The Pyramid Is Collapsing: How AI Is Reshaping Workforce Structure

The old workforce pyramid was built on a simple trade: junior hires did high-volume execution, and in return, they got repetition, proximity, and time to develop judgment. AI is removing the economic need for that base, and with it, the default training path most organisations relied on.

As execution gets automated, the shape shifts from pyramid to diamond. Fewer entry roles. A bigger middle of people who can diagnose, coordinate, and direct work across humans and AI. The problem is that the diamond breaks the pipeline that created that middle in the first place.

This creates three risks at once. An entry crisis, where candidates need judgment to get hired but cannot get the reps to build it. A capability gap, where titles and tenure no longer match the level of thinking people can operate at. And a missing middle, where organisations may struggle to produce the next generation of leaders because the learning-by-osmosis model has been severed.

The point is not just “people should adapt.” Organisations need new entry paths, clearer capability assessment, deliberate cross-functional development, and better ways to transfer judgment, not just decisions. Otherwise, they will end up with powerful AI, and not enough people who can direct it responsibly.

This Week’s Updates

Enabling the Team

The Pyramid Is Collapsing: How AI Is Reshaping Workforce Structure by Rory Madden
Entry-level hires did the grunt work, writing tickets, processing data, creating basic designs, conducting routine research, while slowly building the judgment that would carry them upward. That structure is collapsing.

How To Make A Seemingly Impossible Leadership Decision by Daisy Auger-Domínguez
There are four guidelines leaders can apply when making high-stakes decisions: 1) Map the tradeoffs, 2) pressure-test the plan, 3) use principles to guide decisions, not just policies, and 4) name the change.

Product Direction