How LinkedIn Executives Say Success in the AI Era Depends on Being Human

Skill Shake‑up

AI is sweeping across the workforce, creating widespread anxiety. LinkedIn, with over 1.2 billion members, provides a real‑time view of how AI is reconnecting work.

Aneesh Raman, LinkedIn’s chief opportunity officer, brings a Hollywood‑style résumé—CNN war reporting, speechwriting for President Obama, startup experience—and co‑authored the book How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI . He likens the AI disruption to the Apollo 13 mission’s “failure is not an option” mindset.

Data from 2015‑2022 show that 24 % of skills in ordinary roles changed; the share is projected to reach 70 % by 2030. Raman compares AI’s impact to the transition from steam to electricity: merely swapping one tool for another yields little benefit, whereas redesigning entire workflows around the new energy source unlocks massive productivity gains.

Human’s Trump Card

Raman argues that leaders must start with deep empathy, tell stories that acknowledge workers’ fear, and then inspire action. He urges abandoning the traditional pyramid hierarchy and rigid OKRs/KPIs, which were suited to the stable industrial era but now stifle adaptability.

He predicts a continuously adaptive labor market where old tools become obsolete, and leaders must give teams space to self‑adjust rather than cling to preset goals.

The proposed solution is the 5C framework—curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion, and communication. These are treated as skills that require deliberate practice.

Curiosity thrives when leaders stop penalising wrong answers and create safe environments for experimentation. Courage is built through repeated exposure to uncertainty, turning discomfort into a habit. Raman rejects the notion that AI will erase creativity, stating that AI merely raises the floor of generic content, making true originality more valuable. Compassion, once seen as a luxury, is now a core operational asset, especially as human connection becomes the differentiator in an AI‑augmented world. Communication ranks as LinkedIn’s top skill in 2024 because authenticity and personal perspective become scarce when AI can generate flawless copy.

Climbing the New Workplace

The old career ladder offers clarity but also a cage; true freedom comes from horizontal moves and even stepping down to climb higher. Raman’s own path—from CNN reporter to unpaid Obama campaign intern—illustrates how seemingly regressive moves can open new career vistas.

This shift hits HR hardest: resumes now emphasize tangible outcomes, AI fluency, and an entrepreneurial mindset rather than titles or alma maters. A MIT study cited notes that 60 % of 2018 jobs didn’t exist in 1940, underscoring the rapid emergence of new roles such as data scientist and creator.

Raman’s final recommendation for leaders is to experiment with a 5C skill using an AI tool in a meeting—turn a task from “I do it” into “AI does it”—showing that the technology is easy to use and does not require deep programming knowledge.

In the AI era, the decisive advantage is reclaiming uniquely human qualities; they become the anchor that guides technology’s tide.