KELLY MONAHAN, PhD, is the co-founder of Beyond the Desk, offering keynotes, AI advisory, and research insights at the intersection of technology and human behavior at work. She previously led Future of Work at Meta, founded Upwork’s Future of Work Research Institute, and held senior research roles at Accenture and Deloitte. She is co-author of the national bestseller Essential, and her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fast Company. She has appeared on Bloomberg and CNBC and is a TEDx speaker.

• Introduction: Why the Future of Leadership Speaks in Stories, Not Data xiPrelude: The Urgent Meeting 1ACT I The Drift 5Scene 1: The Theory of Everyone Else 6Commentary: What We Teach, We Become 10The Research: Can We Trust People to Work? 12Hot Take: When a Lack of Trust Moves Outside the Classroom 14Reflective Exercise: The Beliefs Beneath Your Behavior 16Scene 2: Blinded by the Stock 18Commentary: But Leaders Do Care 24Hot Take: It Is the Responsibility of Leaders to Care for Their People 26The Research: What Is the Purpose of Business? 27Measuring What Matters 29Reflective Exercise: When Purpose Goes Missing 31Scene 3: Startup Mode 33Commentary: The Refounding Illusion 39Hot Take: A Startup Mindset Is an Excuse for Chaos 41The Research: What Causes the Drift from a Shared Reality? 42The Mirror Problem 42A Self-Serving Power Paradox 44Reflective Exercise: Returning to Curiosity 47Scene 4: The Strategic Reset 49Commentary: RIFs Can Make You Delirious 53Hot Take: HR Protects the Business 54The Research: A Changing Social Contract 57The Hidden Consequences of Layoffs 59Make it Make Sense: Coaching Corner with Executive Coach Kim Fazio 60Let's Break It Down Before It Breaks Us 60Cupcakes in the Cafeteria 61A Way Back: The Repair Pathway 62ACT II The Delirium 65Scene 5: Peak Delusion 67Commentary: Crossing the AI Valuation Bridge into Delusion 73Hot Take: My Own Delusion with AI 77The Research: AI, Burnout, and the Productivity Paradox 79Reflection: What Is AI Doing For You and To You? 82Scene 6: Don't Worry, AI's Got This 84Commentary: When We Delegate to the Machines 89Hot Take: Help Me Get My Kid Out of My House 91The Research: Gen Z at Work 94Reflection: What Happens When the Bottom Rung Disappears 97Scene 7: All-Star Culture 99Commentary: When Technical Expertise Reigns 105Hot Take: The High-Potential Trap 107The Research: Manager as Pace-Setter 109The Deloitte Experiment: When Managers Change Pace, Performance Changes 110Scene 8: Power Transfer 113Commentary: From Leadership Heroes to Teams of Teams 117Make It Make Sense: Kim's Coaching Corner 120When the Guardrails Come Off 120When the Silence Does the Heavy Lifting 121Who Do We Choose to Be? 122Epilogue: One Year Later 124ACT III The Dream: Reclaiming the Plot 129Reclaim the Plot at Work 131Power: When Uncertainty Rose, the System Defaulted to Narrow Access 132Listening: When the System Optimizes for Momentum, Not Understanding 134Ownership: When Leaders Stop Owning the Talent Agenda 136Truth: When the System Filters Transparency in All Directions 138Reclaim Your PLOT 139Another Way 140Scene 1: A Rewiring 141Scene 2: Heeding the Warning 144Scene 3: Pursuing Substance, Not Applause 150Scene 4: Pace Is Political 156Scene 5: Interdependence Hurts 160Scene 6: AI as a Mirror 163Scene 7: The Unsexy Win 167Epilogue: Ten Years Later 170Notes 175About the Author 179Acknowledgments 181Index 184

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