McKinsey Talks Talent

That elusive Eureka moment : Every leader strives for it—but it can’t be forced. And as Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill argues in her new book Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation (Harvard Business Publishing, March 2026), innovation is less about a flash of insight than about creating the conditions for breakthrough ideas to take hold and scale. In this epi...

Being yourself at work has become a corporate mantra—and it certainly started in a well-meaning way. But it can also have significant downsides, according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead). In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Chamorro-Premuzic joins McKinsey leaders and talent experts Brooke Weddle and...

Manufacturing is back at the center of the US economic agenda. Yet the sector faces a persistent talent shortage—and to bridge it, leaders will need to rethink how they attract, train, and retain a new generation of manufacturing employees. “Manufacturers need to be driving the conversation, not waiting for the workforce ecosystem to arrive at their door,” says Carolyn Lee, Presi...

Many high performers think they’re doing everything right—yet still feel somehow wrong about their day-to-day. And the advent of AI means work-related decision-making is more complex than ever. As job uncertainty ups the ante, more employees might be tempted to settle for the “B+ life,” in the words of Suzy Welch, author of Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your...

In the US, many companies still struggle to fill essential roles. What if part of the solution involves talent that has traditionally been overlooked? Take Johanna Carbajal, who spent her adolescence shuttling between juvenile hall, foster care, and the streets before landing in prison at 18. After her release, Johanna made her way to Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles–based organization fo...

AI is ushering in a new era of work, and smart employers are staying ahead of the curve by rethinking how to cultivate the skills their organizations need to thrive. The best leaders realize they won’t be able to do it alone, according to Beth Cobert, president of affiliates and strategic partnerships at Strada Education Foundation. On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent , Cobert joins McK...

On this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent , McKinsey talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock join Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly for a conversation with Jason Wright, managing partner and head of investments at Project Level and former president of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Together, they explore how women’s sports is scaling rapidly—and what it takes to bui...

A smart strategy is vital —but in today’s fast-changing world, it isn’t enough. Our research suggests that even high-performing companies fail to deliver on the potential of their strategy , to the tune of about 30 percent. But the right operating model can change all that. “The opportunity that comes from closing the 30 percent gap between strategy and performance is real,...

AI is fast transforming work as we’ve known it—and the latest data on jobs doesn’t always reflect the changes underway. “One word sums it up best: ‘uncertainty,’” says Svenja Gudell, chief economist of global employment platform Indeed. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Svenja joins McKinsey talent leaders Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock , along wi...

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...

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 Direc...

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...

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 gl...

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 employ...

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 ev...

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 U...

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 lead...

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...

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...

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 yo...

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 e...

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....

‘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...

With the rise of more technical roles across industries and sectors, and a shortage of people to fill them, skills-based hiring could help organizations access new talent pools. McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and new co-host Brooke Weddle join global editorial director Lucia Rahilly in conversation. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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 ed...