Hire Power with Kim Frost

Everyone’s going to have good AI. Your competitors can buy it, license it, and build on it. So what’s going to set you apart? It’s the finale of my AI Series. Seven episodes ago I asked: if AI is replacing entry-level jobs, where will our future leaders come from? This week I give you my answer. Fair warning: it’s a little longer than usual, because I’ve got something good to say. In this episode,...

You've got the three-year plan, the growth targets, and the financial models. But who's actually going to lead the company you're trying to become? This is part six of my series on where our future leaders will come from, and it's where the pieces start to click. Your leadership pipeline isn't an HR conversation. It's business strategy. And putting a name in a succession sp...

Five episodes into her AI series, Kim goes after the years-of-experience requirement on every job posting. Her take as a career recruiter? Experience tells you what someone's been exposed to, not whether they're actually good at it. With AI eating the entry-level work people used to learn on, she lays out what to hire for instead and how to build the experience you can no longer just buy....

This week Kim widens the lens on her AI series. It's not just about developing future leaders anymore, it's about all of us. If AI just handed you back hours you used to spend on a task, what are you doing with them? Kim breaks down what it actually takes to keep growing instead of just staying busy. In this episode: Why "what can I take off my plate" is the wrong question — the real one is "what...

AI can coach you. It can even sound like a therapist. But it can't advocate for you in a room you're not in — and it definitely can't tell you what you're leaving out of your own story. Kim kicks off with a confession (Diet Coke loyalists, brace yourselves) before diving into episode 3 of her series on developing future leaders: why mentorship — real, human, sometimes uncomfortable mentorship — is...

I don't think AI is killing entry-level jobs so much as it's killing the way we've always grown leaders. So if that path is disappearing, what replaces it? Last week I asked where future leaders come from if AI keeps eating entry-level work. This week I answer it: they don't grow up the way we did, and that's not the problem. The problem is whether we're intentional about what replaces the experie...

Everyone's asking what AI can do for their bottom line. Almost nobody's asking the question that actually keeps me up at night: if AI keeps eating entry-level work, who's left to become your next leader? I don't think AI is killing entry-level jobs. I think it's exposing how little thought we've put into what those jobs are for in the first place — and if we don't fix that, the bill comes due year...

56% of what makes a leader powerful comes down to one word. It's not trust. It's not vision. It's not charisma. Kim breaks down the Gallup research that stopped her in her tracks — and why "hope" is not the soft, feel-good concept you think it is. With layoffs, AI, and constant restructuring dominating the headlines, Kim's been thinking about one word: hope. Not the inspi...

A few episodes ago, I talked about upskilling — why the "get a degree, hang it on the wall, call it good" model is dead. After I recorded it, the question I couldn't shake wasn't about my clients or candidates. It was about me. So I looked back at 25+ years in recruiting — starting before LinkedIn existed, before AI, CRMs, automation, and half the tools I now run my business on —...

I can't stand the term Work/Life Balance to be honest. We've been saying it for thirty years and nobody's stopped to ask if it even makes sense anymore. After a Diet Coke experiment update, I dig into why remote work made the line between work and life blurrier instead of clearer, what a friend's almost-retirement taught me about loving what you do, and why I think "alignment&...

What do AI adoption, leadership alignment, and a surprisingly good Diet Coke cocktail have in common? More than you'd think. In this episode of Hire Power, Kim Frost explores why Centers of Excellence (COEs) are making a major comeback and how organizations can build them successfully. As AI tools, processes, and technologies rapidly enter the workplace, many companies are discovering the same...

I've worked remotely for almost 20 years. And I'll be honest, I'm torn. This episode is one I had to sit with longer than most because remote work is genuinely complicated. It's not good or bad. It's a mirror. And what it reflects back on your organization might be the most important thing you hear this year. In this episode: Why remote work amplifies everything — strong leader...

What do pepper in a Diet Coke and organizational strategy have in common? More than you might think. In this episode Kim Frost explores why Centers of Excellence (COEs) are re-emerging as a powerful solution for companies navigating growth, AI adoption, leadership development, and operational consistency. While the old-school COE model often became bogged down in bureaucracy, today's version i...

What if the skills that future-proof your career have nothing to do with AI at all? In this episode, Kim shares why communication, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence are becoming some of the most valuable skills in today’s workforce. Drawing from real experiences in recruiting and leadership, Kim unpacks the patterns she’s seeing across interviews, hiring, and workplace culture — and wh...

What actually drives revenue growth inside a company? In this episode of Higher Power, we’re talking about the leadership habits that quietly shape growth behind the scenes — from alignment and decision-making to collaboration and clarity across teams. This conversation explores why some companies continue growing while others feel stuck, even when they have talented people and strong products. We...

What actually makes a team perform at a high level — and why do so many organizations struggle to get there? In this episode, we break down the hidden reasons teams fall short, even when the talent looks great on paper. From leadership blind spots to accountability issues, this conversation explores what separates average teams from truly high-performing ones. We also dive into the role clarity, c...

Mergers, acquisitions, and reorgs are supposed to signal growth. But inside the organization? It often feels like confusion, tension, and uncertainty. In this episode, we’re getting into what actually happens after the announcement and why so many of these transitions don’t play out the way leaders expect. Because it’s not just about the deal. It’s about what shifts underneath it. Roles change. Po...

The way most people think about learning is outdated—and it’s quietly holding them back. In this episode, we’re breaking down what upskilling actually looks like right now… and why simply consuming more information isn’t the same as getting better. Because the gap isn’t knowledge. It’s application. We get into what’s really changing in today’s job market, where people tend to get stuck without rea...

You got the promotion… but no one prepared you for this part. Same team. Same company. Completely different dynamic. In this episode, Kim breaks down what really happens when you step into leadership, especially when you're now managing people you used to sit next to (or vent with). Because the truth is, your title may change overnight… but trust doesn’t come with it. In fact, sometimes it dis...

Everyone is “doing AI”… but very few are actually winning with it. In this episode, we’re breaking down the biggest mistake companies are making right now: confusing activity with strategy. Because using AI across departments doesn’t mean you have alignment—and without alignment, you don’t have impact. If you’ve ever wondered who should own AI in your business (or if that role even needs to exist)...

What if burnout isn’t about doing too much, but about doing the wrong things for too long? In this episode, we’re getting honest about what leadership really feels like behind the scenes. Because from the outside, it can look like you’re thriving—hitting goals, leading teams, showing up every day—but internally, you might feel drained, disconnected, and completely out of alignment. This isn’t abou...

There’s a moment in leadership no one prepares you for.. when you realize you don’t agree with the direction at the top. In this episode of  Hire Power , Kim Frost dives into one of the most challenging, and rarely discussed, realities of leadership: navigating real tension at the top. Not surface-level disagreements, but the kind that impact your team, your strategy, and the long-term health of t...

What do you do when your team has lost trust in you? Not in a dramatic blow-up way—in the subtle, dangerous way. The quiet resistance. The lack of follow-through. The nodding in meetings that leads nowhere. This episode gets into the real reasons trust erodes, the signs you're losing it, and the three non-negotiables for rebuilding it. This isn't soft leadership talk—trust is your team&#39...

Workplace friendships—are they worth the risk? In this episode, Kim gets real about a topic that'll ruffle some feathers: why mixing friendship with work relationships can backfire—and why most leaders won't admit it. You've read the articles. Friendships at work boost engagement, retention, productivity. But what happens when personal conflicts collide with professional decisions? Whe...

Short-term thinking is getting exposed fast. The best leaders in 2026 aren't reacting; they're building depth, succession, and bench strength before crisis hits. In this final episode of the Leadership Trends for 2026 series, Kim wraps up the five trends reshaping leadership and dives deep into why succession planning is no longer optional, it's business continuity. In This Episode: Th...