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“Most capacity constraints are not talent shortages—they’re work design problems,” says Lisa Williams, Senior Director of Operations Talent Strategy and Employee Experience at Dow.
In advance of the July 15-16 event in Houston (Downstream USA 2026), Williams discussed the leadership mindsets and practical disciplines required to redesign work, unlock hidden capacity, and ensure that digital transformation delivers real value.
As part of Dow’s workforce restructuring initiative impacting more than 4,500 employees, Williams identified a critical opportunity: reassessing legacy and existing work processes to determine what should be eliminated, optimized, or automated. With AI as an enabler, the focus is on streamlining work and improving operational performance.
Williams emphasized that a key opportunity for leaders is creating space for teams to challenge inherited ways of working that no longer fit today’s operational realities or generate value. This shift enables organizations to redeploy talent more flexibly, moving beyond rigid roles to align individual skills and expertise directly with operational challenges. Watch the full interview to apply these insights and more.
