Do You Have What It Takes to Be a 'Personality Hire'?

Good afternoon! Today we're exploring what happens when personality trumps skill in the job market, the impostor syndrome some bosses feel about AI and what the sweet spot for hybrid work is at the best-managed companies.

The Charming Employees Who Make Workplaces More Fun

If you get further on charm than skill and carry a workload light enough to float atop your bubbly demeanor, then you might be a “personality hire.” 

Charismatic employees lay the foundations of positive corporate cultures—or leave teammates to pick up the slack. While some people proudly advertise themselves as personality hires on LinkedIn, others roll their eyes.

• Quit Being So Cynical At Work. It's Holding You Back. (Read)
• Why a Killer Golf Swing Is a Hot Job Skill Right Now (Read)

No One Wants to Sound Clueless About AI. Especially Your Boss.

The potential of artificial intelligence isn’t just flummoxing tech entrepreneurs. Chances are your boss is standing at the base of the learning curve, too—right next to you. Rarely has such a transformative, new technology spread and evolved so quickly, even before business leaders have grasped its basics.

No wonder that in a recent survey of 2,000 C-suite executives, 61% said AI would be a “game-changer.” Yet nearly the same share said they lacked confidence in their leadership teams’ AI skills or knowledge.

• AI Doesn't Kill Jobs? Tell That to Freelancers. (Read) 
• Meet the Economist Who Thinks AI Will Help, Not Hurt, the Middle Class (Watch)

The Power of Finding the Sweet Spot of Hybrid Work

The best-managed companies demand enough in-office time for employees to meet and brainstorm, but offer enough flexibility to attract workers, according to the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University and Bendable Labs.

• List: The Best-Managed Companies of 2023 (Search)
• How the Four-Day Workweek is Working at Two Companies (Read)
• The Secrets to Making a Good Virtual Impression (Read)

Best of the Rest

Check out some of the Journal's best-read stories on work life over the past week:

Companies Water Down Their Diversity Recruiting Programs (Read)

I Had a Bad Fight With My Work Spouse. Here's How We Fixed It. (Read)

A Small Town With a Big Factory Goes South in Search of Workers (Read)

This is a condensed version of WSJ’s Careers & Leadership newsletter. Sign up here to get the WSJ’s comprehensive work coverage in your inbox each week.

This newsletter was curated by Lynn Cook, WSJ's Careers and Workplace Bureau Chief. Reach her on LinkedIn.