What works—and doesn’t—in performance management

More from McKinsey Talks Talent All episodes →

1. 

   25 Jun 2025 · 26 min

   What the labor market isn’t telling you—yet

   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 with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to help leaders make sense of the current collision of labor market trends: generative AI, agentic AI, an aging workforce, shifting priorities, and more.…

2. 

   3 Jun 2025 · 35 min

   The future of work is agentic

   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 Bryan Hancock and Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to talk about what these AI agents are, how they’re being used, and how leaders can prepare now for the workforce of the…

3. 

   26 Mar 2025 · 24 min

   The surprising state of employee health

   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 Director Lucia Rahilly about new research on employee health : what it means, its vital link to value, and the steps leaders can take to create workplaces where employees thrive—and competitive advantage…

4. 

   6 Feb 2025 · 23 min

   How to get return to office right

   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 research on the opportunities and challenges of RTO—and about how leaders can make the most of this transition to drive productivity, collaboration, and innovation successfully. See…

5. 

   18 Dec 2024 · 20 min

   The value of generosity in leadership

   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 global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about why—and how—to invest in generosity at work, as well as about the overarching benefits of shifting to a mindset of abundance, versus one of scarcity, for aspiring leaders. See…

6. 

   30 Oct 2024 · 24 min

   Why being in HR is getting tougher—and how to break through

   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 ever—as well as what leaders can do differently to begin turning morale around. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

7. 

   13 Sep 2024 · 20 min

   Understanding what neurodivergent employees need to succeed

   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 University and the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, about the productivity and creativity that neurodivergent employees can bring to organizations—and how employers can support them.…

8. 

   26 Jul 2024 · 25 min

   Managing in the era of gen AI

   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 leaders could do differently to make more of the managers on their team, and how gen AI could change middle managers’ jobs—for the better. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

9. 

   31 May 2024 · 25 min

   Workers wanted: How to fill the skilled-trade shortage

   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 www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

10. 

    1 May 2024 · 26 min

    Why so many bad bosses still rise to the top

    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 leaders Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle, as well as global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss why the traits that propel us to the top seem to diverge so widely from those that make us…