Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts Are Creating a New Human-Powered Leadership

by Kelly Monahan, Christie Smith PhD, Chloe Cannon (Narrator)

In an era where the foundational elements of business are being disrupted, Essential emerges as a crucial guide for leaders navigating the profound changes reshaping industries and markets worldwide. This book, penned by a team of seasoned business and leadership strategists, offers a radical and necessary perspective on management transformation, emphasizing the importance of human-centered leadership in meeting the full potential of the technology age.

The authors explain how

● Unlock radical management transformation, demonstrating how to lead with humanity at the forefront, addressing changing attitudes about labor, management, and organizational goals in a way that fosters growth and innovation

● Adapt to the new business landscape, leveraging insights about managing distributed teams and incorporating emerging technologies like generative AI without losing the essence of your organization's talent and skills

● Achieve immediate, impactful change with realistic strategies and actionable techniques backed by thousands of hours of original research and practical experience

● Improve the way we live by revolutionizing the way we work

Audible Audio

Published April 8, 2025

About the author

Dr. Kelly Monahan is a Managing Director at Upwork, leading their future of work research program. She built and leads the Upwork Research Institute, whose mission is to change work, one insight at a time. Her research has been recognized and published in both applied and academic journals, including MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, and the Journal of Strategic Management. In 2018, Kelly released her first book, How Behavioral Economics Influences Management Decision-Making: A New Paradigm (Academic Press/Elsevier Publishers).