The Fourth Industrial Revolution has moved us into an age of constant and instant communication.  Even in the office setting, we are dependent on email, phone calls, Slack, IM, social media, and video chat.  The Hybrid environment uses these tools and more.  Instead of meeting in the conference room down the hall, everyone hops on a Zoom call.  The irony is that with all of these tools that are supposed to make life easier, we are becoming more inefficient at communicating clearly.

Often, we send a text or instant message without stopping to think about how the recipient might interpret the words. This can lead to significant time spent clarifying and checking for understanding of what others mean by what they communicate. We are losing the emotional connection of, well, connecting!  This has made relationship building more challenging and even more important to master as we experience less tactile interactions with one another.

Leaders want to be very conscious of their communication style. When working in teams, they profit from being aware of unconscious biases and creating opportunities for all equitably. They can do this by sharing information intentionally, conduct inclusive hybrid meetings, ensure that there are regular 1:1 check-ins, and guarantee performance is measured justly.