A freshly minted CEO of Nokia, Justin Hotard, argues that companies must change how they lead — because the new generation entering the workforce has grown up with AI, and sees technology as the backbone of innovation.
He draws from conversations with early-career employees in their 20s, noting their impatience and eagerness to use AI tools to drive ideas forward. For them — this generation that came of age as tools like ChatGPT took off — AI isn’t a novelty: it’s a given, and a way to rethink how work gets done.
For leaders, that means reevaluating traditional structures. AI tools can enable individual contributors to handle tasks previously reserved for managers — boosting productivity, flattening hierarchies, and making teams more agile and outcome-oriented.
But Hotard insists that AI shouldn’t replace human connection and leadership. The new ideal is less about micromanaging and more about coaching — building trust, fostering transparency, and supporting teams so they can learn, experiment and deliver in an AI-first world.
