If AI leads the strategy, who leads the people?
Power, accountability and who gets left behind when companies “transform”
Leadership used to mean vision, values, and lifting others. But in a year where “AI adoption” feels more like a smokescreen for mass redundancies, a simple and uncomfortable question is surfacing: Is leadership still about people, or is it just about survival at the top?
In the latest episode of Lens on Singapore, I speak with Alan Murray, founding president of the Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute and former CEO of Fortune Media. He’s credited with turning around the brand during a period of massive upheaval in the media industry.
But this isn’t a conversation about Fortune. It’s about what leadership actually means today and whether leaders can reinvent companies without becoming the villains in someone’s career story.
Why listen?
I don’t pull my punches in this episode and ask what so many professionals are thinking but rarely get to voice:
- What makes a good leader in practice, not just in theory?
- How do we know if leaders are doing what’s right, not just what looks good?
- What happens to experienced workers when companies chase the next big thing?
And yes, we go there on AI and ask how do younger professionals build something real and get noticed in a world where everyone suddenly sounds brilliant?
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Whether you’re mid-career and trying to adapt, or in the C-suite and ready to actually listen, this episode is for you.
For more episodes, visit bt.sg/podcasts. Got feedback or ideas? Write to us at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Written and presented by: Claressa Monteiro (claremb@sph.com.sg)
With Alan Murray, founding president, WSJ Leadership Institute
Post-production: Claressa Monteiro and Emily Liu
Coordinating producer: Chai Pei Chieh
Video production: Studio +65
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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