My Robot Boss

What does it take to build healthy workplaces?In this episode of My Robot Boss, Dr. Katina Sawyer joins Devon to explore how technology is reshaping leadership, trust, and well-being at work. Katina’s research reveals why “generator leaders” - those who actively create energy, trust, and connection - will become even more vital in an AI-driven future.Together, they discuss:Why wellness programs alone can’t fix burnout and how leadership behavior is the missing piece.What “person-centered planning,” adapted from Carl Rogers’ psychotherapy, teaches us about leading with curiosity and care.Why the best leaders listen to understand, not to fix.How to balance efficiency gains from AI with the need for genuine human connection.What younger generations really think about working in AI-heavy organizations and why companies should pay attention.Key Quote:“Leaders can be healing forces at work — but only if they stay curious, compassionate, and human.” — Dr. Katina SawyerLearn More about Katina and her work:LinkedIn: Dr. Katina SawyerBook: Leading for Wellness Workr Beeing PodcastSubscribe to My Robot Boss wherever you get your podcasts and join the conversation about how AI is transforming leadership, performance, and the human experience at work.

From the stage of the 2025 Columbia University Coaching Conference, My Robot Boss host Devon McConnell shares her award-finalist talk. Drawing on four years of research at Oxford and her work with coaching and therapy clients, Devon discusses a hidden cause of workplace burnout: the absence of someone who truly has your back. She explores how attachment science reframes our understanding of leadership, trust, and emotional labor—and what changes when AI begins taking on those relational roles at work.

Magda Du Preez, PhD, is a leadership advisor, decision science expert, and founder of GetSense — an AI coaching platform built to reduce bias and improve human judgment. In this episode, we talk about how AI is changing leadership, decision-making, and emotional intelligence at work. Magda shares insights from her research and product development, including why decision intelligence is the leadership skill of the future, how emotion influences bias, and what happens when AI is used alone vs. alongside human coaching. She also shares her hopes — and fears — about what happens when AI surpasses human intelligence.Top 5 highlights:AI Can Reduce Bias — But Only When Used Intentionally: Magda explains how AI isn’t automatically fair or unbiased — but with the right design and integration, it can become a tool to counter human bias in decision-making, especially in high-stakes leadership moments.Emotion + Pattern = Decision Trap: Drawing from research and years of working with clients, Magda shares how unacknowledged emotion can distort perception and lead to reactive, biased decisions — and how AI might help surface these blind spots.Why Decision Intelligence Is the Next Core Leadership Skill: In an AI-augmented workplace, leaders who can slow down, interrogate their thinking, and make clear decisions will stand apart. Magda explains how this new meta-skill is key to navigating complexity.Augmentation > Automation: Magda reflects on how her team’s coaching product didn’t work as expected when it was used on it's own vs. to augment a human coach. The lesson: AI should partner, not replace, in human development.The Risk of Disconnection and Dehumanization: She warns of an emerging risk: AI may offer leaders the illusion of clarity and speed, but without checks, it could increase isolation, reduce reflection, and drive short-term decisions that undermine performance and trust.Listeners can connect with Magda and get early access to her Sense module and audiobook at GetSense.net, by emailing her directly at magda@getsense.net, or by finding her on LinkedIn.

What happens when AI makes better decisions than the C-suite? In this episode, I speak with Hamza Mudassir — co-founder of Strategize and lecturer at Cambridge Judge Business School — about his groundbreaking simulation that showed AI outperforming human CEOs on key business decisions and the benefits of having a digital twin at work.Top 5 Highlights:AI Outperformed Humans in Strategy Simulation: Hamza’s simulation showed that an AI model outperformed hundreds of MBA students and executives in business decision-making — except during unpredictable Black Swan events.Why AI Struggles with Uncertainty: Unlike humans who hedge against the unexpected, the AI grew overconfident and “bet the house” — failing dramatically when faced with novel disruptions.Executives vs. MBAs: Risk & Plateauing: Executives quickly reached product-market fit but often stopped playing to avoid reputational risk, while students kept pushing and innovating.Rise of the Digital Twin: Strategize builds “digital twins” — AI-powered, hyper-personal agents that learn everything about an executive’s work, preferences, and communications to serve as a personal co-pilot.The Future of the CEO Role: AI will not replace CEOs—but the best leaders will be those who know how to work with AI to amplify decision-making, handle data complexity, and retain accountability.Hamza's work along with his co-authors Kamal Munir, Shaz Ansari and Amal Zahra is featured in HBR: https://hbr.org/2024/09/ai-can-mostly-outperform-human-ceosTo learn more about Hamza and his work, follow him on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamzamudassir/)