How AI coaching is reshaping personal growth, leadership, and employee development with Russ Mikowski of SurePeople

This series was recorded live at HR Tech 2025 inside the HR Executive studios on the expo floor in partnership with the WRKdefined Podcast Network. ⁠Make sure you’re subscribed to the full series⁠ and ⁠visit ⁠⁠HRExecutive.com⁠⁠ for the news, analysis, and insights shaping the future of work. Most companies swear they care about people, but the tools they use to understand those people are stuck in the past. Psychometric assessments were built for the few, not the many. They’re expensive, rigid, and treated like some secret language reserved for executives. Russ Mikowski walks straight into that gap. He’s pushing for a world where every employee gets access to the same level of insight, coaching, and clarity that top leaders take for granted. Not as a perk. As the baseline. And the moment you democratize that kind of self-understanding, everything inside a company shifts. Communication tightens. Leadership improves. Engagement climbs. The culture evolves because the people inside it are finally getting better in real time. In this episode we talk about psychometric assessments, AI coaching, leadership development, organizational growth, and what it really means to democratize learning inside a company. Russ explains why traditional assessments fall short, how SureCoach.ai gives everyone a personalized coach, and why speed, purpose, and strong partnerships matter more than ever in HR tech. What We Cover Democratizing psychometric assessments AI’s role in personal development Target industries and real-world impact Leadership development and relationship building Partnerships, purpose, and market strategy Learning from failure and iterating fast Key Takeaways Traditional psychometrics have real gaps Learning tools should be accessible to everyone SureCoach.ai gives personalized coaching at scale AI feedback can target strengths and blind spots Healthcare and retail are prime markets Leadership development drives better relationships Partnerships only work if values match Speed is a legit competitive advantage Failures teach strategy fast Communication is evolving, and engagement needs to follow Chapters 0:00 Democratizing Psychometric Assessments 2:58 The Role of AI in Personal Development 5:57 Target Industries and Impact 9:08 Leadership Development and Personal Growth 11:47 Navigating Partnerships and Market Strategy 14:59 Learning from Failures and Future Directions Guest: Russ Mikowski, SurePeople LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-mikowski-a349903 Website: https://www.surepeople.com Host: Christy Honeycutt, Host Inside the C-Suite Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christyhoneycutt/