Co-Author of Excellence in People Analytics | People Analytics leader | Director, Insight222 & myHRfuture.com | Conference speaker | Host, Digital HR Leaders Podcast

I am a globally respected writer, speaker, conference chair and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work.

My main role is as an Executive Director at Insight222. Our clients include several Fortune100 firms and through 'The People Analytics Program', we help member organisations create more value and better employee experience through the wise and ethical use of people analytics. The consumer side of Insight222 - myHRfuture.com - provides training for HR professionals in 'future-oriented' topics.

WRITING | PODCASTING
I write regularly about people analytics and its role in the future of work and the evolution of the HR function. My articles are published on LinkedIn and myHRfuture.com. Subscribe to my Digital HR Leaders newsletter and podcast via myHRfuture: https://www.myhrfuture.com/subscribe 

SPEAKING
I am fortunate to speak at and chair conferences all over the world. Recent and upcoming speaking engagements include:
- UNLEASH World (Paris, Oct 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2019)
- UNLEASH America (Las Vegas, May 2025)
- Workday Rising Europe (2024, 2023 and 2022), Workday Rising US (2024)
- People Analytics World (London, 2014-2025), Zurich 2025, 2024, New York 2025, 2024 Amsterdam, 2023)
- Wharton People Analytics Conference (2025)
- Workhuman Live (London, 2025)
- People Matters TechHR India (Delhi, 2025)
- Visier Outsmart (London, 2024)
- HR4results by Gupy (São Paulo, Jun 2023)
- HR Tech by HR Nørge (Oslo, May 2023)

GET IN TOUCH
Please feel free to follow me here on LinkedIn and subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter - Data Driven HR Monthly. 

If you would like to book me as a speaker/chair, please contact me at dgreen@zandel.org.

If you are a people analytics leader or CHRO interested in joining Insight222's People Analytics Program, or finding about more about how we upskill HR professionals in data literacy, please get in touch at david.green@insight222.com.  

For my full biography, please visit davidrgreen.com.

David Green 🇺🇦

What are the key opportunities for the HR function in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣?

My article, 12 Opportunities for HR in 2026 presents the first ten (see images created through NotebookLM), which are all centred on the theme: Building Organisations That Thrive In The Agentic Age.

🎙️ HAVE YOUR SAY
As in previous years, I’m looking to you – the community – to crowdsource the final two opportunities.

If you were to add one opportunity HR must focus on in 2026, what would it be - and why?

✅ Read the article – and the ten opportunities I have detailed thus far – and then share your ideas in the comments of the main article: https://lnkd.in/eae-Kvq4

I’ll synthesise the strongest contributions into two additional opportunities - #11 and #12 - in an update of this article in the New Year.

🙏 Thanks in advance to all who decide to contribute.

🎙️ “Trust, integrity and connection aren’t soft values — they’re performance multipliers”

These words from Katarina Berg feature in the January edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, which brings together the HR, people analytics, AI and future of work resources that caught my eye over the month.

Lenin’s observation that: “There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen”, certainly holds true for the first month of 2026. I’m sure – like me – many of you are worn out after a rollercoaster of a month.

🔎 Hopefully, the content in this edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly should prove a welcome distraction from world events. Selections include Josh Bersin (on the “great reinvention of HR”), the latest report from the World Economic Forum (on four scenarios for the future of jobs), McKinsey (on the need to invest in “brain capital”) and Insight222 (on how AI is shaping people analytics functions and their work).

🙏 Thank you to Chris Eigeland and the Go1 team for sponsoring the January edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly.

Perfect for a Sunday read 🥐 ☕ 🗞

🔗 If you find the newsletter valuable, please subscribe here - https://lnkd.in/g8Awizjk - and share some data-driven love by liking, commenting, or sharing 🫶

There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. It’s been quite a month. Lenin’s infamous quote perfectly captures t

Open article: The best HR & People Analytics articles of January 2026 by David Green 🇺🇦 • 30 min read

The best HR & People Analytics articles of January 2026

🎙️ “If AI is introduced as a cost-cutting exercise, people will respond with fear. If it’s introduced as a capability-building exercise, people lean in.”

In this week’s episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, Brian Elliott shares a clear, evidence-led perspective on why so many change initiatives stall, from hybrid work to AI adoption.

Brian is the CEO of Work Forward, a former Google and Slack executive, and now a senior advisor to BCG and executive in residence at Charter . He has spent years researching how organisations navigate major shifts in where and how work gets done. That experience comes through clearly in our conversation.

Much of the tension around return-to-office policies and new technology has less to do with performance and more to do with trust. Leaders often default to instinct over evidence, focus on presence rather than outcomes, and lose clarity on why teams come together at all.

As Brian puts it:
🎙️ “If leaders don’t trust their people, no policy is going to fix that.”

The episode also highlights a longer-term risk that is getting far less attention:
🎙️ “When you remove the early rungs of the ladder, you shouldn’t be surprised when you don’t have leaders ready later.”

Decisions being made today about hybrid work and AI are already reshaping entry-level roles and future leadership pipelines.

One theme runs throughout the conversation. Change sticks or fails based on leadership behaviour, not policy design.
🎙️ “The role of HR in all of this is not to write better policies, but to help leaders change how they lead.”

In this episode, Brian and I explore:
🔎 Why the hybrid and return-to-office debate continues to divide leaders and employees
🔎 What the evidence says about making hybrid work effective for people and the business
🔎 The similarities between hybrid work decisions and today’s AI adoption challenges
🔎 How AI is reshaping early careers and long-term talent pipelines
🔎 Why leadership behaviour ultimately determines whether change takes hold

Thanks to Brian for sharing his time and expertise, Philip Arkcoll, Laura Morris and the Worklytics team for sponsoring the episode, and Oceane, Jasmine and the Insight222 team for bringing the podcast to life.

🎧 Enjoy listening! If you do, please add your comments below and share the episode with your colleagues and network. Thank you. It really helps!

This episode should appeal to: cc. Julie, Hanadi, Dan, Shonna, Annie, Jeremy, Stela, Ruslan, Irada, Malgorzata, Narelle, Amit, Katarina, Dr Tomas, Marcela, Anne-Marie, Sophie, Lewis, Jason, Swechha, Jacqui, Devika, Nick, Alexis, Dawn, Angela, Sebastian, Patrick, Kevin, Jena, Amber, Jeff

🎙️ “AI is a force multiplier. The top performers adopt it earlier, get proficient faster, and pull further ahead.”

That insight from Philip Arkcoll, CEO of Worklytics, sets the tone for this week’s Digital HR Leaders podcast episode on what data tells us about how work is changing in 2026.

One of the clearest patterns is that many of the constraints organisations faced in 2025 have not gone away. In fact, they are becoming more visible.

As Philip puts it:
🎙️ “The same issues that slowed productivity before are now slowing down the rollout of AI.”

Collaboration and activity data shows why:
🎙️ “Traditional HR metrics miss how work flows across teams, functions, and time zones.”

Meetings are a good example. Despite new tools and automation:
🎙️ “Meetings continue to increase. Even with all the new tools and automation, we’re still seeing more time spent in meetings, not less.”

At the same time, managers are carrying more responsibility than ever:
🎙️ “We are seeing manager spans increase from five or six people to ten, fifteen, or more, and that puts huge pressure on managers.”

The implication for HR and people analytics leaders is clear. Understanding how work actually happens matters more than adopting the next tool.
🎙️ “If you don’t have a listening and measurement strategy, you’re flying blind.”

In this episode, Phil and I discuss:
🔎 Where organisations were getting stuck in 2025 and what is changing in 2026
🔎 What collaboration and activity data reveals that traditional metrics miss
🔎 Why decision making, not output, is becoming the primary bottleneck
🔎 How expanding spans of control are reshaping the manager role
🔎 What HR and people analytics leaders can do to diagnose and redesign work

🙏 Thanks to Philip for sharing his time and expertise, Laura Morris and the Worklytics team for sponsoring the episode, and Oceane, Jasmine and the Insight222 team for bringing the podcast to life.

🎧 Enjoy listening! If you do, please add your comments below and share the episode with your colleagues and network. Thank you. It really helps! 🫶

This week's episode will likely appeal to: Jeremy, Stela, Brydie, Courtney, Ashar, Aimee, Michael, Greg, Shujaat, Brian, Adam, Phil, Dan, Jacob, Andrés, Brenda, Kyle, Richard, Dan, Alexis, John, Marta, Paola, Ian, Blaine, Andrew, Manish, Ralf, Patrick, Michal, Amit, Abhilash, Nicole, Jaap

🎧 What Tesla taught one HR leader about courage, power and agency

In this week’s episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, Kristen Kavanaugh shares a stark perspective on leadership, power, and agency, shaped by her time as Head of DEI, Talent Management and Learning at Tesla.

Kristen is the co-author, with Mike Randolph, of Courage Over Fear: Harness the Power of Agency to Lead in Uncertain Times, and the themes of that book run strongly through this conversation.

Kristen starts with a reminder that will resonate with many HR leaders:
🎙️ “Leaders do have a lot more agency than they think. What gets in the way of that agency is fear.”

The discussion explores what happens when fear quietly becomes the operating system inside organisations. Fear can drive short-term gains, but it weakens trust, narrows judgement, and limits people’s willingness to speak up or act with integrity.

Kristen introduces The Agency Loop as a practical framework to help leaders navigate tension, misalignment, and difficult decisions without losing sight of their values.

As technology reshapes roles, skills, and power at work, Kristen is clear about what courageous leadership requires:
🎙️ “We have to be willing to level-set with our employees about what AI is and what it isn’t, and be honest about what’s changing.”

She also reflects on the moment HR leaders are facing:
🎙️ “We are on the front edge of a transformation inside our companies that is once in a generation, and HR has to have a seat at the table.”

Kristen closes with a message that sits at the heart of this episode:
🎙️ “You have a lot more agency than you think you do. Don’t be afraid to use it, because you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

In this episode, we discuss:
🔎 Why fear-based leadership creates short-term gains but long-term damage
🔎 Why HR leaders often underestimate the agency they actually have
🔎 How the Agency Loop supports better decisions under pressure
🔎 What courageous leadership looks like as work and power structures change
🔎 Why HR has a rare opportunity to help shape a more humane future of work

🙏 Thanks to Kristen for sharing her time and expertise, Philip Arkcoll, Laura Morris and the Worklytics team for sponsoring the episode, and Oceane, Jasmine and the Insight222 team for bringing the podcast to life.

🎧 Enjoy listening! If you do, please add your comments below and share the episode with your colleagues and network. Thank you. It really helps! 🫶

This week's episode should appeal to: Manjuri, Memory, Shlomit, Katarina. Johanna, Dr Tomas, Dan, Sanja, Shonna, Erin, Al, Anna, Heather, Hanadi, Swechha, Brian, Irada, Amit, Shujaat, Marcela, Sophie, Lewis, JESS, Jason, Nick, Alexis, Dave, Catherine, Serena, Dorothy, Alexandra, Brian

A strategic human resources leader & leadership coach with over 25 years of bringing people-focused solutions to the most niggly business challenges to achieve results. With experience across the spectrum of HR practices, David’s specialities include:  talent management, executive coaching, process improvement, organizational change and transformation and leadership development.

Dave cofounded “get keep grow inc” a  Canadian employee engagement and retention professional services corporation.




Please note views and opinions expressed are my own and do not represent the views of my employer

David McLean

McLean & Company's new HR Trends report is live and shows some significant shifts in HR and organizational priorities for the coming year:

✅ Innovation jumped from #10 in 2025 to #2 in 2026—HR is now a key driver of transformation.
✅ Leadership development remains the top priority, but the focus is expanding to employee experience and AI adoption.
✅ HR is moving from reactive support to strategic leadership, shaping culture and enabling change.
📌 Bottom line: HR leaders must embrace innovation, tech, and cross-functional collaboration to stay ahead.



✴️✴️✴️ If you're interested in accessing the report, there is a link in the comments box below 


Acknowledgement: McLean & Company  


#ceo
#chro
#FutureOfWork 
#Leadership 
#Innovation 
#AI 
#StrategicHR

taplio

The Battle

David Green 🇺🇦

David McLean

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDavid Green 🇺🇦's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDavid McLean's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

David Green 🇺🇦

David McLean

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David Green 🇺🇦's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDavid McLean's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDavid Green 🇺🇦's LinkedIn Performance