In this candid and surprisingly funny host episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina and Alex tackle a big question hiding inside a very real 2026 reality: what is leadership actually for? As AI hype grows and organizations rush to replace people with bots, they challenge the assumption that strategy decks, frameworks, and PowerPoints are the real job of leaders. If AI can create the plan faster and better, what’s left? The answer: the human work. Leadership isn’t announcing decisions or reorganizing every 18 months—it’s creating psychological safety, listening deeply, understanding the system you’re operating in, and supporting people through change.

They unpack why middle managers feel stuck in the “sandwich generation” of organizations, why so-called “listening tours” often aren’t listening at all, and why true leaders are the ones people speak to, not the ones who speak the most. Drawing on Stafford Beer’s idea that “the purpose of a system is what it does,” they explore how outcomes reveal the real system at play—no matter the stated strategy. If you’ve ever wondered why your big ideas don’t stick, why friction keeps resurfacing, or what leadership really means in an AI-powered world, this episode is both a reality check and a hopeful reframe: leadership is influence, safety, and support—not title, noise, or control.

In this host-led episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore unpack a quiet but costly contradiction in modern work: we expect teams to perform flawlessly without ever giving them time to practice being a team. Drawing parallels to sports teams, musicians, and even improv groups, they explore why collaboration, trust, and communication don’t magically happen just because people share an org chart—or a spreadsheet. Teams are dynamic, constantly shifting with restructures, vacations, new hires, and evolving goals, yet most workplaces invest almost nothing in intentionally forming and reforming how people work together.

The conversation challenges the myth that capable individuals will simply “figure it out” and instead makes the case for regular pauses, shared reflection, and deliberate team formation. From metaphors about baking cakes without stirring to real examples of retreats, frameworks, and outside facilitation, Cristina and Alex show why investing time in how teams connect—not just what they do—is essential for sustainable performance. If you’ve ever wondered why talented teams feel misaligned, burned out, or stuck, this episode offers a human, practical reframe on what it really takes for teams to work well together.

In this host-only episode of Uncover the Human, Cristina Amigoni and Alex Cullimore name what so many people are quietly feeling: collective burnout. As organizations race from one transformation to the next—AI, restructures, new priorities—teams feel stuck on a runaway bus with no stop cord. Change keeps coming, but there’s no time to let anything land, no space to choose, and no chance to recover. The result? Disenfranchisement, exhaustion, and a growing sense that work is happening to people instead of with them.

With humor, honesty, and a cascade of vivid metaphors, this conversation explores why nonstop change erodes trust, innovation, and psychological safety—and what leaders can do instead. Cristina and Alex argue for the radical (and uncomfortable) idea of pausing: letting seeds grow, creating space to listen, and allowing teams to “be” long enough for real progress to emerge. From hackathons to step-by-step AI adoption, they make the case that slowing down isn’t falling behind—it’s how you avoid burning everyone out while still moving forward. If you’re tired of running and wondering whether there’s a more human way to lead change, this episode of Uncover the Human will feel like a deep exhale.