131: Heather McGowan - Empathy Meets AI: Expanding Cognitive Capacity and Workplace Potential

Heather E. McGowan is a keynote speaker and author of The Empathy Advantage and The Adaptation Advantage with deep experience in the Future of Work field. She describes the importance of empathy with AI's growing influence and fostering a connected, resilient, and adaptable workforce. Heather discusses how AI can transform cognitive work and why leaders must shift from relying on their own expertise to harnessing collective intelligence. She explains how the promise and tacit agreement of work has changed, leading to younger generations’ focus on mission, impact, and mentorship.

 

 

TAKEAWAYS

 

[02:35] Interested in human behavior and art, Heather goes to RISD to study industrial design.

 

[04:00] Heather learns to ask the right question – is the process, not the product, that matters.

 

[04:54] Observing people helps Heather identify unarticulated needs, as seen with the Swiffer.

 

[06:21] Heather designs various products then does an MBA to bridge design and business.

 

[07:36] Her mentor’s influence directs her towards ESG-focused private equity work.

 

[09:49] Integrating design and business, Heather works in academia for several years.

 

[10:50] Heather starts defining how work is changing for her academic and corporate clients as the Future of Work emerges.

 

[12:24] Challenging the concept of having to take single discipline courses before collaborative studies.

 

[13:00] The importance of having a common mindset around problem solving.

 

[13:31] Using basic systems thinking to understand the impact of solutions.

 

[14:33] Interesting reactions to mixed-year participation in courses.

 

[15:25] How people responded to integrated design-thinking projects.

 

[16:15] Heather gets delayed positive feedback to their innovative approach.

 

[16:39] Insights from Heather’s experiences in education such as getting people to think propositionally.

 

[17:00] The genesis of the Adaptation Advantage book.

 

[17:45] The impact of set occupational identity and the rigid 'education-career-retire' model.

 

[18:26] Lifelong learning with learning and careers overlapping not sequential stages.

 

[18:55] Retirement is not good for us, now that life expectancy has increased.

 

[19:30] The AARP starts to focus on people’s ‘next’ or ‘encore’ chapter rather than ‘retirement’.

 

[20:46] Heather’s research and writing focuses on Future of Work tacit vs explicit knowledge.

 

[21:17] Explicit knowledge can be automated, while tacit knowledge needs human interaction.

 

[22:15] AI as a “third lens” for understanding human cognition and expanding our capabilities.

 

[23:39] Heather warns that over-reliance on automation risks atrophying our skills.

 

[24:59] The benefit of enhancing cognitive capabilities, not just reducing costs.

 

[26:16] The long broken agreement about work between employers and employees.

 

[27:38] Gen Z seeks mission, meaningful work, and mentorship since there is no job security.

 

[28:04] Empathy is necessary to connect with employees and understand their mentoring needs.

 

[28:55] Leaders must not rely on individual intelligence but shift to collective intelligence.

 

[30:34] Heather predicts AI will disrupt cognitive work much like electrification disrupted labor.

 

[31:28] Heather connects rising polarization with declines in socialization and greater lon