As artificial intelligence reshapes how work gets done, many organizations are discovering that technology change is the easy part. The harder challenge is cultural: how to keep people engaged, aligned, and motivated when roles, expectations, and ways of working are in constant flux.
That tension sits at the center of “The ALIVE Organization: Building a Thriving Workplace in the Age of AI,” the next installment in the University of Phoenix’s Bridging Perspectives webinar series. Scheduled for Thursday, February 19, at 11 a.m. MST, the session is aimed at higher education leaders, employers, nonprofit organizations, and the University’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
Hosted by the Office of Collaborative Learning and Educational Engagement, the webinar reflects a growing focus within higher education and enterprise learning circles: preparing leaders not just to deploy AI, but to lead people through the disruption it creates.
Culture, Not Code, Is the Real Differentiator
AI adoption has accelerated across industries, automating tasks, augmenting decision-making, and redefining job roles. Yet as organizations invest heavily in tools and platforms, many are finding that productivity gains stall without parallel investment in culture, leadership, and human capability.
“As AI accelerates change across workplaces, organizations have a powerful opportunity to strengthen collaboration and elevate how teams work together,” said Saray Lopez, MBA, Director of Strategic Initiatives at University of Phoenix. “This conversation focuses on what leaders can do now to support a culture of engagement and purpose while navigating shifting workforce expectations.”
That framing aligns with what many HR and talent leaders are seeing on the ground. AI may optimize workflows, but it can also intensify uncertainty, surface conflict, and widen gaps in trust if leaders aren’t equipped to manage the human side of transformation.
Enter the ALIVE Leadership Framework
The webinar’s featured speaker, Joey Avilés, brings a leadership lens shaped by work across the public and private sectors. A Leadership Architect and Executive Transformation Advisor, Avilés is the author of Choose to Live and the creator of the ALIVE Leadership Method, a framework designed to activate human capabilities that drive culture and performance.
Avilés has advised leaders across technology, finance, healthcare, and the public sector, including major government agencies and global enterprises. His work focuses less on positional authority and more on how leaders show up—especially during periods of change.
During the session, Avilés will introduce the A.L.I.V.E. framework, a five-pillar approach centered on:
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Awareness
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Belonging
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Well-being
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Productive conflict
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Elevation
Rather than treating conflict and vulnerability as risks to manage, the framework positions them as essential ingredients for trust, adaptability, and sustained performance.
Why Productive Conflict Matters More in AI-Driven Workplaces
One of the webinar’s core themes—productive conflict—feels particularly timely. As AI tools alter workflows and decision-making authority, teams are increasingly navigating ambiguity around roles, accountability, and value creation.
In many organizations, the instinct is to suppress disagreement in the name of speed or alignment. Avilés argues the opposite: that well-facilitated conflict, grounded in trust and shared purpose, is what allows teams to adapt without fracturing.
Drawing on experience with leadership development programs and large-scale culture transformations, he will explore how leaders can normalize healthy tension, use storytelling to create meaning, and model vulnerability without undermining credibility.
These capabilities, while often labeled “soft,” are becoming mission-critical as AI compresses decision cycles and exposes gaps in communication faster than ever before.
What Attendees Will Take Away
The session is designed to be practical, not theoretical. Participants can expect to leave with actionable insights they can apply immediately in their own teams and organizations, including:
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How to use productive conflict to strengthen trust, connection, and performance
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How storytelling and vulnerability contribute to a culture of belonging
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The mindsets and behaviors that consistently distinguish top performers in periods of change
For leaders navigating AI adoption, these skills can determine whether technology becomes a force multiplier—or a source of disengagement.
Who Should Attend—and Why It Matters
The webinar is tailored for leaders and practitioners focused on workforce trends, organizational culture, talent development, manager effectiveness, and employee experience in technology-enabled environments.
That audience reflects a broader shift in how learning and development is evolving. As AI reduces the shelf life of technical skills, human capabilities—communication, judgment, empathy, and leadership—are becoming the most durable assets organizations can build.
Universities, employers, and nonprofits alike are grappling with how to cultivate those capabilities at scale. Events like this webinar highlight the role higher education institutions can play as conveners of cross-sector dialogue around the future of work.
A Broader Conversation About Leadership in the AI Era
“The ALIVE Organization” webinar fits into a growing body of work exploring what effective leadership looks like when machines can generate content, analyze data, and automate decisions—but can’t build trust or meaning.
For University of Phoenix, the Bridging Perspectives series serves as a platform to connect academic insight with real-world leadership challenges. For attendees, it’s an opportunity to step back from tools and tactics and focus on the human systems that ultimately determine whether AI-driven change succeeds.
As AI continues to reshape jobs and organizations, the leaders who thrive may not be those who know the most about algorithms—but those who know how to keep people engaged, connected, and ALIVE through constant change.
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