Leah Weiss: The Future of Leadership

May 19, 2021

Leah Weiss

Over the next five to ten years, jobs will change due to technological advancements like artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, 3-D printing, and nanotechnology. While these advancements will create a range of new jobs in industries yet to be created, many of today’s jobs will still exist, they will just look a little different and probably involve working with machines. Consider the field of medicine, where medical doctors are primarily responsible for correctly diagnosing and treating patients. 

In the future, it may be algorithms making these diagnoses with remarkable accuracy. Computers could be used to make recommendations about the best treatment. Artificial Intelligence could replace pharmacists, and, in some cases, robots could even carry out surgery. Doctors won’t disappear, but they won’t diagnose or prescribe medicine in the same way they do today. Their role will change as they will need to comfort and manage patients to a greater extent. Just like this example, in the immediate future, advancements in technology won’t necessarily replace all jobs, but it will alter the way most of us work. 

The parts of our jobs that are routine, administrative, and repetitive will likely be replaced by technology. According to the consulting firm McKinsey, for 60 percent of all jobs at least one-third of the activities can be automated. Like doctors, employees will be freed up to undertake new tasks in new ways, which will require new skills. 

In this podcast we are joined by Dr. Leah Weiss who is a Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer. She has focused her studies on compassionate leadership, and the positive effect it has on organizations. In this episode Leah will unpack what compassionate leadership is, how we can develop it and why it really is the future of leadership.