The modern workplace has evolved dramatically over the course of just a few years, marked by the widespread adoption of remote and hybrid models and the integration of technologies like AI. For workplace leaders, these shifts raise critical questions about their evolving roles and the path forward.
To address these pressing issues, the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) Human Capital Management, Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS), and Negotiation and Conflict Resolution programs recently cohosted “Leadership in a Turbulent World: What’s Changed? What Needs to Change?” This innovative hybrid event explored three key themes: the shifting dynamics of employee and employer relationships and expectations; navigating difficult workplace conversations; and the increasing role of data and algorithms in decision-making.
An expert panel kicked off the discussion, beginning by identifying challenges in the employee-employer relationship. KimLoan Tran, senior vice president of client success at Anywhere Real Estate Inc., noted two shifts in particular. First, she pointed out a change in the social contract between employees and employers, in which pay and perks are insufficient incentives to stay loyal to a job for many employees who are increasingly looking for work that offers purpose, growth, and flexibility. Second, she highlighted a reskilling of the workplace, in which employers are seeking to hire for new skills that they don’t always know how to identify, or that few job seekers have had time to develop, such as with new technologies.
Tran referenced the World Economic Forum’s 2025 The Future of Jobs Report, which found that 70 percent of employers expect to hire staff with new skills, 40 percent plan to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50 percent plan to transition staff from declining to growing roles. That means fewer operational positions with a focus on manual labor, repetitive tasks, and rote memorization, and an increase in work involving analytical thinking, decision-making, and quick learning, she said. She added that this upskilling push comes at a time when the labor market is very competitive. As many job seekers compete for fewer highly specialized positions, hiring processes have also become slower.
Tackling the issue of having difficult conversations, Susan Levin, a lecturer in the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program, began by providing some context from the field of neuroscience. She warned that although “humans are hardwired to resist change,” we can and do change all the time. Leaders and their employees are subject to the same human forces and impulses. “Self-awareness of that, and for leaders to understand and recognize how they interact with their staff––with their colleagues––is really important, so that they can reflect and make adjustments as they move forward and strive for really effective authentic leadership.”
Leaders also set the tone within their organizations, Levin said. The challenges for leaders, then, are to consider: “How can that leader stay grounded and calm amid all the turmoil that’s out there in order to model the best way forward? And then how can a leader create an environment of psychological safety?” She added that leaders should also make it possible to bring up the things that don’t get spoken about, asking: “How can you have a process to disagree without being disagreeable?”
In the final panel presentation before the discussion was opened up to in-person and online attendees of the event, IKNS alum Tameka Vasquez, founder and principal strategist at The Future Quo, considered the complications of relying on data in the workplace and advocated for humans––and leaders in particular––to regard data with nuance.
“When it comes to the fact that we just have access to so much more information, so much more knowledge, so much more data at our fingertips, we think that that is going to create a sense of certainty, right? I type in a question, I get an answer,” Vasquez said. “There is no such thing as certainty in the human experience.”
Vasquez explained that humans rely on each other, our senses, intuition, and lived experiences to navigate the world and suggested that our use of data may be tricking us into “romanticizing this idea that we’re going to get the answer right.” Her comments suggested that while data isn’t a panacea, humans can give it value by interpreting it. “Until we apply it to our environment, it may not actually have any meaning.”
Following the panelists’ presentations, moderator Steve Safier, program director of and lecturer in the Human Capital Management program, opened the event to group discussions among the in person and online attendees, after which each table had an opportunity to share. Attendees discussed a range of issues, including flexibility and benefits such as in-person versus remote arrangements, expectations in the employer-employee relationship, and leadership more broadly.
Ultimately, the discussions reinforced that thriving in the modern workplace hinges on leaders’ cultivating adaptability, fostering open dialogue, and wielding data with wisdom, ensuring a human-centered approach to our technologically driven future.
About the Programs
Human Capital Management
The Columbia University M.S. in Human Capital Management program prepares graduates to be world-class HCM strategists able to address changing needs in building and motivating talented, engaged workforces in the private, public, academic, and not-for-profit sectors.
The fall 2025 application deadline for the M.S. in Human Capital Management program is June 1. Learn more about the program here. The program is available part-time, full-time, on-campus, and online.
Information & Knowledge Strategy
The Columbia University M.S. in Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) degree provides students with foundations in information science, organizational psychology, and change management as well as practical skills in project management and executive leadership.
The STEM-accredited program is available full-time or part-time, online or in person, on Columbia’s landmarked campus right here in New York City. To maximize opportunities for networking and community building, our online students join our New York–based students on Columbia’s campus for three in-person residencies during their studies.
Students train under world-class faculty, including former and current executives from Google, IBM, NASA, and Oliver Wyman, and join a powerful global alumni network in coveted positions, including at Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Nike, Pfizer, and the World Bank.
For more IKNS insights, news, and events, please go to our website, connect with us on LinkedIn, or attend one of our online info sessions. Visit the School of Professional Studies website to learn more about the SPS student experience.
The final fall 2025 application deadline for the IKNS program is June 1. Learn more here.
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Columbia University’s Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution prepares students to analyze the root causes and dynamics of conflict and to transform disputes through reasoned and resourceful interventions. The program focuses on developing self-awareness, tenacity, and interpersonal competency; building common ground; opening lines of communication; ensuring representation and recognition, and building sustainable possibilities for resolution.
The program has on-campus and online (with residency) modality options. Learn more about the M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program here.
