How culture drives team performance 

6 Communication Challenges in the Age of AI and Hybrid Work

How to Build an AI-Ready Foundation

Is this your experience? Conversations that used to happen naturally now require _intention._

When once we all stood around the apocryphal “water cooler” and chewed the fat, today's leaders find themselves in uncharted waters. A Teams or Slack message can be missed or misinterpreted, AI tools blur our understanding of what’s real, and team members scattered across time zones struggle to stay connected.

If you're leading a team right now, you've likely felt the weight of these changes. The old playbook doesn't quite fit anymore, and the new one is still being written.

Ahead of our upcoming extended interview with a global communication expert [Jefferson Fisher: The Next Conversation](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/events/Jefferson-Fisher-The-Next-Conversation/overview?sid=a0KRG00000JBZp82AH), let's explore six key communication challenges that are keeping leaders up at night and the deeper questions they raise about how we connect, lead, and grow together.

The old playbook doesn't quite fit

In a hybrid world, "the room" might include faces on screens, names in a chat, and people who couldn't make it at all.

Body language becomes pixelated. Energy levels get lost in translation. The subtle cues that help us gauge understanding, engagement, and emotional state have largely disappeared.

#### **Questions to consider:**

*   How do you sense when your team is truly with you versus just nodding along?
*   What signals are you missing when half your team is remote?
*   Are you adapting your communication style based on who's physically present versus virtual?

This challenge connects directly to what Michael Bungay Stanier calls [the "advice monster"](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/advicemonsterdemotivatingteam) in his book _"The Advice Trap."_ When we can't read the room effectively, our advice monster often goes into overdrive, filling the silence with solutions instead of staying curious about what's really happening with our people.

1. The vanishing art of reading the room

A message that feels perfectly clear to you might land completely differently with your team. Without tone of voice, facial expressions, or the shared context of being in the same physical space, digital communication becomes a minefield of potential misunderstandings. Add AI-generated content to the mix, and the lines between authentic human communication and automated responses blur further.

#### **Questions to consider:**

*   How often do you follow up to ensure your digital messages were understood as intended?
*   Are you over-communicating to compensate for the lack of context, or under-communicating because you assume understanding?
*   When using AI tools to draft communications, how do you maintain your authentic voice?

2. Context collapse in digital communication

Your team's attention is being pulled in countless directions: notifications, AI-powered apps promising productivity, the constant hum of digital distraction. As a leader, you're competing not just for focus during meetings, but for mental space in an increasingly fragmented work environment.

#### **Questions to consider:**

*   How do you cut through the noise to deliver messages that truly land?
*   Are your communication habits adding to the overwhelm or creating clarity?
*   What would change if you viewed attention as your team's most precious resource?

3. The attention economy crisis

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer [survey](https://www.aicd.com.au/good-governance/public-trust/organisation/trust-in-business-leaders-employers-sinks-2025-edelman-trust-barometer.html) shows that 68% of respondents distrust business leaders (up 12 points from last year) and 68% of people believe business leaders deliberately mislead them.

Trust rises and falls on effective leadership communication, but how do you build it when interactions are mediated by technology? When team members work across different time zones, use AI tools for various tasks, and meet primarily through video calls, the traditional ways of establishing credibility and connection need reinvention?

#### **Questions to consider:**

*   What does vulnerability look like in a digital-first environment?
*   How do you demonstrate reliability when your team doesn't see your daily work habits?
*   Are you creating opportunities for informal connection, or are all your interactions task-focused?

Jefferson Fisher, author of _"The Next Conversation,"_ sees every conversation is an opportunity to build or erode trust. He recommends turning statements into questions to understand the other person's perspective and build trust. 

 (Book [Jefferson Fisher's virtual session](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/events/Jefferson-Fisher-The-Next-Conversation/overview?sid=a0KRG00000JBZp82AH) on September 25)

In our hybrid world, this principle becomes even more crucial as we have fewer touchpoints to make each interaction count.

4. Building trust through screens and algorithms

As we said earlier, when AI becomes integrated into our daily workflows, a new question emerges: how much should leaders rely on artificial intelligence for communication? From draft emails to presentation content, AI can enhance productivity, but it can also create distance between leaders and their authentic voice. 

Teams may begin to wonder: are they hearing from their leader or from an algorithm?

#### **Questions to consider:**

*   Where does AI enhancement end and authentic leadership begin?
*   How transparent should you be about using AI tools in your communications?
*   What aspects of leadership communication should remain purely human?

5. The AI authenticity dilemma

Perhaps no challenge is greater than communicating about change when you don't have all the answers yourself. AI is transforming industries at breakneck speed, economic uncertainty persists, and work models continue to evolve. 

Leaders find themselves in the position of needing to guide their teams through ambiguity while managing their own uncertainty.

#### **Questions to consider:**

*   How do you communicate confidence in direction while acknowledging uncertainty about details?
*   Are you comfortable admitting to your [blind spot](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/articles/leadership-blind-spots-lessons-from-a-scandal-and-a-success?campaign_id=701RG00000kwtsrYAA&promo=Blog&type=Affiliate) (saying "I don't know - yet") while still providing leadership?
*   How do you help your team embrace change when you're still figuring it out yourself?

Michael Bungay Stanier's work reminds us that in times of uncertainty, our impulse is often to jump to advice and solutions. But sometimes the most powerful thing a leader can do is stay curious, ask better questions, and create space for collective discovery.

See Michael Bungay Stanier live in person on stage at [CultureCon (ICC Sydney, September 18)](https://thegrowthfaculty.com/events/a02RG00000BEbXpYAL/overview?campaign_id=701RG00000kwtsrYAA&promo=Blog&type=Affiliate) where he will explore change management and communication.

6. Navigating change communication in uncertainty

These challenges are very likely to intensify as technology continues to reshape how we work. But within each challenge lies an opportunity to become a more intentional, empathetic, and effective communicator.

The leaders who will thrive are those who recognise that great communication is anchored in staying curious, remaining human in an increasingly digital world, and creating genuine connections despite the barriers technology can create.

As you reflect on these challenges, consider which ones resonate most strongly with your current experience. The awareness itself is the first step toward more effective leadership communication.

The path forward

Want to keep up with the latest ideas and thinking from the brightest minds in the world?

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6 Communication Challenges in the Age of AI and Hybrid Work

Questions to consider ahead of our Jefferson Fisher virtual event

Keep informed
Stay Inspired

6 Communication Challenges in the Age of AI and Hybrid Work

Questions to consider ahead of our Jefferson Fisher virtual event

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired