What makes leadership irreducibly human in the age of polycrisis and AI?

The rise of artificial intelligence, accelerating global disruptions, and growing societal fragmentation are profoundly reshaping how organizations operate, how decisions are made, and what leaders are expected to embody. In a world marked by complexity, uncertainty, and information overload, technical expertise alone is no longer enough.

In this video, Brad Harris, Associate Dean of MBA Programs at HEC Paris, Professor of Management and Human Resources, and Academic Director of the NAOS Lab for Leadership, explores why the future of leadership will depend increasingly on human capabilities that technology cannot replicate. Drawing on two decades of research on teams, leadership, and organizational behavior, he argues that leadership is fundamentally a social process rooted in trust, influence, relationships, and the ability to act despite uncertainty.

The discussion introduces the vision behind the NAOS Lab for Leadership, a new initiative launched by HEC Paris to rethink leadership in the face of technological, ecological, economic, and geopolitical transformations. The Lab studies forms of “lucid leadership” grounded in emotional intelligence, critical awareness, intuition, empathy, courage, and discernment in complex environments.