August 12, 2025
Episode 150: Reimagining HR with AI Teammates: How Athena Is Changing the Future of Work with Scott Morris
In this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Dane Groeneveld talks with Scott Morris, Founder and CEO of PropulsionAI, to explore the future of HR and the groundbreaking role of AI as a teammate. Scott shares how his unconventional career path – from LAPD officer to C-level HR executive to tech founder – inspired him to create Athena, an AI-powered coach designed to help managers hire smarter, lead better, and scale more effectively.
Together, Dane and Scott dig into why so many new hires fail, the true cost of mis-hiring (both financially and emotionally), and how outdated approaches to “culture fit” are holding organizations back. Learn how PropulsionAI is helping managers clarify role expectations, define success metrics, and finally scale the strategic work that HR teams often don’t have capacity for. Finally, they explore why interviews often fall flat, how AI can reshape the process, and what it really means to create “fit” between people and roles.
🔗 Connect with Scott on LinkedIn
AI Teammates for Smarter Hiring & Stronger Teams with Scott Morris
Guest Bio
Scott Morris traded more than 25 years of HR leadership – including two decades at the C-suite level – for the entrepreneurial frontier. Having navigated the evolving landscape of talent management across five industries and two continents, Scott led HR strategy for nimble tech startups and orchestrated comprehensive workforce solutions for enterprises with more than 15,000 employees.
Now founder and CEO of PropulsionAI, Scott is building ‘an HR team with just AI’ – digital teammates that coach managers through talent challenges, the way skilled HR leaders would. Scott channeled his deep understanding of human capital challenges into an industry-leading solution that helps managers clarify how roles connect to business outcomes, transforming hiring decisions and performance management, and creating bandwidth for HR professionals to focus on aspects that only humans can perform.
Key Takeaways
00:00 Introduction to the Future of Teamwork Podcast
01:33 Meet Scott Morris: From LAPD to HR Innovator
04:43 The Human Toll of Mis-Hiring
07:06 The Concept of Fit in the Workplace
08:56 Introducing Athena: AI as a Teammate
14:54 The Role of AI in HR and Recruitment
25:04 The Importance of Front-Loaded Hard Work
25:22 Dynamic Team Planning and Succession
26:17 Onboarding to Results: A New Approach
26:32 Athena’s Role in Performance Measurement
27:20 Creating Target Results and Performance Charters
29:24 The Tragic Reality of Employee Engagement
30:54 Outcome-Based Job Descriptions
34:57 The Role of Managers in Employee Success
42:55 The Future of AI and Human Collaboration
46:16 Final Thoughts and How to Connect
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