Ep 297 – The Emotional Load of Today’s CPO | Jenny Do Forno, Kate Railton & Katya Laviolette

1. This isn’t an AI problem — it’s a clarity problem

One of the biggest takeaways: most organizations aren’t struggling with AI strategy… they’re struggling with basic alignment. Jenny Do Forno emphasized this early in the conversation.

Ask employees what the company’s top 3 priorities are — most won’t know. And if they don’t know the strategy, there’s no way they’ll feel effective in their role (with or without AI).

“If I don’t understand the strategy, how do I know I’m equipped to do my job? I don’t.” — Jenny Do Forno

AI is just exposing existing cracks: poor communication, unclear priorities, and inconsistent leadership alignment.

The fix isn’t more tools — it’s better clarity. Repeat the strategy. Reinforce it everywhere. And make sure every team knows exactly how their work connects to it.

2. HR has to stop being the “cleanup crew”

A recurring theme: HR gets pulled in too late — after decisions are made and problems are created. Kate Railton spoke directly to this dynamic.

That’s when you become reactive, frustrated, and stuck fixing issues instead of shaping them.

“If you’re only brought in to clean up the mess, you’re not a trusted partner.” — Kate Railton

The shift is simple, but hard: get involved earlier. Push yourself into the room. Challenge decisions before they become problems.

And if you’re not being invited?

That’s your signal to rebuild trust — not just work harder.

3. The job is changing fast — and it’s not slowing down

The role of the CPO has already expanded massively since COVID. Now AI is accelerating that change even more. Katya Laviolette framed this shift clearly.

You’re expected to:

• Understand the business deeply
• Navigate constant change
• Make faster decisions with less information
• And manage the emotional load across the org

“Pace has never been as fast as I’ve seen it… and our job is to put things in perspective.” — Katya Laviolette

The reality: this is the job now.

The best leaders aren’t trying to slow things down — they’re building the ability to operate in ambiguity, think short + medium term, and guide others through it.

4. “So what?” is the most important question you can ask

One of the most practical frameworks from the conversation came from Jenny:

Take your company’s top priorities → have your team map their work to them → and then ask one question:

So what?

What actually changes if we do this?

“I don’t want work for work’s sake. I want work that drives impact.” — Jenny Do Forno

This forces teams to:

• Cut low-value work
• Focus on outcomes, not activity
• Tie everything back to business impact

And when you layer AI on top of that, it becomes even more important — because now you can do more… but that doesn’t mean you should.

5. Headcount planning is being rewritten in real time

There was a clear message here: the old playbooks are breaking. Katya highlighted this shift in how teams are thinking about growth.

Instead of automatically backfilling roles, leaders are starting to ask:

• Do we actually need this role anymore?
• Can AI handle part of this work?
• What skills do we need now instead?

“Backfilling without rethinking the role is very dangerous.” — Katya Laviolette

This means using natural attrition as an opportunity to thoughtfully redesign roles — gradually evolving toward more efficient teams that can deliver greater impact.

6. Performance is no longer about effort — it’s about impact

AI is changing how work gets done, but it shouldn’t change what we measure. Jenny made this point clear.

The answer isn’t more complex performance systems.

It’s simpler:

“I don’t care if you use AI, magic, or fairy dust — if you’re driving impact, that’s performance.” — Jenny Do Forno

That means:

• Less focus on hours, activity, or output volume
• More focus on outcomes and business results
• Rewarding people who leverage tools to amplify their impact

If someone is using AI to outperform their peers… that’s not unfair.

That’s the new bar.

Final thought

The throughline across everything: this is a human transformation, not just a technology shift.

AI is accelerating change — but the real work is still about:

• Clarity
• Trust
• Communication
• Judgment