CEO Forum 2025: The Future-Ready CEO – Talent Challenges in the AI Era20 August 2025 | The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok

At the CEO Forum 2025, James Root, Senior Partner and Chair of Bain Futures at Bain & Company, delivered an insightful session on “Reimagining the Future of Talent.” He highlighted how workforce models designed for the mid-20th century are no longer fit for purpose in today’s world of diverse motivations, fluid career paths, and AI collaboration.

Outdated Models vs. Today’s Reality

Traditional talent systems assume a uniform workforce—linear career progression, standardized incentives, and one-size-fits-all engagement models. But today’s workforce is far more complex:

• Multi-generational teams with different expectations

• Gig workers and flexible talent pools reshaping work dynamics

• AI agents becoming collaborators in daily workflows

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Root stressed that there is no longer an “average worker.” Yet many organizations still cling to outdated assumptions, creating a growing disconnect between leadership strategies and employee realities.

Understanding What Truly Motivates People

While companies often invest heavily in skill-building, Root pointed out that they rarely pause to ask the deeper question: “Why do people go to work?”

Bain research identifies six archetypes of worker motivation:

• Givers – motivated by purpose and helping others

• Operators – value stability and teamwork

• Explorers – seek variety and learning

• Artisans – driven by mastery and craft

• Strivers – motivated by achievement and advancement

• Pioneers – thrive on vision, risk-taking, and change

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Interestingly, Operators and Strivers together make up nearly half of the workforce, yet leadership ranks are disproportionately filled with Pioneers. This mismatch creates friction in areas like risk tolerance, stress management, and openness to change—leading to gaps between how executives lead and how employees experience work.

AI: A Double-Edged Sword for Talent

AI adds both promise and peril to the talent equation. Used wisely, it can relieve people from repetitive tasks and enable them to focus on creativity, empathy, and human connection—the uniquely human skills that matter most.

But if mismanaged, AI could reduce organizations to systems of algorithmic control, where workers are managed by data points instead of inspired by purpose.

A New Mandate for Leaders

Root called on leaders to reimagine talent systems by:

• Recognizing diverse motivations across the workforce

• Designing policies that bridge the gap between executives and employees

• Harnessing AI as an augmenter of human strengths, not a substitute for them

Looking Ahead

The future of talent will not be defined by rigid career ladders or uniform incentives, but by nuanced approaches that honor individual motivations and empower people to thrive alongside AI.

For CEOs, the challenge is clear: move beyond outdated models, embrace diversity of motivations, and lead with purpose in the AI era.