside business functions, not in IT. Examples appear across the organization:

A supply planner who completed a Python bootcamp and sees ways to optimize logistics.
A customer service leader who built a simple machine learning model to route tickets more efficiently.
An accountant prototyping AI tools to automate reconciliations.

They combine technical skills with deep business context. This makes them ideal transformation accelerators.

Why Traditional L&D Misses This Talent

Corporate learning programs are effective at raising baseline capability.
They make visible the people who enroll, complete courses, and follow defined paths.

What they miss are motivated outliers.

Self directed learners do not wait for curricula. They learn because they see problems and want to solve them. That intrinsic motivation makes their impact disproportionately high.

Without asking the right question, this talent remains invisible.

The Business Impact of Unlocking Internal Capacity

Finding hidden AI talent delivers immediate and measurable value.

First, it creates a distributed bench of transformation champions across functions.
Second, it reduces dependence on expensive external vendors and shadow IT.
Third, adoption improves because change is driven by insiders with credibility.
Fourth, engagement and retention rise among the most valuable employees.

The capacity math is compelling.
In a company of 1,000 employees, identifying 5 percent creates a pool of 50 champions.
Freeing just 20 percent of their time unlocks the equivalent of 10 full time employees focused on transformation.

The Leadership Commitment Required

This model only works if leadership commits upfront.

Managers must agree to free 10 to 30 percent of selected employees’ time before assignments begin. Without this agreement, the program fails and risks burnout among top talent.

The social contract is clear.
Employees contribute skills and motivation.
The organization provides time and meaningful work.

Designing the One Question Poll

Trust and simplicity determine success.

The poll must take less than 90 seconds to complete.
Anything longer loses the very people it aims to find.

The core question is binary:

Have you educated yourself in digital, data analytics, or AI outside company programs in the past 12 to 24 months?

Optional follow ups include skill topics, proficiency level, and availability.
A single free text field asks for one concrete example of something built, learned, or delivered.

The poll must clearly state that responses are for opportunity matching only and will not affect performance evaluations. Transparency about who sees the data is essential.

The Role of the Transformation Management Office

The Transformation Management Office, together with IT, defines required skills and curates a catalog of high value initiatives.

HR runs the poll and connects results to internal mobility.
The TMO manages the transformation asset.
HR manages the people.

This separation ensures speed without losing governance.

The 30 60 90 Day Execution Model

Execution moves fast by design.

Days 0 to 15 focus on preparation. This includes drafting the poll, legal approval, and publishing a visible opportunity catalog.

Days 16 to 30 mark the launch. The invitation is co signed by the CEO, CIO, and CHRO and remains open for ten business days.

Days 31 to 60 focus on matching. Short discovery calls confirm skills, willingness, and manager approval.

Selected employees are assigned to a small number of visible lighthouse initiatives with clear value targets.

Guardrails Against Shadow IT

Speed cannot come at the cost of control.

Champions must operate within approved platforms, data products, and security standards.
Reuse comes first. Exceptions follow a clear and short approval path.

This channels high agency energy without enabling uncontrolled technology risk.

What Motivates High Agency Talent

Money is not the primary driver.

These employees seek impact, growth, and visibility. Effective recognition includes expanded scope, role progression, rotation credits, leadership exposure, and continued learning support.

Clear links between contribution and career progression significantly improve retention.

A Real World Case

A 5,000 employee industrial company ran the one question poll and identified 260 hidden gems.

Within eight weeks, six transformation squads were active.
Results included a 1.5 percent gross margin lift and a 9 percent reduction in spare parts inventory.
External contractor spend dropped by 18 percent in one quarter.

Making It a Repeatable System

This cannot be a one time initiative.

The poll should run twice a year.
The opportunity catalog should remain active.
Leaders should be expected to sponsor transformation initiatives regularly.

Capacity is not a headcount problem.
It is a visibility problem.

Find the 5 percent already running toward the future, give them time, and transformation accelerates faster than expected.