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Identifying and managing critical roles remains an important talent strategy for creating organizational stakeholder value. These roles often make up a small share of total roles, sometimes around 20%, but they have a much larger impact on strategy execution. I’ve shared many of my tools on critical roles, including two recent cheat sheets on identifying risks in these roles and determining if they are staffed with top talent. As AI reshapes how work gets done, a key question is emerging: how does the concept of a critical role and who occupies it need to evolve? A new McKinsey article this week explores that question, updating its Talent to Value Framework for an era in which value is no longer created by roles alone, but by humans and AI agents working together. It covers five steps, and I highlight two. Step 2 asks: where can people and AI agents work together in ways that create the most value? The third step reframes who should occupy those roles, suggesting the goal is no longer simply matching the best person to a critical role, but assessing how much that person can amplify value with AI. One implication for determining who occupies a critical role is: prioritizing individuals who build AI fluency, reimagine workflows through AI, and know when to use AI versus when human judgment is needed. With this in mind, how might you need to redefine your approach to managing critical roles?
