Bridging humanity and technology: Brené Brown on leadership’s new challenge

Good morning from San Francisco. Today’s leaders face a paradox: the incredible speed of change in the workplace, alongside a deep human need for connection, which requires courage and vulnerability.

This was the focus of New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown’s keynote on Monday at Workday Rising 2025, the technology company’s annual user conference. Brown explained that we can choose to be on “team technology” or “team human,” but “the future will belong to those of us who can straddle the paradox of humanity and technology.” Both are needed, she affirmed.

Over the past two years, leaders have navigated unprecedented uncertainty and complexity, managing this challenge at every turn, Brown said. The future of AI is a paradox itself, balancing innovation and regulation, speed and human involvement, even physics and philosophy, she said. 

Our minds want to resolve such issues quickly, so we tap out before solving the problem, Brown explained. “If you can hold onto the conflict long enough, something innovative and new will emerge,” she said.

In the age of AI, essential leadership skills aren’t about choosing between AI and humans, but rather figuring out how to unite the two to drive growth. Organizations that pick sides, Brown emphasized, won’t succeed. “Paradoxical thinking is huge,” she said.

Roughly 78% of enterprise companies are currently deploying AI, with some using it in production and others in trials or experimentation, according to McKinsey. During Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach’s opening address at the conference, he said 75% of Workday customers are using Workday AI capabilities. The company will continue to deliver innovation aligned with its values “in a responsible, ethical, safe, and thoughtful way, with human centricity at the center,” he said.

Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, was named executive chair of the Center for Daring Leadership at BetterUp in 2024. She currently works with organizations and CEOs globally to promote “courageous leadership.” Her new book is “Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit.” Brown’s 2010 TED Talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” remains one of the most-viewed ever.

She told the audience that leading organizations into the future requires building new strengths, including paradoxical thinking, situational awareness, anticipatory thinking, transparency, and mission-critical communication. “Say what you mean, mean what you say,” she advised.

Accountability, which requires courage and vulnerability, is also critical for leadership, Brown said. She explained that vulnerability includes uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.

“This is the hard part—like probably everyone here, I was raised to believe that vulnerability is weakness,” she said. “There is no courage without vulnerability.”

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com