EP-44 Csaba Toth, AI Is Changing Work. Are People Ready?

What happens when organizations prepare for technological change—but fail to prepare the people who have to make that change happen?

Csaba Tothworks at the intersection of cultural intelligence, psychology, leadership and organizational transformation. Originally from Hungary and now based in the UK, his work focuses on understanding the human factors that determine whether people and organizations are actually ready for change.

In this conversation, Csaba argues that one of the biggest problems in transformation is not a lack of technology or even a lack of investment. It is a measurement gap: organizations often measure what is easy to see—engagement, participation or how much people enjoyed a programme—rather than whether people are actually ready to change.

This becomes particularly important as AI changes the workplace. Csaba argues that companies don't transform on their own. People transform. And if the people responsible for implementing a new technology are working in silos, lack motivation, don't understand the future they are being asked to move toward, or fear what the transformation means for them, even a technically excellent project can fail.

We also explore why culture is more complicated than national stereotypes, how remote and hybrid work can reveal aspects of people's personalities that were previously hidden by workplace norms, and why understanding an individual's values and beliefs can be more useful than simply knowing where they come from.

A recurring theme throughout the conversation is agency. As the traditional promise of a stable career becomes less certain, people may need to become more proactive about their own learning, relationships, adaptability and future—not because they should simply accept uncertainty, but because they cannot control everything that happens around them.

For leaders, Csaba's practical advice is straightforward: understand whether your people are ready, communicate the future clearly, and understand what the transformation means for them.

In this episode

00:00 - Why self-awareness matters in an unpredictable future04:57 - The values and beliefs that quietly drive our decisions08:15 - What the pandemic revealed about people and organizations10:41 - The measurement gap in organizational transformation13:35 - Why national culture is not enough to understand people16:48 - Cultural stereotypes and the danger of confident assumptions17:42 - Why companies often wait until transformation hurts19:18 - What psychology can teach us about preparing for the future21:35 - How to measure transformation readiness24:20 - What's in it for employees during transformation?27:04 - The illusion of career security and the rise of agency30:17 - Cognitive dissonance and why people resist reality33:09 - Can we preserve the past while still evolving?36:04 - Why leaders need to look beyond visible symptoms39:33 - What leaders should do before a major transformation

The Future Was Yesterday explores how technological change is reshaping work — how work is organized, how organizations and society are affected, and how people can adapt.

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Keywords: AI transformation, future of work, AI and leadership, organizational transformation, transformation readiness, cultural intelligence, workplace culture, AI adoption, change management, business psychology, leadership, employee engagement, human side of AI, organizational change, future of work insights