This episode is part of FutureReady, a special series produced in partnership with Emeritus, exploring how organizations are rewiring themselves for performance in the AI and skills economy.

Andy Storch talks with Dr. Carole Bennett, Vice President of Talent Management and Development at Sutter Health, the large integrated health system serving Northern California. Carole leads Sutter Health University, where participation has jumped 120% and senior leaders now teach much of the coursework themselves.

Carole makes the case that managers are where transformation either takes root or quietly stalls. She explains why change and transformation aren't the same thing, why talent development may have lost sight of the "management" side of leading, and how Sutter is bringing AI into leadership development without losing the human heart of healthcare, including an AI agent built into performance reviews that made those conversations feel more human, not less.

In This Episode, You'll Hear:

• Why Carole's PhD research on self-awareness still shapes how she develops leaders, and why self-awareness is "the practice of leadership"
• How Sutter Health University is built around three pillars: leadership excellence, career growth, and continuous learning
• The leader-as-teacher model: why alumni and senior leaders now teach, and how "learn one, do one, teach one" turns teaching into development
• Why managers are the ones who translate culture, strategy, and mission into daily work
• "Change is doing something different. Transformation is believing something different."
• What happens when organizations drive change through senior leaders and email alone
• Why managers need both sides: operational and financial rigor, and the human side of leading
• Why judgment becomes more important the more knowledge AI puts at our fingertips
• How Sutter partnered with its chief of AI to start AI training before licenses were even in place
• The AI agent built into Sutter's performance management system, and what employees said about the reviews it helped create
• Carole's three words for leading with AI: clarity, judgment, and mastery
• A low-cost way to develop managers without a corporate university: learn on your own, then come together to make meaning
• Why talent leaders need to keep changing, but never stop

Resources Mentioned:

• Sutter Health: https://www.sutterhealth.org
• Emeritus: https://emeritus.org
• LinkedIn Learning
• Own Your Career, Own Your Life by Andy Storch
• Connect with Carole Bennett on LinkedIn: [add link]

About FutureReady: FutureReady is a podcast series produced in partnership with Emeritus, featuring HR and talent leaders navigating the shift to skills-based organizations and AI-enabled work. Full episodes are also available on the Emeritus Insights app.

Work With Andy: Are your managers expected to lead AI change without the skills or confidence to do it? Andy's AI Kickstarter Workshop is a hands-on, 90-minute session that helps managers and teams move past fear and into real, everyday AI use. He also delivers a Career Ownership and AI Keynote for audiences figuring out what AI means for their own careers. Reach out at andy@andystorch.com or visit andystorch.com.

Connect with Andy: andystorch.com | andy@andystorch.com