From Disruption to Direction: A Year of AI in the Modern Workplace

Sarah-Mae, MBA | CEO & Editor-in-Chief
Dec 23, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Jan 22

Image of Calgary at dusk, with the blog title From Disruption to Direction.

By: Sarah-Mae Amde, MBA

Award-Winning CEO | Business Advisor & Executive Coach | Top Selling Author | Change Leader & Keynote Speaker. Turning Strategy into Results, Team Potential into Profit, and Vision into Victory.

The past year has felt like standing in a tidal shift.

From the first quarter of 2025, the global business community was swept up in an accelerating wave of AI innovation. Language models got sharper. Assistants got smarter. And with each launch, leaders were confronted with new decisions—most of which had no historical precedent.

For many, AI represented hope: productivity gains, operational efficiency, and the potential to reimagine work at scale. For others, it triggered fear — of job loss, ethical dilemmas, or spiralling cyber threats. And for most? Confusion. Because between the hype and the headlines, the real challenge wasn’t just adopting AI, but adapting to an AI-enabled workforce.

2025 Year in Review: AI Reflections

Reflecting back on the news, events and innovations in AI from the last year, there were three clear patterns that stood out to me:

1. Misalignment Between Tools, Behaviours and Teams

We saw organizations investing heavily in AI-powered platforms without properly preparing the humans expected to use them. The result? Under-utilized software, overwhelmed staff, and a lack of meaningful ROI.

2. Rising Risks in Data and Systems Security

AI didn’t just introduce new tools—it introduced new vulnerabilities. Social engineering scams, deepfakes, and deceptive content skyrocketed. Many organizations had technical defences in place but overlooked the most important layer: human behaviour.

3. Fear is Greater Than Fluency

Whether among frontline employees or seasoned executives, the emotional response to AI often outweighed the strategic one. Too many professionals asked, “Is this going to replace me?” instead of, “How can this help me do more, better?”

Looking Forward: What 2026 Demands of Us

If 2025 was the year of disruption, then 2026 must become the year of discernment.

AI is not going away. In fact, it will only become more embedded in how we operate, compete, and grow. But the difference between leaders who survive and those who scale will come down to this:

Will you adopt AI tools? Or will you build an AI-enabled workforce?

We're already starting to see that in the months ahead, organizations will:

Invest in AI literacy and ethical awareness at every level.
Enhance corporate cultures where teams leverage AI effectively.
Redefine business strategy to ensure their technology decisions are grounded productivity and profitability, not trends.
Build cross-functional alignment between security, HR, leadership, and operational teams.

AI and the Future of Work: a Four-Part Series

To explore each of these themes in depth, I’ve invited four of the senior editors from the company to share their insights across risk management, enterprise transformations, small business enablement, and executive coaching. Each tackling a different myth and opportunity, offering practical guidance to help you lead with clarity in an AI-enabled world.

Here’s what’s ahead:

Liora writes about Risk Management and Security, examining how AI is reshaping the threat landscape, why failing to educate teams on AI is leaving enterprises wide open to social engineering scams, impersonation fraud, and deceptive AI-generated content. She’ll also explore how behavioural change strategies can reinforce your organization’s first line of defence: your people.
Dario will then write from the lens of Transformation Delivery and Business Advisory, offering guidance for enterprise leaders navigating the shift to AI-enabled productivity. He’ll bust the myth that all AI tools are equal, and reveal why blindly rolling out assistants without data governance or behavioural change management can hinder business progress.

Kai is up next talking about our flagship Executive Insights Exchange events, Networking and Masterminds, bringing the focus to the entrepreneur. He’ll share how small businesses can use AI to amplify their reach and impact, even with limited resources, while avoiding the trap of using free tools that compromise brand integrity or expose sensitive information to competitors.

Talia is up last, sharing insights from the Executive Leadership Coaching business line, and will hone in to professionals navigating AI adoption in their careers. She’ll challenge the narrative that AI is replacing talent, and instead offer a blueprint for becoming AI-augmented, not AI-anxious—unlocking new value, visibility, and leverage in the workplace.

What’s Next in the Series

So, where do we begin?

Let’s kick things off with Liora, who’s been tracking the intersection of AI and cybersecurity with laser focus.

In Part 1, she’ll unpack how the surge in AI-generated deception, from impersonation scams to deepfake-driven fraud, is creating new vulnerabilities across every organization. But more importantly, she’ll show why trying to shield your team from AI knowledge may actually make them more vulnerable. Her piece dives into how behavioural change strategies — not just firewalls — are essential for building a resilient, security-aware workforce.

The future of work isn’t about human vs. machine.

It’s about equipping people with the right mindsets, toolsets, and strategies to thrive.

About the Editor

Sarah-Mae Amde, MBA, is a celebrated business strategist and transformational advisor. She's a five-time CEO of the Year and Top-selling author, Speaker and Executive Coach. Sarah-Mae is known for her very distinct and stylistic fingerprint, as she has a her preference for depth over brevity, outcomes over noise, integrity over hype, and clarity over cleverness. As CEO of Paragon, she leads with vision, compassion, and a commitment to excellence, enabling her clients to increase profitability, scale sustainably, lead confidently, and expand their capacity.