Strategic Influence in HR: Lessons from Imole Ashogbon
Strategic HR transforms HR from an administrative function into a driver of business outcomes. It’s not about managing processes, it’s about shaping the direction of the business through people data, organizational design, and leadership behaviors.
In this episode of Unicorn Talent, Imole Ashogbon, founder of Luminous Consulting and former HR leader at Coca-Cola, shares how he built a career that exemplifies this evolution. His journey reflects how curiosity, data fluency, and meaningful networks can turn HR from tactical execution into strategic impact.
Building a Career on Influence and Impact
Strong HR careers start with mastering the fundamentals and evolve through community and mentorship.
For Imole, early leadership experiences taught the art of people influence. His path into HR began through mentorship a reminder that relationships accelerate opportunity. At Coca-Cola, he advanced by identifying business problems and co-creating solutions with leadership teams.
Strategic growth requires both competence and connection: your network opens doors, but mastery keeps them open.
Redefining Strategic HR
Strategic HR isn’t about “getting a seat at the table” it’s about shaping the conversations that happen at it.
Operational HR manages policies, compliance, and processes.
Strategic HR generates insight, influences decisions, and designs business capabilities.
To become strategic, HR leaders must shift from understanding what the business does to why it does it and connect those insights directly to executive decision-making.
As Imole says, “HR becomes powerful when it starts shaping outcomes, not reacting to them.”
The Three Pillars of Strategic Transformation
1. Curiosity and Reflection
Curiosity is the foundation of strategy. HR leaders must understand how the business wins and how people strategy enables that success. Frameworks like PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) help identify external and internal forces shaping workforce design.
2. Data Fluency and Business Acumen
Data is not the story it’s the foundation for storytelling. Strategic HR professionals use data to explain why something is happening and what to do next. Key data categories include turnover, productivity, capability gaps, workforce cost, and hiring velocity.
Business acumen separates transactional HR from strategic HR. Knowing how the company makes and loses money allows HR to position talent as a profit driver.
3. Mentorship and Network Intelligence
Learning accelerates through proximity to excellence. Imole credits his growth to surrounding himself with leaders who challenge convention and communities that value data-driven HR.
“Follow and study thinkers like Dave Ulrich,” he says. “Embed yourself in communities that make you better.”
Continuous Learning as a Strategic Asset
Strategic HR leaders treat learning as an investment with compounding returns.
Imole explains it simply: “What you know will show; what you don’t know will show you.”
Continuous learning provides both perspective and credibility. The best HR leaders explore beyond their domain into analytics, operations, and leadership to broaden how they think about business problems.
AI as a Strategic HR Enabler, Not a Threat
AI enhances accuracy, speed, and foresight in decision-making. HR’s responsibility is to humanize technology by setting guardrails that ensure fairness and trust.
“AI won’t replace HR, but HR that doesn’t understand AI will be replaced by leaders who do.”
Practical applications include:
Automating job descriptions and communications.
Using data analytics to forecast workforce needs.
Building governance frameworks to ensure ethical and transparent AI use.
Quantifying the Value of Strategic HR
When HR becomes strategic, every function benefits:
Finance: Gains better cost predictability and headcount ROI.
Recruiting: Shifts from transactional hiring to capability-building.
HR Leaders: Strengthen executive credibility through data-backed insights.
Workforce Planners: Tie talent strategy directly to revenue models.
HRIS Admins: Transform data systems into decision intelligence engines.
Executives: See HR as a capability center, not a cost center.
Metrics That Define Strategic HR Maturity
To measure the evolution from operational to strategic HR, track:
HR-to-Business Alignment Index – % of HR initiatives tied to business KPIs.
Plan Change Rate – Speed and accuracy of headcount adjustments.
Capability Gap Closure Rate – % of identified skill gaps closed per quarter.
Strategic Initiative ROI – Business impact per HR program.
AI Utilization Confidence – Adoption and ethical compliance rate.
Building the Future of HR Leadership
Strategic HR is an iterative discipline built on curiosity, data fluency, and human connection.
As AI reshapes work, the most valuable HR leaders will be those who connect insight to action and technology to purpose.
Imole’s message to HR professionals is clear: elevate your curiosity, sharpen your data fluency, and build relationships that expand your perspective. That’s how HR earns its influence and defines the future of work.