HR at an Inflection Point: How to Deliver Stakeholder Value Through Human Capability
February 11, 2026 1:00 PM ET
Many are calling this moment a reinvention — or even a reckoning — for HR. Renowned business scholar and HR thought leader Dave Ulrich calls it something more precise: an inflection point.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping work faster than organizations can adapt, employees are burned out, leaders are under pressure, and boards are asking harder questions about value, performance, and accountability. In this environment, HR faces a defining challenge: to lead with evidence and impact — or risk becoming irrelevant.
In this live conversation, Ulrich joins SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, for a candid discussion about what must change now for HR to remain a strategic force across the organization. Together, they’ll move beyond slogans and surface-level transformation to examine the hard truths facing the profession.
This webinar will explore:
Why this moment represents a true reckoning for HR.
How HR creates stakeholder value, not just strong employee experiences.
What “integrated human capability” looks like in practice and why talent alone isn’t enough.
Where HR is falling short on analytics and AI, as well as how to close the gap between hype and impact.
What boards and CEOs increasingly expect from HR leaders.
Join us live for an unfiltered, evidence-based conversation that challenges conventional thinking and offers a clearer path forward for HR leaders who want to shape strategy, not manage decline.
SHRM Knowledge Advisors will join the live webinar to answer your questions in real time—right in the chat. If we don’t get to your question during the session? No problem, SHRM members can head to SHRM Connect after this webinar to keep the conversation going with advisors for 30 extra minutes. This benefit is only for members who join the live webinar and not included later on demand.
Meet the Presenters
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Johnny C. Taylor
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. He was recently named one of the “300 Most Influential Executives in Corporate America” by Savoy Magazine and recognized on the “Virginia 500 Power List” by Virginia Business. Mr. Taylor’s career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer and executive, serving at IAC, Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, among other organizations. He serves on the corporate boards of XPO, Inc.; Flores HR; and Guild Education and previously served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the first Trump administration. Mr. Taylor writes a weekly column, “Ask Johnny,” in USA Today and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional.
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Dave Ulrich
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor Emeritus at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and a partner at the RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on building human capability that creates value for all stakeholders. He has spent decades shaping how organizations think about and evolve how leadership, talent, and organizations define HR’s role in value creation.
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.