Uplift 2026 Highlights

Uplift 2026 brought together an exceptional group of researchers, executives, and cultural leaders. Speakers included Brené Brown, PhD, Adam Grant (Organizational Psychologist and Chair of the BetterUp Center for Purpose & Performance), Dacher Keltner, PhD (UC Berkeley), Dr. Susan David (Harvard Medical School), Andrew McAfee (MIT), Dr. Albert Bourla (Pfizer), Greg Case (Aon), Peter Sohn and Katherine Sarafian (Pixar), Alexi Robichaux (BetterUp), and Kristen Bell (Actress, philanthropist, and producer), among others. Sessions spanned behavioral science, AI's impact on the workforce, leadership transformation, and organizational culture.

A curated selection of Uplift 2026 sessions is available to stream on this page, covering themes including AI and the future of work, leadership in high-stakes environments, culture during organizational change, and the science of human performance. Sessions feature thought leaders from companies including Aon, Pfizer, Pixar, IBM Consulting, Patagonia, Blackstone, Salesforce, Comcast, PayPal, and Pure Storage.

In their session "The Courage to Transform," Adam Grant and Kristen Bell explored what it actually takes to change — as individuals, as leaders, and as organizations. The conversation covered how to build the psychological safety and honest self-awareness that make real transformation possible, rather than performative.

Brené Brown joined BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux and leaders from Salesforce, Lumen, and Disney for the keynote session "Platypuses, particles, and play: The value of human work in the age of AI." The session examined what human contribution looks like when AI handles more of the predictable, and why creativity, connection, and play become more — not less — important as a result.

Several sessions featured academic researchers applying behavioral science and social science findings to real organizational challenges. Dr. Susan David (Harvard Medical School) and Dacher Keltner PhD (UC Berkeley) explored emotion, resilience, and peak performance. Jeff Hancock (Stanford) and Andrew McAfee (MIT) examined AI's societal and organizational impact, including whether AI functions as an equalizer or a divider in the modern workforce.

Agents of Change is BetterUp's framework for the kind of leadership that shapes the future rather than reacting to it. In the AI era, where technological advantages compress quickly, human adaptability, judgment, and coaching capability become the sustainable differentiators. The Uplift 2026 sessions, research, and frameworks on this page are built around developing that capacity at scale.

At Uplift 2026, BetterUp released "The case for conditions," research examining how managers allocate time, relationships, and judgment — and how those decisions determine whether AI compounds organizational performance or erodes it. The research is available alongside the Human + AI Coaching report and additional work on the hidden cost of deploying AI without the leadership infrastructure to support it.