McKinsey Talks Talent

Think about your org chart. Now imagine it features both your current colleagues—humans, if you’re like most of us—and AI agents. That’s not science fiction; it’s happening—and it’s happening relatively quickly, according to McKinsey Senior Partner Jorge Amar. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Jorge joins McKinsey talent leaders Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock and Global Editorial D...

Leaders have long recognized the importance of a healthy workforce to driving economic productivity. But they might be surprised at the value at stake—and at the size of the employee population in less-than-fine fettle. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, McKinsey talent leaders and Global Leader of the McKinsey Health Institute Lucy Pérez speak with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about new research...

Return to office (RTO) is on the rise. But in the words of McKinsey partner and talent expert Bryan Hancock, “It doesn’t matter where you ask someone to be. What matters is what you do with them once they’re there.” On this episode of , Hancock and McKinsey senior partner Brooke Weddle speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about surprising soon-to-be-published research on the opportunities and c...

Time is finite and leadership pressures are legion, particularly in the throes of change. Nevertheless, the best leaders persist in cultivating generosity with their teams—and they see a range of advantages as a result. On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, McKinsey leaders and talent experts Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, and Dana Maor  speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about...

New research reveals what employees find fair, what motivates them to perform, and where many organizations go wrong when it comes to feedback, compensation, and annual ratings and reviews. On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, talent experts Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle speak with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about new research on what drives performance: what motivates employees most, what matters less than you ...

Everybody hurts sometimes, R.E.M. once famously sang. And if you’re in human resources, your job is to help. On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, McKinsey leaders and talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock join Wendy Miller, McKinsey’s chief people officer for North America, as well as global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss the dynamics that are making HR tougher than ever—as well as what leaders can do di...

Neurodivergent people make up a substantial percentage of the global population. How can companies best put their distinctive capabilities to work? On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, McKinsey senior partner Brooke Weddle, partner Bryan Hancock, and global editorial director Lucia Rahilly speak with Dr. Lawrence Fung, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and the director of the Stan...

Middle management was already a tough gig. Then generative AI (gen AI) entered the fray. A year after the publication of their book Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work (Harvard Business Review Press, July 2023), McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Emily Field join global editorial director Lucia Rahilly to revisit whether and why middle managers matter, what leaders could do differently to make mor...

Plumbers, carpenters, builders, and engineers are in short supply. What will it take to meet the demand for these skills in the United States and globally? In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock join host Lucia Rahilly to discuss how to attract—and keep—people in these roles and drive productivity. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for ...

Narcissism. Overconfidence. Low EQ. Why do we persist in selecting for leadership traits that hamper organizational progress—and leave the right potential leaders in the wrong roles?  In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It) (Harvard Business Review Press, March 2019), joins McKinsey talent leaders Bryan Hancock and Brooke We...

Yes, organizational health still drives long-term performance—but the way leaders measure and diagnose health should change, new research shows.  McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle join global editorial director Lucia Rahilly to discuss McKinsey’s recently updated Organizational Health Index: how it works, what has changed, and why it’s still among the best predictors of whether your company will thrive over the long...

Empathy: we all aspire to it, but does it really make a performance difference in the workplace? Definitely, according to Jamil Zaki, a research psychologist at Stanford University and author of The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World (Crown, June 2019). In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Jamil joins McKinsey talent leaders Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle, with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, to ...

As the impetus of New Year’s resolutions starts to fade, the year’s real work begins. What
can the dizzying pace of change in 2023 teach us about what’s next? Join McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle, in conversation with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, as they speak about the trends that shaped last year’s talent landscape—and those poised to redefine its contours in 2024.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-poli...

‘Humans in the loop’: It’s the angst-ameliorating mantra for the new age of generative AI. But what does it really mean? In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Stanford University professor Melissa Valentine joins McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle, along with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss human-centered artificial intelligence: what it is, how it improves performance, and how it can help shi...

Most of us don’t exactly dream about becoming a middle manager. But in fact, middle managers play a pivotal role in organizational success, according to the new book  Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work (Harvard Business Review Press, July 2023). On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, authors Emily Field, Bryan Hancock, and Bill Schaninger talk with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about ...

Look around. If you’re like many of us, your workplace comprises members of four, possibly even five, generations—and attention to age-based differences is mounting. On this episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, talent leaders Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger talk to global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about new research on generational preferences at work: what’s myth, what matters, and how to manage the new multigene...

Generative AI: it’s powerful. It’s accessible. And it’s poised to change the way we work. On this episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, talent leaders Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger talk with McKinsey Technology Council chair Lareina Yee and global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about the promise and pitfalls of using gen AI in HR—from recruiting to performance management to chatbot-enabled professional growth. 

See www...

Office rituals matter—and in a range of ways. But the pandemic has made many rituals moot, at a time when employees need them most. In this episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, talent leaders Bryan Hancock and Bill Schaninger talk to global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about how to develop rituals for the changing world of work—and what all of us stand to lose unless rituals are revitalized.

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy...