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.

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.

Listen in to learn how to navigate a fast-changing business landscape and prepare for the future of work by turning talent into competitive advantage. McKinsey talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock lead discussions with globally recognized experts and thought leaders on talent, transformational change, and leadership development.

Listen in to learn how to navigate a fast-changing business landscape and prepare for the future of work by turning talent into competitive advantage. McKinsey talent experts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/brooke-weddle">Brooke Weddle</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/bryan-hancock">Bryan Hancock</a>&nbsp;lead discussions with globally recognized experts and thought leaders on talent, transformational change, and leadership development.

McKinsey talent experts Bryan Hancock, Bill Schaninger, and others on how to make the most of talent as a competitive advantage, navigate today’s fast-changing talent landscape, and prepare now for the future of work.

McKinsey Talks Talent

Trends like generative AI shaped last year's talent landscape and are poised to redefine its contours in 2024.

The shape of talent in 2023 and 2024

Agents: Everybody’s got them. But who’s managing them? And what happens to the human talent working alongside them—and being asked to show up differently as a result? “The rise of AI doesn’t mean we all suddenly devolve our responsibilities for quality control and critical thinking,” says Kate Smaje, McKinsey’s global leader of technology and AI and coauthor of the recent book Rewired. “That’s not the world we live in. There’s a premium on those capabilities now.” In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Smaje joins Senior Partner Brooke Weddle and Partner Bryan Hancock, along with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss what leading through the AI moment means for the relationship between people and technology, including ways of working; costs, benefits, and risks; and the need for open dialogue about the question, “Why AI?”

Agents: Everybody&rsquo;s got them. But who&rsquo;s managing them? And what happens to the human talent working alongside them&mdash;and being asked to show up differently as a result? &ldquo;The rise of AI doesn&rsquo;t mean we all suddenly devolve our responsibilities for quality control and critical thinking,&rdquo; says <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/kate-smaje">Kate Smaje</a>, McKinsey&rsquo;s global leader of technology and AI and coauthor of the recent book <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/rewired">Rewired</a>. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not the world we live in. There&rsquo;s a premium on those capabilities now.&rdquo; In this episode of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/mckinsey-talks-talent-podcast">McKinsey Talks Talent</a>, Smaje joins <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/brooke-weddle">Senior Partner Brooke Weddle</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/bryan-hancock">Partner Bryan Hancock</a>, along with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss what leading through the AI moment means for the relationship between people and technology, including ways of working; costs, benefits, and risks; and the need for open dialogue about the question, &ldquo;Why AI?&rdquo;

Your AI agents need performance management, too

"Is my generation doomed?" That’s what one Stanford graduating senior asked Professor Erik Brynjolfsson, economist and director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The professor had seen the data, so he didn’t dismiss the question. But as productivity gains begin to emerge, Brynjolfsson argues that the biggest opportunity lies not in replacing workers but in redesigning work. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Brynjolfsson joins McKinsey leaders Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock, as well as Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss what’s changing, who’s most susceptible to displacement, and what leaders need to know to create value while managing new risks.

"Is my generation doomed?" That&rsquo;s what one Stanford graduating senior asked Professor Erik Brynjolfsson, economist and director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. The professor had seen the data, so he didn&rsquo;t dismiss the question. But as productivity gains begin to emerge, Brynjolfsson argues that the biggest opportunity lies not in replacing workers but in redesigning work. In this episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/mckinsey-talks-talent-podcast">McKinsey Talks Talent</a>, Brynjolfsson joins McKinsey leaders&nbsp;<a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/our-people/brooke-weddle">Brooke Weddle</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/our-people/bryan-hancock">Bryan Hancock</a>, as well as Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss what&rsquo;s changing, who&rsquo;s most susceptible to displacement, and what leaders need to know to create value while managing new risks.

Is the AI productivity story at a turning point?

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 episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Hill speaks with McKinsey leaders and talent experts Brooke Weddle and Bryan Hancock, along with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, about the roles and capabilities that successful innovators share—and about how to create a culture that encourages everyone to undertake the hard, risky work of innovation to drive organizational performance.

That elusive Eureka moment: Every leader strives for it&mdash;but it can&rsquo;t be forced. And as Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill argues in her new book <a href="https://store.hbr.org/product/genius-at-scale-how-great-leaders-drive-innovation/10730">Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation</a> (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 episode of <a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/mckinsey-talks-talent-podcast">McKinsey Talks Talent</a>, Hill speaks with McKinsey leaders and talent experts <a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/our-people/brooke-weddle">Brooke Weddle</a> and <a href="https://preview.mckinsey.com/our-people/bryan-hancock">Bryan Hancock</a>, along with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, about the roles and capabilities that successful innovators share&mdash;and about how to create a culture that encourages everyone to undertake the hard, risky work of innovation to drive organizational performance.

The shape of talent in 2023 and 2024

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