Workquake Weekly

AI is supposed to be our shiny new superpower, yet many people feel embarrassed using it. In this episode, Steve digs into the rise of “AI shame” at work, unpacking a Times of India report, “AI Shame Is a Real Phenomenon in the Workplace, Claims Report: What Is Scaring Top Execs in America.” The surprising part, executives and Gen Z appear to be hiding it most. According to the survey Steve cites, 53% of executives conceal their AI use, and 62% of Gen Z pass off AI-generated work as their own. Formal training is scarce too, roughly 6–7% for Gen Z and 17% for executives, which means most people are winging it. No wonder 65% of Gen Z say AI slows them down, and 68% feel pressure to overperform.

Steve connects this to earlier stigmas like online dating, then shifts the conversation to culture, identity, and how we define value when AI is always in the room. You’ll hear practical steps for leaders and teams, from setting norms on when and how AI can be used, to creating safe forums, to running low-stakes experiments that build confidence and transparency.

What you’ll take away:

• Why secrecy emerges when there is no playbook.

• How to talk about contribution and originality in an AI-assisted world.

• A simple starter plan for leaders and teams to make AI use normal, not taboo.

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In this episode of Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan explores why Taylor Swift isn’t just a global pop icon — she’s also a masterclass in leadership. From constant reinvention to building genuine community, from generosity that strengthens her team to humanity that inspires an entire industry, Taylor shows us what modern leadership looks like. Steve unpacks four big lessons we can borrow from her playbook and challenges listeners to apply at least one in their own “era” of work this week. Because sometimes the most powerful leadership examples don’t come from the boardroom… they come from the stage.

Manager engagement just dipped to 27% in Gallup’s latest survey, and Steve asks a sharper question: is this a manager problem, or a system that keeps overloading and undertraining leaders? In this episode, Steve pairs the Gallup data with Jonathan J. Hsu’s Rolling Stone argument for slowing down, going deeper, and leading more humanly. The result is a candid look at why speed and dashboards won’t fix disengagement, and what will.

You’ll hear:

• Why 27% isn’t the real headline

• How slowing down builds trust and better decisions

• Why human, not heroic, leadership wins

• Simple ways to create space, support, and clarity for managers

Takeaway: less noise, more depth. Create one meaningful pause this week, ask a better question, and give your team room to be heard.

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Welcome to Workquake Weekly. Each week we take a short pause to make sense of the wild, ever-changing world of work, without the doom and gloom. Think of this as your weekly coffee break for fresh ideas, practical experiments, and maybe a laugh when work feels like it is spinning out of control.

In this episode, Steve Cadigan digs into a surprising insight from recent research covered in Fast Company. Many people are opening up more to an AI coach than to a human one. Why would that be, and what does it mean for real coaches, leaders, and teams? Steve unpacks the idea of psychological safety wrapped in code, shares what he is seeing through Slate Advisers and their AI coach, Kai, and lays out where AI can help and where humans still shine. We also talk about the big caveat, privacy, and how to blend AI for breadth with humans for depth so coaching becomes more accessible and more effective.

Highlights: why people feel safer with a bot, what stays uniquely human, experiments you can try this week, and the privacy must-haves to earn trust.

Questions or want to learn more about Kai, email [email protected].

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This week on Workquake Weekly, we’re heading to the gridiron—not for football tips, but for leadership gold.

Steve Cadigan takes inspiration from Bill Belichick’s new book The Art of Winning—specifically Chapter 5, a masterclass in talent evaluation—and breaks down how the Patriots’ legendary coach built a dynasty by spotting potential others overlooked.

Forget résumés and star power. Belichick built his teams around grit, adaptability, and fit. And as Steve argues, it’s exactly the mindset modern leaders need now more than ever.

Tune in to learn:

• Why hiring for potential beats hiring for pedigree

• How to build roles around people—not the other way around

• The overlooked power of development-first cultures

• What NFL stars like Brady, Edelman, and Vrabel can teach us about seeing talent differently

Whether you’re building a team, leading a company, or just trying to unlock more from your people—this one’s for you.

And hey… if you’ve ever passed on someone who “wasn’t quite ready,” this episode might make you think twice.

Most companies aren’t falling behind in AI because they lack the tools… they’re falling behind because they don’t know what they’ve already got.

In this week’s episode of Workquake Weekly, Steve unpacks two powerful articles—one from Sally Thornton at Forshay, and another by David Michels in Forbes—that both spotlight a surprising but critical truth: the real AI opportunity isn’t just about upskilling. It’s about skill visibility.

Steve explores why organizations are freezing instead of evolving, how outdated talent systems are holding us back, and what leaders at every level can do to move forward—one smart question at a time.

If you’re leading people, growing your own career, or just trying to make sense of the future of work, this one’s for you.

In this week’s episode, Steve tackles a question that just won’t go away: Does working from home damage company culture?

Inspired by a recent article in The Economist — “Does working from home kill company culture?” — Steve unpacks why this debate is still alive years after the pandemic “officially” ended, and why the return-to-office narrative isn’t as clear-cut as some leaders might think.

Key takeaways from the episode:

• Culture is complicated. Everyone agrees it’s important… but no one fully agrees on what it is. Is it energy? Values? Trust? Decision speed? That ambiguity makes it a tough scapegoat for in-office mandates.

• The data tells a different story. Research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that forcing employees back into the office led to lower engagement and higher turnover — not the cultural boost leaders hoped for.

• Maybe it’s not culture that’s the issue… it’s leadership. Remote and hybrid environments don’t kill culture, but they do expose weak leadership. If your direction is vague, your communication is inconsistent, or your team doesn’t feel seen — it shows up fast in a remote setup.

• Most companies are already hybrid. Whether leaders realize it or not, if you have teams across time zones or offices in different cities, you’re already managing remotely. So why treat working from home like a radical shift?

• It’s time for better questions. Instead of asking “Where should people work?” Steve suggests asking things like:

  
  

  • “What kind of experience are we trying to create?”

  • “What do our people need to do their best work?”

  • “Is it really the culture that’s struggling… or our ability to lead in new ways?”

  
  

Ultimately, Steve challenges us to stop seeing proximity as a proxy for culture — and to start seeing trust, clarity, and intentional leadership as the real drivers.

🎧 Final thought:

The future of work isn’t about one-size-fits-all answers. It’s about choice, context, and the courage to keep evolving.

In this episode, we’re diving into a question that touches just about everyone—students, parents, leaders, and anyone thinking about the future of work: Is the traditional college-to-career pipeline still working?

Steve breaks down two recent articles from The Atlantic by Rose Horowitch that reveal a surprising shift in education trends:

✅ Humanities majors are making a comeback

❌ Computer science degrees are cooling off

What’s going on here? And what does it say about how we prepare people for a future that’s moving way too fast for old playbooks?

Tune in as Steve explores:

• Why the “major = career” formula is cracking

• What future-fluency means in a world of AI and ambiguity

• How parents, educators, and leaders can shift the conversation around career readiness

Plus, he shares a mindset challenge to help you rethink how we learn, lead, and grow—no matter where you are in your career journey.

AI isn’t the end of leadership. It might just be the beginning of better leadership.

In this episode, I dig into two recent Fortune articles that finally move the AI-leadership conversation from theory to reality. We explore how Chris O’Neill, CEO of GrowthLoop, is using AI to become more present, not less. And we zoom out with Fortune’s bold insight: “AI doesn’t make you less of a leader. It forces you to become more of one.”

This is a turning point. We’re seeing leaders use AI not to escape their responsibilities, but to elevate them.

If you’re wondering how to lead when machines can do almost everything (except be human), this one’s for you.

Let’s talk about what makes leadership truly human—and how to use AI to double down on exactly that.

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Follow Workquake Weekly for practical insight on the future of work, every Friday.

This week on Workquake Weekly, Steve Cadigan takes you inside a recent trip that left him more hopeful than ever about the future of work. Invited to speak at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Steve didn’t just deliver a talk—he discovered a living, breathing ecosystem that’s actively reshaping how learning and careers intersect.

From students solving real-world problems to industry partners co-designing curriculum, TU Dublin isn’t just innovating—they’re implementing. In this episode, Steve shares what he saw, what surprised him, and why he walked away more energized than ever.

If you’ve ever wondered what the future of education and work could look like… this is it.