Meet The Leader

New research shows many labor markets face a skills mismatch, not a talent shortage. And in the 'messy middle' of the AI transformation, that mismatch will be harder for leaders, workers and hiring managers to ignore as they build future-ready teams. To compete, companies will need to focus on skills-based hiring to ensure worker capabilities reflect what rapidly evolving roles require. In this episode, Maria Flynn, CEO of non-profit Jobs for the Future, explains why skills, not degrees will be the currency of the future workplace, and why education and workforce systems built for the past are struggling to keep pace with AI-era job shifts. She shares changes needed in how workers are trained, assessed, tested and hired. Flynn also discusses the importance of designing quality jobs in all sectors and how worker voice and agency matters in both AI training and implementation and how this can reduce turnover, strengthen AI adoption, and close gender gaps.
Key takeaways:
• What is the skills mismatch - and what hiring managers need to understand to build their teams
• How skills-based hiring can expand across hiring, advancement and talent management
• Why successful AI adoption needs worker input, better job quality and inclusive workforce design
Part two of our three-part AI and Jobs series. Subscribe to Meet the Leader for more conversations on leadership, AI, skills and the future of work. 


About this episode:
Jobs for the Future: https://www.jff.org/

Research - JFF:
JFF AI for Workers & Learners Survey: https://info.jff.org/ai-for-workers-learners-2026-survey
JFF American Job Quality Study: https://www.jff.org/idea/the-american-job-quality-study/


Research - World Economic Forum:
Report: 2026 Chief People Officer Outlook, World Economic Forum:  https://www.weforum.org/publications/chief-people-officers-outlook-may-2026/


Related episodes:
AI and Jobs Series: What one company stopped doing - an HR exec shares lessons shaping the future of work
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AI 'workslop' is a leadership problem. Here's how to fix it
Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2mxkzwc3

Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4evh8yk6

Watch here - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAbIqqAf4Y

How to Lead People Through AI Change: Questions to Ask from a Transformation Expert
Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ykk9r7hb

Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yc2azrwv

Watch here - Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/yyv24pvd

As AI grows more powerful and takes on more rote work, what should humans stop doing? Fertility benefits company Progyny took on this question as a company to re-evaluate routines and norms and how AI might help work evolve. Chief Human Resources Officer Cassandra Pratt shares how teams there are using AI to reduce rote work, rethink job design, improve meeting culture and give people more time for the human side of work that machines cannot do, such as building trust and strengthening relationships. The first in a three-part AI and Jobs series.

Key takeaways:
The importance of clear goals and prep during AI implementation
How the "Start, Stop, Continue" framework from author Barry O'Reilly can reduce burnout and sharpen execution
How to turn teams into superfans of your company and business to strengthen engagement
What fluid job design will look like in the years ahead - and how to help teams navigate it

About this episode:
Progyny: https://progyny.com/

Book: Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results, Barry O'Reilly 
Report: 2026 Chief People Officer Outlook, World Economic Forum:  https://www.weforum.org/publications/chief-people-officers-outlook-may-2026/


Related episodes:
AI 'workslop' is a leadership problem. Here's how to fix it
Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2mxkzwc3

Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4evh8yk6

Watch here - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAbIqqAf4Y

How to Lead People Through AI Change: Questions to Ask from a Transformation Expert
Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ykk9r7hb

Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yc2azrwv

Watch here - Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/yyv24pvd

Top leaders from NVIDIA, Walmart International, TIAA, Goldman Sachs and NYU share career advice, leadership lessons and practical ways to stay resilient through uncertainty in an AI age. This an inspiring collection of advice and personal anecdotes shared at this spring's commencement addresses can help anyone from new grads to veteran professionals navigate coming AI shifts and other big career pivots.
In this episode: 
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang on AI and maximizing your potential

TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett on the advice she gives her team

Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt's 3 tips on how to have an amazing life

Former Walmart CEO Kathryn McLay's advice on the early career moment that helped her keep perspective

Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO David Solomon on why he still DJs - and the importance of cultivating passions outside of work

About this episode:


Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Carnegie Mellon Commencement address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZh_0uRgrg4
Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, NYU Commencement address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvoyGjK8vTA
TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett, Florida A&M Commencement address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taN6-b7bqAk
Former Walmart CEO Kathryn McLay, High Point University Commencement address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxpja7ih1VI
Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO David Solomon, Wharton MBA Commencement address: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSop6XzzY9w
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Adam Grant: Future leaders won't succeed without this key trait 
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Nick Thompson, The Atlantic: Why one CEO sets 'non -goals' - and what ultramarathons taught him about focus and mental toughness
Watch here - YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xh9PLsyptgA

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Workslop – low-quality work produced through poor human-AI collaboration – is wasting time, slowing teams down and limiting the productivity gains leaders expect from AI. But the problem isn't always the technology – it's often a signal to leaders that teams need more support. Workslop often reflects unclear standards, weak direction and poor feedback. In this episode, BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux explains why AI can amplify both good and bad leadership standards, and why leaders need to define what excellent work looks like before AI scales a team's output. He also shares how AI coaching can help managers find ways to hone hard-to-improve soft skills, practicing difficult conversations, tricky performance reviews and tough feedback, all in a safe space before those moments happen with real teams.

Key takeaways in this episode:


AI amplifies clarity or confusion. Set clear standards before AI scales your team's work.

Workslop is a leadership warning sign. Poor AI output can reveal unclear direction and weak feedback. It can be a sign teams need more guidance or support. 

Managers need practice. AI coaching can help leaders sharpen direction and rehearse how they give feedback or tackle difficult conversations.

Rethink how you invest in people. AI investment is overwhelming planning conversations. But are you putting that diligence into how you develop your talent?



About this guest:
Website: https://www.betterup.com/

Research: The Hidden Cost of AI-Generated Busy Work: https://www.betterup.com/workslop

Article: Workslop: Why AI performance depends on how we think, talk and lead: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/why-ai-performance-depends-on-how-we-think-talk-and-lead/

About this episode: 
Read here - Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/alexi-robichaux-ai-workslop-leadership-coaching

Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAbIqqAf4Y

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Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ykk9r7hb

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The Attention Crisis: How leaders can fix focus and happiness in an AI Era - psychologist Jonathan Haidt 
Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc45ccc3

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Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/fbym95jy

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Are you building game-changing AI solutions? Or just automating low-stakes work that makes the "irrelevant efficient"?

Nigel Vaz, Publicis Sapient's CEO and a digital transformation expert, talked to Meet The Leader to explain why many AI strategies fall short and what's needed to lead teams through technological change. In this episode, Vaz shares the questions that can refine your strategic discussions on AI and help close the gap between AI expectations and results. He also shares why the hardest part of AI transformation isn't the tech but getting the people part right -- and what helps teams transition.

Key Takeaways:
The questions teams you're not asking nearly enough. Vaz explains how to refine your thinking to ensure your solutions aren't locked into yesterday's way of working
The hidden gap that can derail your AI transformation: What separates promising AI experiments from work that actually changes how a business performs? He breaks down the blindspots that hold real innovation back. 
Get the people part right. Incentives, expectations and old measures of success can slow AI adoption more than the technology itself. Vaz shares what leaders often underestimate when asking teams to work in a fundamentally new way.
How to learn and unlearn. Your value as a leader will depend on your capacity to learn. He shares how to deploy existing experience for new solutions.
Vaz shares key examples of how to put this thinking to work, including including a legacy modernization project that cut a 10-year timeline to under three and Publicis Sapient's own transition from a people-led services model to a people-and-product enterprise AI company. Learn more about this - including the innovative CEO GPT tool Publicis Sapient built that helps teams scale internal knowledge and context.

About this guest: 
https://www.nigelvaz.com/about
https://www.publicissapient.com/
About this episode:
Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/ai-transformation-leadership-future-of-work/

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Adam Grant: Future leaders won't succeed without this key trait Watch here:
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The Attention Crisis: How leaders can fix focus and happiness in an AI Era -psychologist Jonathan Haidt
Read here - transcript:: https://tinyurl.com/yc45ccc3
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