Why Leadership Fails When Wisdom Walks Out
Why Leadership Fails When Wisdom Walks Out  
Podcast: The Midlife Chrysalis
Published On: Wed Jan 07 2026
Description: Most companies are racing toward AI, efficiency, and scale while quietly losing the one advantage that actually sustains great leadership: wisdom. In this Wisdom Wednesday episode, we reveal why culture, lived experience, and human judgment matter more than ever. Chip draws on decades of leadership experience to explain why many organizations are losing their edge and what they can do to reclaim it. In this episode, you’ll learn:- Why leadership is a practice, not a personality trait- How culture is shaped when leaders aren’t in the room- What companies lose when institutional wisdom disappears- The difference between knowledge workers and wisdom workers in the AI era As technology accelerates, human skills become the real competitive edge.👉 Watch now and discover how wisdom future-proofs leadership and culture. Timestamps:00:13 Leadership as a practice02:29 Culture leaders overlook05:18 Defining real company culture08:57 Institutional wisdom loss13:47 Knowledge workers vs wisdom workers18:30 AI impact on early careers22:22 Humanities and philosophy comeback22:44 Wisdom at Airbnb25:53 Informal mentors and EQ27:57 Leading yourself first28:18 Resources and upcoming workshop30:12 Closing thoughts Learn more about MEA at ⁠https://www.meawisdom.com/#LeadershipWisdom #WisdomAtWork #FutureOfLeadership #AIAndLeadership #CompanyCulture #EmotionalIntelligence #KnowledgeVsWisdom #HumanSkills #MentorshipMatters #InstitutionalWisdom #LeadershipDevelopment #WisdomWednesday #LeadershipCulture #AIImpact #ModernLeadership