People leaders are frequently asked to implement a solution before the organization has clearly defined the problem: introduce an AI-enabled tool, replace a platform, launch training, revise a policy, improve engagement, or fix the culture. But moving too quickly from request to intervention can create considerable activity without addressing what is actually getting in the way. Drawing on her experience building people strategies across healthcare, technology, and high-growth startups, Deena Trucco Uludemir will explore how senior People leaders can look beyond the initial request, identify the underlying organizational need, and direct time, technology, and investment toward solutions that produce meaningful change. She will also examine how HR leaders can evaluate AI and other emerging technologies based on the problems they solve and the outcomes they improve, not simply on adoption or efficiency. Key takeaways: - How to distinguish the stated request from the underlying organizational problem - How to determine whether the barrier is structural, behavioral, technological, or leadership-related - Why best practices, benchmarks, and AI-generated insights should inform, not replace, organizational judgment - How to assess whether AI and technology create meaningful value or merely more activity - How to measure success through organizational outcomes rather than completed HR initiatives

Performance gaps rarely start where the dashboard says they do. Two teams can have the same strategy, similar resources, and equal leadership attention, yet deliver very different outcomes. One moves faster, makes sharper decisions, and turns pressure into momentum. Another gets stuck in rework, unclear priorities, slow handoffs, or habits that quietly dilute output. The difference is not usually effort. It is the system around the work. This keynote looks at performance as an operating reality, not a motivational problem. Where are the real constraints on output? Which conditions allow strong teams to keep performing under pressure? And why do so many well-intended interventions, from engagement pushes to training and incentives, create activity without materially improving results? Expect a practical look at how People leaders can diagnose performance at the level where it actually happens: across priorities, ways of working, leadership behavior, accountability, and the environment teams are operating inside. Key takeaways: - Understand why performance gaps often come from the system around the work, not effort alone. - Learn how to identify the conditions that help teams sustain stronger output, pace, and decision quality. - Explore why common performance interventions can create activity without improving business results. - Gain practical ways to diagnose, strengthen, and scale performance across teams.