The consulting industry’s human-powered renaissance

Our ongoing series brings you essential AI news and takeaways every month, helping you stay informed and ready for what’s next in the world of artificial intelligence.

October 2025 edition

The consulting industry’s AI reinvention 

AI is quietly changing how consulting firms like McKinsey, Deloitte, and PwC run their operations, reinventing traditional consulting roles and establishing new must-have skills for prospective hires. 

The big picture: Out with the pyramid, in with the obelisk 

Since the 1980s, the consulting industry has embraced a pyramid-shaped organizational model with a broad base of data collectors and analysts at the bottom supporting a narrow tier of decision-makers on top. Now, with AI tools increasingly equipped to handle much of the rote data work that once made up the base of consulting operations, the old pyramid model may be on its way out. 

What happens next? A team of consultants and AI ethicists recently argued in the Harvard Business Review that consulting firms are moving toward an “obelisk” structure with “fewer layers, smaller teams, and more leverage at every level.” The authors write that this new model is built on three core functions – AI facilitators, engagement architects, and client leaders – to manage AI-integrated workflows at every level of seniority. 

As the industry evolves, firms need to rethink what they’re looking for in prospective hires. In a separate Harvard Business Review essay published this month, authors Atta Tarki and Joseph Raczynski argue that “this means hiring and developing talent not just for the tasks of today, but for the adaptive, tech-savvy partners of tomorrow.”

The takeaway: From data-finders to meaning-makers

AI is taking over the routine analytical and research tasks that once filled the bottom rungs of the consulting industry’s pyramid model. The value of human consultants increasingly lies in what machines can’t replicate: judgment, adaptability, and relationship-building. Firms will need consultants with the strategic vision and technological savvy to translate AI outputs into real-world impact. 

Try this

• Redesign roles around human strengths. Rework job descriptions and project structures to emphasize interpersonal, strategic, and creative skills, not just technical task execution.
• Invest in hybrid training: Pair consultants’ domain expertise with AI fluency through short, ongoing training modules that teach how to interpret and apply AI insights effectively in client contexts.
• Nurture client-centered collaboration: Encourage teams to use AI-generated insights as conversation starters, not end points.

Leadership’s AI paradox

With AI becoming better equipped to absorb and automate certain tasks, the vision and know-how of leaders is even more vital to an organization’s success.

The big picture: When leaders risk losing the wheel

The promise and potential of AI comes down to its ability to optimize time for organizations and people. The flipside of this perk is that, as organizations continue to delegate core operational functions to autonomous algorithms, the people at the core of the company risk becoming passengers on the ship instead of steering it forward. But this doesn’t need to be the case, argues the founder and bestselling author Faisal Hoque in a new article for Fast Company. Hoque writes that when leaders exercise good judgment and ground their teams’ goals in a sense of clear purpose, “organizations can ensure that automation delivers efficiency without erasing the human meaning that business depends on.” 

A recent study in Behavioral Sciences supports Hoque’s claim. After reviewing more than 140 papers on human-AI interaction, the authors concluded that transformational leadership – a leadership style based in cultivating a sense of shared mission – is vital for guiding collaboration between humans and AI in an era of automation and digital change.

The takeaway: Transformational leadership as the human advantage

Leaders who inspire trust, purpose, and shared vision are best equipped to guide teams through AI-driven change. By emphasizing human connection and meaning, they ensure technology enhances rather than erodes what makes their organization truly shine.

Try this

• Co-create the vision. Instead of announcing a direction, involve your team in defining the problem and shaping the goal. 
• Empower, don’t micromanage. Set clear objectives and success measures (like OKRs), then give your team space to execute. 
• Model well-being. A grounded, energized leader sets the emotional tone for the team and inspires others to do their best work.