While the mantra “Cs get degrees” may have rang true in college, being middle-of-the-road isn’t enough for those in leadership.

More than half (54%) of the 2,200 US workers surveyed by business management consultancy The Grossman Group in partnership with Harris Poll rated their leaders as “good.” Meanwhile, 30% described them as “exceptional,” and 16% called them “outdated.”

So most leaders are just fine—what’s wrong with that? The issue, according to David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, is that “good” leaders often fail to incorporate “soft skills” into their management practices, something that’s especially necessary at a time when employees are bringing more emotional baggage to work, he argued.

“Good leaders were trained for stable times, and of course, we are not in stable times,” Grossman said. These leaders may check the most basic boxes, such as hitting their goals and even showing appreciation for workers, he added, but “they weren’t trained to address the uncertainty and the emotional content that we see in the workplace today.”

For more on why it’s not enough to be a “good” leader, keep reading here.—PM

President Donald Trump nominated acting Attorney General Todd Blanche this week to permanently fill the top vacancy at the Justice Department, a promotion of sorts for the acting AG.

Blanche assumed the role of acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was ousted from the AG position on April 2. Blanche previously served as Bondi’s deputy, confirmed by the Senate for that role last March. He will face another round of Senate vetting expected sometime later this summer.

Prior to his work at the DOJ, Blanche was Trump’s personal defense attorney and defended the president in a hush-money case in New York, which he lost, as well as federal lawsuits over mishandling classified documents upon leaving office and interfering with the 2020 election.

At the HR’t of it. Separate from political slush funds, HR leaders are continuing to follow the activity at the Department of Justice and its interest in curbing diversity and equity programming.

For more on what HR should know about Trump’s AG pick, keep reading here.—AD

New employment data for the tech sector shows the impact of AI on hiring.

Numbers from tech certification provider CompTIA, working off data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, show that AI hiring intent—job listings for specialized AI roles or that require a specific AI skill—has doubled since November 2025. It’s a sign both of the continued strength of tech sector employment and the importance of AI to the industry.

Seth Robinson, CompTIA VP of industry research, told IT Brew that the scale of the increase is even greater than the current intent indicates. CompTIA’s tracking of AI jobs already started at a high baseline in May 2024.

For more on the impact of AI on hiring, keep reading on IT Brew.—EH

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