Molly Graham’s Waterline Model argues that struggling teams are often suffering from unclear structures and unhealthy dynamics, not simply bad hires or personality clashes. The leadership diagnosis starts at the surface: clarify goals, roles and expectations before blaming individuals.

A former Meta hiring committee chair argues that behavioral interviews have become the clearest test of ownership, adaptability and judgment in an AI-accelerated workplace. He outlines how candidates can build a durable story bank, steer interviews toward their strongest evidence and prepare for increasingly expansive evaluation rounds.

A former Stripe COO’s teenage stint bussing tables at a Maine seafood restaurant becomes a lesson in hidden power, workplace curiosity and the difficult art of being new. Molly Graham and Ashley Murphy argue that early jobs need not be perfect to teach lasting lessons about relationships, resilience and ambition.

Economist Daniel Susskind cuts through AI’s feverish hype to consider what workplaces, schools and social bonds might look like when even coding is no longer a safe bet. The conversation argues for critical technological literacy while questioning whether automated efficiency can preserve meaning, contribution and human connection.

Economist Daniel Susskind argues that AI has made career forecasting a fool’s errand, turning yesterday’s advice to learn code into a cautionary tale. He and Bruce Daisley consider how schools and workplaces can cultivate critical thinking, use AI without surrendering judgment, and prepare for a society where work may no longer distribute either income or meaning.

Chip Conley and Molly Graham examine the midlife reckoning not as a crisis but as a chance to shed inherited success scripts. Their conversation makes the case for rituals, curiosity and small experiments as guides through career and identity transitions.

Matt Pocock traces his path from voice coach to TypeScript educator and AI-skills creator, arguing that agents make software’s old strategic disciplines newly urgent. His GrillMe and Wayfinder tools use relentless questioning, shared language and decades-old programming wisdom to steer AI away from entropy.

OpenAI’s Leah Belsky argues that AI may broaden access to learning and give students new power to build, even as it cannot replace the human work of teaching. The real challenge, she says, is helping schools distinguish between information on demand and the productive struggle that makes knowledge stick.

Two interview coaches argue that take-home assignments are no longer a box-checking exercise in a brutal hiring market. Their prescription: schedule the work deliberately, enlist trusted critics before the prompt arrives, and revise for both strong ideas and a story anyone can follow.

Kaya Henderson reflects on turning around Washington, D.C.’s public schools by replacing top-down certainty with shared problem-solving. The former chancellor makes a case for clear communication, authentic leadership and trusting the people closest to the work.

Casey Moratori challenges the industry’s acceptance of sluggish software, arguing that performance begins with architectural choices, hardware literacy and theoretical limits rather than late-stage profiling. He also considers AI coding tools’ unsettled effects on engineering craft and autonomy.

OpenAI’s claimed breakthroughs on long-standing mathematical problems have rattled a field suddenly confronting AI as both a powerful collaborator and a possible replacement. Mathematicians weigh the value of solved proofs against the human insight, training and new questions that make a discipline move forward.

Molly Graham makes a case for career reinvention through calculated risk, beginner’s humility and a willingness to endure the emotional chaos of change. The new WorkLife host considers how small acts of courage can build resilience in a precarious job market and at midlife.

Bruce Daisley talks with organizational psychologist Rob Briner about the workplace ideas companies cling to despite thin evidence, from engagement surveys and psychological safety to culture change and growth mindset. Their debate circles a simple demand: stop reaching for fashionable tools before defining the problem you are actually trying to solve.

In a live TED conversation, Molly Graham makes the case for careers built through risky leaps rather than orderly promotions, arguing that fear, awkwardness, and reinvention are often signs of growth. She reflects on scaling fast-moving companies, the value of asking naive questions, and the need for leaders to build environments where people can do their best work.

Charlie Warzel talks with writer John Paul Brammer about recovering a reading life in the age of feeds, alerts, and algorithmic distraction. Their conversation reframes the so-called attention crisis as a crisis of curiosity, arguing that books can restore stillness, deepen thought, and sharpen both writing and the sense of what feels genuinely human.

HBR on Leadership signs off after more than 150 episodes, with host Hannah Bates announcing the show’s pause and a renewed focus on HBR IdeaCast and other projects. The farewell doubles as a thank-you to the production team and listeners who made the past four years of leadership conversations possible.

AWS chief Matt Garman argues that AI will reorder white-collar work rather than erase it, even as Amazon automates more tasks and trims parts of its own workforce. The conversation ranges from college AI degrees and shaky labor data to enterprise adoption, data center backlash, and the question of whether efficiency gains create new jobs fast enough.

Mark Zao-Sanders makes the case for timeboxing as both a productivity tool and a way to restore calm: put tasks on the calendar, assign them real limits, and let intention outrun distraction. The conversation links better planning to better collaboration, arguing that visible commitments and clear deadlines reduce anxiety for individuals and teams alike.

Chris Lipp argues that real authority at work comes less from title or dominance than from a felt sense of control, internal conviction, and willingness to act. The conversation traces how people build that kind of personal power through responsibility, values, fairness, and even the way they guide a meeting.