When AI Becomes a Teammate: Strategic Thinking in the Age of the Agentic Enterprise
- Shilpi Joshi
- Dec 16, 2025
- 3 min read
Yesterday, I hosted our second peer learning session exploring what it means to think strategically in a world being rapidly reshaped by AI. The conversation went deep — not just into technology, but into leadership, systems thinking, and the very nature of organisations.
Our focus? Agentic AI — a new class of AI systems that can plan, act, and learn on their own. Not tools waiting for instructions. Not assistants sitting passively in the background. But active players that can reroute logistics, close service tickets, adjust campaigns, and learn from feedback — all without human input at every turn.
More Than Just Another Tool
We explored this idea: What happens when AI is not just a system to manage — but a teammate to collaborate with?
According to recent MIT Sloan & BCG research, 76% of executives already view agentic AI as more like a co-worker than a tool. That’s a staggering shift in mindset — and it’s happening faster than most HR strategies can keep up with.
This kind of AI breaks the traditional logic we’ve built our organisations around:
Is it labour or capital?
Does it automate or augment?
Is it a tool or a worker?
The answer, increasingly, is yes to all of the above.
Why This Breaks Our Mental Models
“A tidal wave of adoption, a trickle of strategy.”
In the rush to deploy agentic systems, most organisations haven’t yet redesigned the governance, talent models, or operating structures needed to work alongside these new “non-human actors.” HR leaders, in particular, are facing a gap: responsible for shaping the future workforce — but often playing catch-up when it comes to AI integration.
Strategic Questions We’re Wrestling With
The session surfaced some powerful questions:
Are we simply adding tools — or changing the very structure of our organisations?
What happens when agents take on decision-making tasks that once sat with humans?
How do we supervise systems like employees, but manage them like assets?
What kind of leadership do we need when humans and machines share the work?
There were no easy answers — but the real value came from the conversation about the opportunities and challenges.
From Research to Reality
The session closed with a call to action:How do we move from the theory of agentic AI to the reality of organisational transformation?
We used a simple, structured reflection framework:
What’s the challenge or opportunity in our organisation?
What are the options or paths?
What are the patterns we’re starting to see?
What do we as P&C leaders need to be aware of/ action in our own organisations?
This turned the abstract into something tangible — and, more importantly, something actionable.
Looking ahead to 2026, it's clear: AI won’t wait for our org charts to catch up. The question is whether our strategies — especially in HR — will be ready to lead, not just react.
If you’re facing similar questions, I’d love to hear what you’re seeing, sensing, or experimenting with.
If you’re a People & Culture leader wrestling with these kinds of questions, you’re not alone.
We’re a community of peers who meet online every six weeks to think together, challenge assumptions, and support one another in real time.
It’s free, practical, and intentionally small — so we can go deep.
Topics for our 2026 sessions (as suggested by group members) include:
Managing psychosocial risk- what leaders can do
Leveraging data and analytics in HR
Supporting different generations and work
AI and its impact on HR
If that sparks your curiosity, we’d love to have you join us.
👉 Drop me a message to get invited to the next session: Shilpi@oceanconsulting.com.au
