Sparks: Can Hybrid Work Work? Why In-Person Presence is Still Essential If You Want to Stay Ahead
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
Release Date: 04/11/2025
The Black Box of AI: What the World’s Leading Expert Says We Still Don’t Know
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
AI is the most powerful tool humanity has ever created. Yet, it’s also a black box we barely understand. How do we build the future of work with a system that can make decisions, take actions, and sometimes… make it up as it goes? In today's episode, Babak Hodjat, CTO of AI at Cognizant, joins us to uncover the truth and the hype behind today’s most powerful AI technologies. We explore the evolution of agentic AI, multi-agentic platforms, and how organizations like Cognizant are already using AI agents to streamline RFPs, HR systems, and even intranet interactions. Babak exposes the...
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Sparks: How CHROs Can Lead Human Transformation and Shape the Future of Work
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) are now responsible for shaping the future of work. But to do that, you can’t stay in the HR box. To HR leaders, it's time to stop thinking of yourself as administrators and start showing up as architects of human transformation. The new world of work operates on an entirely new playbook, we can't keep putting band-aids on outdated systems. We must start reimagining work itself. In today's Leadership Spark, we're rethinking the outdated ideas about work, engagement, and the role of HR in shaping the future. We explore why perks don’t create real...
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Workhuman’s Chief Human Experience Officer on Why Nice Leaders Create Weak Teams and How to Build a Resilient Culture
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
The workplace is evolving, but not without friction. AI, culture, and leadership expectations are colliding, and while some leaders scramble to keep up, others are creating environments that feel more like day spas than places of work. How do you lead with kindness while still setting high expectations? In this episode of Future Ready Leadership, I spoke with KeyAnna Schmiedl, Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman, about what it really takes to evolve workplace culture and leadership in a time of rapid change. We explored the current state of AI and its role in supporting, not replacing...
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Sparks: We’re Doing Vulnerability Wrong: Why Being Accountable Needs to Exist Along With Being Vulnerable
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
We’ve misunderstood what it really means to lead with vulnerability. Organizations are falling into a dangerous trap of glorifying vulnerability without pairing it with accountability. That's why workplace cultures that enable excuses, not growth, exist. In this episode, we explore why vulnerability at work has gone too far, and how it’s being misused as a shield from accountability. We draw a sharp line between simply being vulnerable and leading with vulnerability, which means owning your gaps and showing what you’re doing to grow. When vulnerability lacks follow-through, it creates a...
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How Amazon’s Cybersecurity Chief Says Leaders Should Prepare for AI Threats
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
AI is a double-edged sword—boosting capabilities while amplifying risks if used carelessly. Every leader today is racing to understand how AI will impact their business. So, how can you protect your organization? In this episode, Steve Schmidt, SVP and Chief Security Officer at Amazon, breaks down the real risks at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and leadership. Steve shares why the biggest cybersecurity threats aren’t just technical but human, highlighting how AI lowers the barrier for attacks like phishing and social engineering. We explore the concept of agentic AI, which...
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Sparks: The Vulnerability Mountain: How Reaching the Peak Can Unlock Your Leadership Superpower
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
Too often, vulnerability at work is misunderstood as either oversharing or a sign of weakness. What many leaders overlook is how it can be their superpower if used the right way. In this episode, we explore how to lead with vulnerability without losing your leadership edge by pairing your openness with intention and direction. We discuss the “vulnerable leader equation,” a reminder that showing emotion or imperfection isn’t weakness when paired with purpose. You’ll also learn about the “vulnerability mountain” framework: identify what’s easy (base camp), what’s hard (the peak),...
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More Than Just HR: Highlights from the 2025 Future of Work Leaders CHRO Event
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
CHROs, your role has never been more vital or more complex. AI, shifting politics, hybrid work, and evolving employee expectations, have taken the front seat in today's world of work. The future says you’re no longer just managing HR, you’re redefining the workplace itself. That’s exactly why I launched Future of Work Leaders, a supportive global community built specifically for CHROs who are ready to move beyond traditional HR and are committed to building future-ready organizations. In this episode, I share highlights from our very first 2025 gathering, where CHROs from some of...
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How Sam’s Club CEO Leads an $84B Company Without Losing Humanity
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
Leading a business with 100,000 employees and $84 billion in revenue isn’t for the faint of heart. Every executive talks about culture and results, but few have done it at this scale. So how do you lead without losing your soul? In this episode, Chris Nicholas, President and CEO of Sam’s Club, pulls back the curtain on what leadership really looks like when the stakes are massive. He shares why purpose and grit—not ego—are the foundation of great leadership. You’ll learn why 85% of Sam’s Club managers started as hourly workers, how Chris uses “ultra-endurance leadership” to...
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Sparks: Timeless Traits and Skills for the Future-Proof Leader
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
We’ve all had the experience of working for a bad leader, the kind that drains your energy, stifles your motivation, and makes Monday mornings feel like a dreadful chore. But great leaders do the opposite. And in a world evolving faster than ever, we can’t afford to leave leadership to chance. In today’s Leadership Spark, we’ll tackle two big questions: Will the leader of 2030 be different from today’s leader? And if so, how? Backed by insights from 140+ CEO interviews and a global LinkedIn survey of nearly 14,000 employees, I share the timeless traits leaders must keep, and the new...
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Lead Like It’s 2025: What Today’s Leaders Must Add to their Toolkit
Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan
The rules of leadership have changed, but most leaders didn't get the memo. We’re leading in a time of constant disruption, fractured teams, and AI eating away at every corner of the workplace. It’s no longer enough to rely on outdated mindsets, old leadership playbooks, and hoping for the best. In this episode, we explore what real future-ready leadership looks like. Navy SEAL and leadership coach Rich Diviney shares why it’s not your skills, but your attributes, like resilience and adaptability, that determine how you lead under pressure and make you an elite leader. Keith Ferazzi,...
info_outlineRemote work offers convenience and flexibility, but can it truly foster the leadership development needed to excel? While virtual environments allow for increased productivity, they often fall short in cultivating the deeper skills that come from observing, interacting, and learning in person. In today’s Leadership Spark, we explore why in-person presence remains essential for aspiring leaders. Gain insights into how face-to-face interactions with senior leaders, casual conversations, and observing real-time decision-making can accelerate leadership growth. For those with ambitions to advance, showing up when others choose to stay remote may provide a unique competitive advantage. Tune in to uncover how being physically present in the workplace can unlock opportunities, build stronger relationships, and fast-track your path to leadership.
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This episode is sponsored by Workhuman.
HR just changed for good with the introduction of Human Intelligence™. By combining AI and the uniquely authentic data of Workhuman’s #1 rated employee recognition platform, Human Intelligence reveals what good looks like in your company, with previously unobtainable insights into skills, performance, culture and more. Human Intelligence also helps coach employees on what good peer-to-peer recognition looks like, turning every “good job” into better engagement, retention, and wellbeing.And it helps surface feel-good stories that illustrate the best of your company culture.
Learn about Human Intelligence at Workhuman.com, and join our force for good.
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