What does the future of health leadership look like in a world of workforce pressures, geopolitical uncertainty and rapidly developing artificial intelligence?

In this episode of Transformational Thinking for Health Leaders, I'm joined by Professor Jim Campbell, Professor of Practice in Health Workforce at King's College London and a globally recognised leader in health workforce and health policy.

Jim spent 12 years at the World Health Organisation, including as Director of Health Workforce and Executive Director of the Global Health Workforce Alliance. His earlier public health career took him into conflict, post-conflict and humanitarian settings across Africa, Asia and Europe.

Together, we explore what these experiences have taught him about leadership and why he believes global health needs fewer "saviours" and more stewards who listen, engage, build partnerships and empower others.

We also discuss the emerging field of workforce science, the changing relationship between humans and technology, and how AI could augment rather than simply replace human capability in healthcare.

What does this mean for health leaders? How do we retain accountability, recognise bias and maintain the critical reasoning needed to question AI-generated answers?

Jim also shares his own leadership lessons from a remarkable international career: keep listening and learning, remain open to challenge, employ good people, delegate and create the conditions for others to contribute.

Three reflective questions for health leaders arising from this conversation:

1. Jim describes the shift from wanting a "saviour" leader to needing a "steward" who listens, convenes and builds partnerships. Where in your own leadership are you still being asked (or asking yourself) to be the saviour, and what would it look like to lead instead as a steward?

2. Jim talks about how seniority can create distance from others, and the deliberate effort needed to keep engaging with people once relationships and decisions become more contentious. Where might distance be building in your own leadership, and how are you actively working to close it?

3. Jim argues that using AI responsibly means becoming more grounded in your own discipline, not less, so that you can question rather than simply accept its answers. How confident are you that you, and your teams, have the critical reasoning and discipline-specific expertise needed to challenge AI-generated outputs rather than defer to them?

A fascinating conversation about global health, leadership, workforce, AI and the distinctly human capabilities we'll need for the future.

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