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Global TA leader Geoff Dubiski joins Erika Novak on Workforce 3.0 to explore leadership, innovation, and bold decision-making in contingent workforce programs—plus tips on navigating budget limits and cross-functional collaboration.
Five Lessons from Geoff Dubiski:
1. Lead with Action, Not Permission
Too many CW leaders wait for approval. Geoff's message is clear: don’t wait—just do it. Action creates momentum and builds credibility.
2. Build Cross-Department trust
Partnering with IT, Legal, Risk, and Finance early on is critical. If your work makes their jobs easier, they’ll clear the path for you.
3. Get Creative When You Hear ‘No’
Geoff’s team was denied a budget, so they built a bot in-house that saved 6+ weeks of work. A small proof of concept can unlock future investment.
4. Know the Power of Sequencing
Big change doesn’t happen overnight. Break the vision into small wins, pilot it, and build your case with data and outcomes.
5. Your Influence Is Your Greatest Tool
In-house leadership isn’t about authority—it’s about building influence across your org. Learn what matters to others and frame your work through that lens.
Get the Conversation Details:
Erika: Geoff, welcome! You've had such a unique career path—from consulting to in-house. Let's start with your journey.
Geoff: Thanks, Erika. I started on the consulting side, building strategies for clients. But moving in-house changed everything. It’s no longer about handing over a plan. Now, I have to own the outcomes, plant seeds, and build credibility over time.
Erika: What surprised you about being in-house?
Geoff: Honestly? The underbelly. In consulting, you don’t see what it takes to bring the plan to life. Internally, you learn that success comes from small, consistent gains—what I call “slices of time.” You start by quietly making a change, then build the case to scale it.
Erika: Many CW leaders get stuck waiting for approval. How do you shift that mindset?
Geoff: You can’t lead by waiting. Planning without action is just pontificating. You have to take what’s in front of you and do something. Start small, demonstrate impact, and let that success speak for itself.
Erika: Can you share a moment where you circumvented a “no”?
Geoff: Sure. I wanted to build a global onboarding bot, but got denied due to budget. So I asked my internal team, “What’s possible?” They said, “We can build it.” Twenty hours later, we had a working RPA bot that saved 6–8 weeks of FTE time every cycle. Quietly, we deployed it and later said, “Look what we did.” That turned heads.
Erika: You’ve said “sequencing is everything.” Tell us more.
Geoff: You can’t go from idea to global rollout overnight. We piloted the bot with one group, proved its value, then asked for $100K. That worked, and now we’re asking for $300K to scale. Each step builds credibility. That’s sequencing.
Geoff: Success in this space isn’t just about program design. It’s about building trust across departments—Finance, Legal, Risk, IT, Facilities. When they see you’re making their jobs easier, they’ll help remove roadblocks.
Erika: You mentioned a shift in thinking—what does that look like?
Geoff: We’re moving away from disjointed stacks and siloed systems. It’s about creating capacity, reducing swivel-chair processes, and using intelligent automation to fill the gaps. One task done by a bot now saves us 6+ weeks.
Geoff: That one bot led us to rethink onboarding, provisioning, and system integration across seven non-employee worker types. Now we’re optimizing our VMS and building a global taxonomy of roles to truly manage extended workforce data at scale.
Erika: Any advice for our listeners navigating CW programs?
Geoff: Start small. Solve real problems. Relieve someone else’s pain point. That earns trust and opens doors.
Erika: Love that. The view is worth the climb.