Episodes

  • Optimism Is Now an Essential Leadership Skill

    Optimism Is Now an Essential Leadership Skill
    Oct 6 2026
    Optimism isn’t about ignoring problems or pretending everything will work out. It’s about acknowledging challenges while believing that your actions can still make a difference. Psychologist and researcher Michelle Gielan says leaders can cultivate that mindset in themselves and their teams and argues that, when they do, it creates a powerful performance advantage. Drawing on an 11-year dataset of more than 25,000 business professionals, she shares research linking optimism to higher productivity, sales, engagement, and lower burnout. She explains how leaders can use techniques like “power leads" to help teams focus on progress and possibility without losing sight of difficult realities. Gielan wrote the book Resilient Optimism: The Science of Sustaining a Positive Mindset in Tough Times and the HBR article "How Leaders Counter Pessimism in Trying Times."
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    29 mins
  • How AI Is Changing Strategy: Rethinking What Your Business Is Designed to Do

    How AI Is Changing Strategy: Rethinking What Your Business Is Designed to Do
    Oct 8 2026
    AI is advancing so quickly that companies can’t afford to treat it as simply another productivity tool; it is fundamentally reshaping strategy. In this final episode of our special four-part series on how AI is changing leadership, Wharton professor and AI expert Ethan Mollick explains why leaders need to rethink what their organizations are designed to do—and how work gets done. He discusses how AI agents are changing the role of managers, why companies need to experiment rather than wait for proven playbooks, and how leaders can create competitive advantage when everyone has access to the same frontier models. Mollick is author of the forthcoming book Co-Existence: The Next Phase of AI.
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    33 mins
  • Why Great Teams Don’t Need to Like Each Other

    Why Great Teams Don’t Need to Like Each Other
    Oct 13 2026
    What makes a great team? It might have less to do with whether colleagues like one another and more to do with whether they’re aligned on a shared purpose. Organizational psychologist and Wharton professor Adam Grant says leaders can build stronger connections at work, foster productive conflict, and create cultures where people feel empowered to speak up. He explains why task cohesion matters more than social cohesion, how to turn differences into a competitive advantage, and why leaders should reward people who challenge the status quo; and also shares practical ways to rethink onboarding, encourage candid feedback, and help employees connect their work to a meaningful mission. Grant is the author of the new book Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connection in a Lonely World.
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    32 mins
  • How AI Is Changing Communication: Weighing Efficiency with Efficacy

    How AI Is Changing Communication: Weighing Efficiency with Efficacy
    Sep 24 2026
    AI is rapidly changing how top leaders communicate with employees, customers, boards, and each other. In episode 2 of a special four-part series on how AI is changing leadership, we explore how executives can use AI to improve communication without outsourcing the thinking, judgment, and empathy that make it effective. Stanford professor Matt Abrahams and Zapier CEO Wade Foster discuss how leaders are using AI to synthesize information, structure ideas, prepare for difficult conversations, and rehearse for high-stakes moments. They also explain why leaders should be wary of letting AI write everything for them, how overreliance on AI can create a “comprehension gap,” and why preserving a distinctive human voice may become even more important as AI-generated communication becomes ubiquitous. Abrahams is the author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter and host of the podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart. Foster is the cofounder and CEO of Zapier, a software automation company.
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    34 mins
  • What Retail Legend Ron Johnson Learned from Apple’s Success and JCPenney’s Failure

    What Retail Legend Ron Johnson Learned from Apple’s Success and JCPenney’s Failure
    Sep 29 2026
    How do you know when to trust your previous experience in a transformation environment, and how do you know when to listen, observe, and adapt? Ron Johnson helped create the Apple Store and transform Target into a design-forward retailer. But when he brought his approach to JCPenney, his transformation failed. He explains why leaders shouldn't rely too heavily on data when they're trying to create something that hasn't been done before, how Steve Jobs used patience and diverse perspectives to drive innovation, and why great customer experiences depend on empowering employees to solve problems one customer at a time. Johnson also reflects on his experience at JCPenney, where he moved too quickly and underestimated how deeply employees and other stakeholders were invested in the company's existing way of doing business. He shares what he would do differently today—and why listening may be one of the most important skills a leader can develop. Johnson is the author of Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius.
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    33 mins
  • How AI Is Changing Innovation: Why Speed Alone Isn’t a Strategy

    How AI Is Changing Innovation: Why Speed Alone Isn’t a Strategy
    Oct 1 2026
    AI is making it faster and cheaper than ever to turn ideas into prototypes, products, and businesses—but that abundance creates new challenges for leaders. In episode 3 of a special four-part series on how AI is changing leadership, we look at the ways industry leaders are using AI to truly gain a competitive edge and innovate for the future. Cisco Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel explains how AI is changing the pace and nature of innovation, why human judgment and taste become more important when everyone has access to the same tools, and how companies can use AI to tackle problems they couldn't have solved before. He also discusses the risks of AI agents, why organizations need new approaches to security and oversight, and how leaders can build a culture that embraces experimentation without sacrificing rigor or accountability.
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    28 mins
  • What New CEOs Get Wrong About the Job

    What New CEOs Get Wrong About the Job
    Sep 22 2026
    Becoming CEO can look like the culmination of a career. But the skills that help someone rise to the top job aren't necessarily the ones that make them successful once they get there. Nitin Nohria, former dean of Harvard Business School, has spent three decades studying CEOs and working with new leaders as they adjust to the demands of the role. He says one of the biggest surprises for new CEOs is realizing that they can't—and shouldn't—run the company themselves. Instead, their job is to create the conditions for their leadership team to run it well. He also explains how CEOs can stay connected to their organizations, build the right leadership team, manage their boards, focus their time, and decide which emerging issues—including AI—actually deserve their attention. Nohria is author of The CEO: The Role, the Reality, the Responsibility.
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    30 mins
  • How AI Is Changing Talent, Not Just Tasks: Rethinking Where Human Judgment Matters Most

    How AI Is Changing Talent, Not Just Tasks: Rethinking Where Human Judgment Matters Most
    Sep 17 2026
    The decisions leaders must make about AI today go far beyond what platforms to invest in: AI is changing organizational culture and leadership for good. In episode 1 of a special four-part series on how AI is changing leadership, we look at how the technology is changing how people interact at work, the new culture it is creating, and how leaders can get smart about talent management and strategy in this rapidly advancing world. Paula Goldman, Salesforce’s chief ethical and humane use officer, argues there's currently a big opportunity to redesign work around the complementary strengths of humans and AI. She explains how AI could reshape entry-level jobs and the development of future leaders, why companies need to rethink internal mobility and talent development, and how executives can prepare their organizations for an AI-powered workforce without sacrificing accountability, creativity, or trust. Goldman is the author of Manage the Machine: How to Harness Human-AI Collaboration at Work.
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    32 mins