Episode 6

full
Published on:

7th May 2026

Why Job Descriptions No Longer Fit Modern Work with Lisa Sterling

Join Jason Lauritsen as he sits down with Lisa Sterling, Chief People Officer at Perceptyx, for a conversation about why the traditional job description has run its course and what becomes possible when leaders stop trying to fit people into predetermined boxes.

Lisa argues that job descriptions are a century-old artifact, originally built for factories that needed standardized, repeatable work. We are still using that same container to hold modern jobs, and it no longer fits. When we start deconstructing our jobs, we make room for people to do the work they are actually great at, and that is where real performance starts.

Key highlights from the conversation include:

👉 Why the job description is an industrial era container that no longer holds modern work, and what it takes to start rebuilding roles around tasks instead

👉 A behind-the-scenes look at the hackathon Lisa ran with her people team to break work into tasks, surface hidden strengths, and decide what AI could automate or augment

👉 How matching work to people's genius zones surfaces hidden strengths, improves retention, and gets more out of the team without adding headcount

👉 How Lisa is rethinking compensation, career ladders, and job architecture when titles and levels stop driving the work

👉 A more honest way to frame the AI conversation by focusing on tasks rather than jobs, which makes the question less scary and far more useful

Connect with Lisa:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamsterling/

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Connect with Jason Lauritsen:

Website: https://jasonlauritsen.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JasonLauritsenVideo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlauritsen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonlauritsen/

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About the Podcast

Unlocking High Performance
How leaders unlock performance by creating the conditions for people to do their best work
Unlocking High Performance is a podcast for leaders who want strong results without burning their people out in the process.

Hosted by Jason Lauritsen, the show explores how clarity, alignment, and connection shape performance at work. Jason draws from his work with CEOs, executive teams, and leaders to examine why work so often becomes heavier, slower, and more frustrating than it needs to be and how to fix it.

Some episodes are solo reflections. Others are conversations with leaders and practitioners navigating real constraints and consequences. Each conversation looks beyond tactics to understand the leadership and organizational conditions that make performance possible.

The podcast focuses on the systems that drive performance, not leadership theory or quick fixes. Listeners will walk away with a clearer understanding of how work actually gets done and how to build environments where people perform at their best.

About your host

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Jason Lauritsen