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

• Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/49xjtnyj

• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/27fjhud8

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

Related Episodes:

The Attention Crisis: How leaders can fix focus and happiness in an AI Era - psychologist Jonathan Haidt

• Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc45ccc3

• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3zyur7s5

• Watch here - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXp43TMMAI

Adam Grant: Future leaders won't succeed without this key trait

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

• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ys2dtftj

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

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

  • Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/bdbrspj7

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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

Related episodes: 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

The Attention Crisis: How leaders can fix focus and happiness in an AI Era - psychologist Jonathan Haidt

• Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc45ccc3

• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3zyur7s5

• Watch here - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXp43TMMAI

Adam Grant: Future leaders won't succeed without this key trait

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

• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ys2dtftj

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

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/ Related episodes: How to upskill for an AI Age: Workera CEO Kian Katanforoosh Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/7rbsu62eListen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2p9zfazzWatch here - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOxIFpQcBCs Adam Grant: Future leaders won't succeed without this key trait Watch here: Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/fbym95jy Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ys2dtftj Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buVVIpttzUA The Attention Crisis: How leaders can fix focus and happiness in an AI Era -psychologist Jonathan Haidt Read here - transcript:: https://tinyurl.com/yc45ccc3 Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3zyur7s5 Watch here - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXp43TMMAI

How can we strengthen leadership pipelines? One overlooked answer: Invest in women's sports. Data shows that investment in women's sports creates a powerful yet under-appreciated talent pipeline, building future leaders, closing the gender gap and driving high-performing teams. Deloitte US Chair Lara Abrash shares insights from the firm's research on women's sports – both the billion-dollar economic opportunity it represents and the unsung way sports strengthens the leadership talent pipeline.

Abrash, active in a range of sports since her youth, will also break down the leadership skills, mindsets, and team dynamics sports uniquely cultivates. She'll share the personal experiences that shaped how she leads and the way she approaches talent and capability. Her personal lessons learned can help anyone understand what's needed to develop future leaders, improve team performance and build talent pipelines that last.

Key Insights:

• Women's sports is growing rapidly - but remains an untapped sector and opportunity for economies and communities.
• Sports teaches girls how to team - but a range of factors make them more likely to drop out of sports than boys.
• Great leaders are great coaches. Abrash reminds us that "Managers manage outcomes while leaders lead people."
• Practice makes progress: Sports can build leaders who learn quickly from mistakes and adapt faster -- skills key for a fast-paced AI era.
• Sidestep the 'superwoman' myth: Sports shows we often accomplish more in groups. Women who admit they are less effective alone take the first step to building great teams and avoiding burnout.

About this episode: Transcript - read here: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/womens-sports-leadership-skills-gender-gap Related report: Deloitte Research - Game-Changers: Unlocking the Potential of Women's Sports: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/Industries/tmt/perspectives/game-changers-unlocking-potential-women-sports.html World Economic Forum - Sports for People and Planet: https://www.weforum.org/publications/sports-for-people-and-planet/ Related episodes: What Astronauts Know About High-Performing Teams (That Many Don't Understand) Read here: https://tinyurl.com/3h2xkyv9 Listen here: https://tinyurl.com/mrmtwnb4 Watch here: https://youtu.be/AI_7QcZy5A8 Why Smart Ideas Don't Always Land — and How to Build Creative, Curious Teams Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/33b99j2u Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/5n8427nw How to close gender gaps in tech - and the one skill AI can't learn Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/s2ppr7s2 Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/5xkkhd5w

As tech and AI transform productivity and free us from rote work, will humanity finally crack happiness? Maybe not, warns Jonathan Haidt. This social psychologist, NYU professor and bestselling author of The Anxious Generation has spent years studying the links between happiness, technology, and societal change. Unless key steps are taken, he says, the technologies transforming work and communication could pull humans further from a sense of meaning, connection and purpose, taking happiness even further from our grasps.

To progress on any big challenge ahead will depend on restoring focus, trust, and purpose. Haidt warns that AI and social media may be weakening all three—making intentional leadership more critical than ever. He shares research-backed insights that can help us better understand a fragmented, distracted world and the urgent challenge this brings to leaders running teams in a changing AI era.

Key Takeaways:

• Where happiness really comes from - and what people often misunderstand

• Understanding the attention crisis and what's contributing to it

• How AI and digital habits fragment attention and decision-making and undermine trust

• Simple practices and approaches to reclaim focus, connect with others and lead meaningful change more effectively

This interview was recorded in January 2026 at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

About this episode: Read here - Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/jonathan-haidt-happiness-focus-habits-ai Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXp43TMMAI

About this guest: https://jonathanhaidt.com/Books and initiatives referenced in this episode: The Anxious Generation https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/ The Righteous Mind https://righteousmind.com/The Happiness Hypothesis https://www.happinesshypothesis.com/ The Constructive Dialogue Institute www. constructivedialogue.org

Related episodes: 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/Xh9PLsyptgAListen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/bdbrspj7 Read here - Listen: https://tinyurl.com/mtdhe37w IRC's David Miliband: How leaders can meet the moment in an increasingly disordered world Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABadygYvsZ0&t=16s Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/42hzpvvmRead here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3vk4723b What most people get wrong about progress: Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2IJjZs4E7A Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4r69a5pr Read here - Transcript:: https://tinyurl.com/3smrwev9 Radio Davos - The Anxious Generation: how phone-free schools can reverse a mental health pandemic Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8s6Rw9rAqs&t=7s

As more professionals turn to AI for career guidance, is human mentorship extinct? Not by a long shot, according to our experts. Mentors will continue to be critical in shaping talent, but will make their mark not by sharing expertise but by leveraging truly human skills -- by meeting changing needs in time and by being a champion that unlocks potential, not just directs it. Key insights: - Mentorship is moving from expertise to emotional intelligence - The best leaders will continue to prioritize people over output alone

In this moment of change, Learn how the top minds of our time have been changed by their own mentors and how an AI era will reshape how mentors guide teams and drive potential. Some of the leaders featured in this episode: -Workera's founder Kian Katanforoosh - on how mentorship is changing thanks to new technologies, and what it needs to be effective -Limak Holding's Ebru Ozdemir - on bridging gaps through her initiative Global Engineer Girls and the traits great mentors share -Habitat for Humanity's Jonathan Reckford - on what he learned from his grandmother and godmother on setting standards for himself -Samantha Cristoforetti, European Space Agency - on what astronaut Butch Wilhelm taught her about the experience of the workday -Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant - on how a diving coach helped him rethink risk and the simple question that he asks himself to this day

Related episode: Meet The Leader at 200: 20 Leaders Share Their Best Aha Moments and Lessons Learned Read here: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/episode-200-top-tips-pivots-lessons-learned/ Listen here: https://tinyurl.com/ecye5b5v

Teamwork beats raw talent. It's a fact astronauts know well but one that Earthbound teams can sometimes overlook. European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti shares what space crews understand about building teams that work well together – and the shift that preparation undertook to make that happen. She shares what mentors taught her about being a great team member and why the 'experience' of the work day is as important as the task at hand. She also details other lessons learned from her more than 200 days in space, including: -Why the best leaders are great followers

-Why space sovereignty will shape the next phase of space collaboration. "You want to be an equal partner—not just a customer."

-Why the gender gap in space is closing. Learn why some astronaut classes are at parity and what it teaches other sectors about talent pipelines This interview was recorded in January 2026 at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

About this episode: Read here - Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/samantha-cristoforetti-esa-teamwork-leadership Watch here - YouTube: https://youtu.be/AI_7QcZy5A8

About this guest: European Space Agency: https://www.esa.int/

Related episodes:

Related Episodes: He's building 'gas stations' in space. How it can drive the space economy - Orbit Fab Read here - Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/daniel-faber-orbit-fab-space-economy Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2s3tscms Meet the startup building the first commercial space station - Axiom Read here - Transcript:https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/tejpaul-bhatia-space-economy-axiom/ Listen here - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3FjNtzxmBucpgnZ4xhagxe Be your own role model - a female rocket scientist, pioneer and science influencer explains Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2aukahwy Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/y4n9cmec

Learn when you listen. Know your strengths can be weaknesses. Take your space before someone takes it for you. This 200th 'Best of' episode collects hard-won lessons learned and one-of-a-kind moments from this podcast's past 6 years. Listen to the late Jane Goodall recall a transformative run-in with a grumpy cabbie or hear the critical question that helped AWS teams get future-ready. It's a hit parade of top names, from IKEA to Microsoft, from Misty Copeland to Matt Damon, drawing insights and turning points that have shaped CEOs, startup founders, actors, activists, fashion designers, AI pioneers, best-selling authors and more find solutions and drive meaningful change. In this episode: Unexpected turning points

• Jane Goodall, Jane Goodall Institute, on connecting with people you disagree with (Recorded 2021)

• Al Gore, Former US Vice President and founder of the Climate Reality Project, on his climate communication turning point (Recorded 2021) An AI Powered Future

• Swami Sivasubramanian, AWS, on the question that got teams future-ready (Recorded 2024)

• Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and Wharton professor, on how to practice the soft skills an AI era will need most (Recorded 2025)

• Suleika Jaouad, best-selling author, on thinking beyond our 'resume virtues' (Recorded 2026) Bringing people together:

• Diane von Fürstenberg, fashion designer, on a habit she swears by (Recorded 2024)

• Misty Copeland, ballerina and activist, on unlocking potential (Recorded 2025)

• Jagan Chapagain, IFRC, on why effective listeners are learners (Recorded 2024)

• Brad Smith, Microsoft, on having a personal sounding board (Recorded 2024) Seeking innovation

• Matt Damon and Gary White, founders - Water.org, on the value of experimentation and failure (Recorded 2026)

• Nela Richardson, Chief Economist - ADP, on thinking outside the box (Recorded 2024)

• Gail Whiteman, Rainn Wilson, Arctic Basecamp on rethinking communication (Recorded 2023) Advice they swear by

• Daphne Koller, AI pioneer and insitro founder, on how strengths can become weaknesses (Recorded 2024)

• Fidelma Russo, CTO - Hewlett Packard Enterprise, on knowing yourself (Recorded 2024)

• Ulrika Biesèrt, CHRO - Inkga Group / IKEA, on taking your space (Recorded 2024) Meeting the moment

• Jonathan Reckford, Habitat for Humanity, on how serving others to bridge division (Recorded 2024)

• John Amaechi, psychologist, leadership expert and author, on finding your inner giant (Recorded 2021)

• David Miliband, IRC, on how leaders can navigate an increasingly disordered world, and the change that will be needed next (Recorded 2025)

Related episodes: Meet The Leader - Adam Grant: Future leaders won't succeed without this key trait Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buVVIpttzUA Meet The Leader - Ballerina Misty Copeland: Unlocking potential and a leader's most 'vital' role Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNwmJJMRt4o&t=1s IRC's David Miliband: How leaders can meet the moment in an increasingly disordered world Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABadygYvsZ0&t=16s Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/42hzpvvmRead here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3vk4723b Matt Damon and Gary White: Why the Global Water Crisis Is Really a Finance ProblemWatch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d95kccQuFUk Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ybwhf395 Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/b8a2sr34