How can leaders move forward when pressure is high and the way is not clear? Blind adventurer Hiro Iwamoto and his 'seeing eye Doug" guide Doug Smith sailed across the Pacific in 55 days, from San Diego to Fukushima. The two share key strategies for leaders in taking action despite uncertainty and what's needed to pick the right partners to make impossible projects a reality. Hiro also shares how he stays calm in moments of extreme adversity, like when whale sank his boat during an earlier attempt leaving him in a life raft for 11 hours amid five-metre waves.

Key takeaways:

• Courage means moving forward without waiting for 100% information.
• Find people who can solve problems, not just point them out
• How thinking in the present can prevent panic and enable decision-making

Hiro is an adventurer, keynote speaker and the first totally blind person to sail across the Pacific. Doug had no previous sailing experience but became Hiro's crewmate and navigator for that extraordinary trip. Their lessons on crisis leadership, teamwork, overcoming fear and innovation can motivate any leader during difficult moments.

Recorded January 2026 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

About this episode:
Hiro: https://hiros-choice.com/

Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/meet-the-leader/episodes/hiro-iwamoto-blind-sailor-lessons-fear-decision

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Entry-level jobs provide a special window into the wider changes we'll see to job design and skill development. In this episode of Meet the Leader, Peter Brown of PwC explains how entry-level roles are transforming and breaks down new research on what employers really want from entry-level workers now. He also shares how these roles can continue to serve as training grounds for career skills like collaboration, critical thinking, and relationship building and why a thoughtful redesign of these roles will be key to future leadership development. Top names from our Chief People Officer community also share the advice new grads need to know in a fast-changing job market.

Key takeaways:

• The most dire headlines about entry-level jobs are not yet backed up by data.
• Employers are increasingly prioritizing applied experience and skills over degrees alone.
• Employers are expecting more 'seniorized' skills earlier.
• New grads should focus on outcomes rather than tasks and look for ways to build human skills on purpose.

Peter Brown is PwC's global workforce leader and a co-author of the World Economic Forum report Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Entry-Level Work. Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, the future of work, and the biggest trends shaping business. This is the third episode in a 3-part series on AI and jobs.

About this episode:
PWC: Pwc.com

Report - PWC
AI 2026 Jobs Barometer
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/ai/ai-jobs-barometer.html

Hopes and fears
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/workforce/hopes-and-fears.html

Report - World Economic Forum
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Entry-Level Work: A Framework for Safeguarding and Reinventing Early Career Pathways: https://www.weforum.org/publications/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-entry-level-work-a-framework-for-safeguarding-and-reinventing-early-career-pathways/


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AI and Jobs series: Upskilling's 'Messy Middle' and Fixing the Skills Mismatch

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• Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2fnuacsz

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

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AI 'workslop' is a leadership problem. Here's how to fix it

• Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2mxkzwc3

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How to Lead People Through AI Change: Questions to Ask from a Transformation Expert

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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/


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AI 'workslop' is a leadership problem. Here's how to fix it

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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/


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• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2vddb3k3
  
  
• Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2fnuacsz
  
  

AI and Jobs series: How entry level jobs are changing in an AI era

• Read here - transcript: https://tinyurl.com/mpfnc822

• Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3b2wzccw

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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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Nick Thompson, The Atlantic: Why one CEO sets 'non -goals' - and what ultramarathons taught him about focus and mental toughness

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  • Read here - Listen: https://tinyurl.com/mtdhe37w

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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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:
Read here - Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/fbym95jy
Listen here - Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ys2dtftj
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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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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/

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