Kevin Weishaar
Founder and CEO
Property Management/Affordable Housing Firm
Episode 9
Beyond Algorithms: Why Human-First Leadership Defines Success in the AI Age
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJanuary 26, 2026 · 6:58
Thesis
“In an increasingly data-driven and AI-influenced world, effective leadership hinges on prioritizing personal connections and fostering strong relationships to inspire teams, navigate change, and ultimately drive organizational and societal success.”
Show notes
Property management is not an industry people typically associate with cutting-edge people strategy. But Kevin Weishaar, founder and CEO of an affordable housing firm, has spent the last decade learning exactly what happens when you manage dispersed teams across a highly regulated, high-turnover industry — and he's arrived at a surprisingly counterintuitive conclusion: in a world drowning in AI tools and data, the competitive edge is still human connection.
Kevin speaks candidly about the post-COVID reality of getting teams to actually engage — getting people in the room, on camera, or even just on a call. The ambient availability of ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, and a dozen other tools hasn't made that easier. If anything, it's added noise. What cuts through it, in his experience, is the same thing it always was: a leader who knows their people personally, builds relationships over time, and shows up consistently — not just when there's a win to claim.
His one piece of parting advice is worth the whole episode: "Relationships are more important than accomplishments." In a culture obsessed with output metrics and quarterly wins, that's a useful recalibration.
What you'll learn:
- Why change management, not technology, is the hardest part of rolling out AI initiatives
- How Kevin approaches employee engagement in a dispersed, post-COVID property management workforce
- The community group strategy that keeps geographically scattered teams connected
- How to cut through data noise and keep the focus on people in an AI-saturated environment
- Why relationships outlast accomplishments — and how to build them as a leader
Built by People is presented by Previ — the free tool that helps HR teams boost internal communication engagement.
What you'll take away
- 1Prioritize building leaders and inspiring people with a personal touch, cutting through data noise and adapting to ever-changing AI and regulations.
- 2Successful AI initiatives require significant upfront work on buy-in and change management to demonstrate benefits and make mundane tasks go away.
- 3Improve employee engagement and communication by fostering regular touchpoints, community groups, and personal interactions, especially with disparate and post-COVID teams.
- 4Focus on building long-term relationships over short-term accomplishments, as these connections create trust, accelerate decision-making, and strengthen teams.
- 5Continuously evaluate and adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and productivity tools to identify what truly enhances efficiency and impact.
What most organizations get wrong
In Kevin's words
“just building leaders and doing the best you can to really just cut through the noise of data and trying to figure out things in this world of ever-changing AI and regulations and as much as you can as things are evolving to be able to still make it about the people and inspiring people”
Highlights the critical balance between technological advancements and human-centric leadership in a dynamic environment.
“one of the AI initiatives we had. At least AI is kind of the name of the game these days. And so getting that going and having, you know, buy-in, it's, it's, it's something that takes a lot of work upfront and getting folks engaged and a lot of change in management is a big part of it.”
Emphasizes that successful AI implementation requires substantial effort in change management and securing employee buy-in.
“it's, it's tougher to get people after COVID, just getting people in the room together, getting people to pick up the phone, getting people to turn on their camera sometimes.”
Acknowledges the persistent challenges in fostering engagement and direct communication in a post-pandemic work setting.
“for me, you know, personally, everything is It's ChatGPT and Gemini and Copilot and Claude and Perplexity and Comet AI and, you know, and 8N and Zapier and all that fun stuff.”
Illustrates the broad and rapidly expanding suite of AI tools being integrated into daily operations for productivity.
“I would say relationships are more important than accomplishments.”
Offers a concise yet profound piece of career advice, prioritizing human connection and trust over transient achievements.
The problems this episode addresses
- •HR leaders struggle to filter through data noise and make sense of information amidst rapidly changing AI and regulations.
- •Implementing new AI initiatives faces significant hurdles in gaining employee buy-in and managing organizational change effectively.
- •Post-COVID, it's challenging to foster genuine employee engagement and ensure effective communication, with difficulty getting people to connect in person or virtually.
- •Keeping up with the overwhelming number of new AI tools and platforms is a full-time job, making it hard to identify truly effective productivity solutions.
- •Ensuring disparate teams feel interconnected and part of a cohesive unit for better communication, faster decision-making, and improved resident support.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Kevin Weisar started in property management after college
Leadership in Property Management Podcast
How do you improve employee engagement through better communication
Employee engagement at Work
What tools or platforms are most essential for your operations today? Well, everything is
What tools or platforms are most essential for your operations today?
Kevin says relationships are more important than accomplishments in your career
Kevin Knows More About Relationships Than Accomplishes
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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