Executive Insights: Navigating AI, Culture and the Future of Work
As organizations navigate AI adoption, evolving workforce expectations and increasingly dynamic business environments, leaders are being challenged to rethink how they build culture, engage teams and drive performance.
Ryan Stafford, vice president of talent management at Fluor Corporation and faculty lead with TCU Neeley Executive Education, shares practical strategies for leadership capabilities, cultural priorities and human skills that matter most in today’s workplace.
As organizations continue evolving through AI, hybrid work and rapid change, what leadership capabilities are becoming most essential today?
Emotional intelligence is foundational to leadership success. A couple of elements of
emotional intelligence include self-awareness and social awareness. These skills are important so you can better manage your emotions and responses to drive stronger relationships and business outcomes. The good news is that with the right focus and awareness, you can improve your EQ, or emotional intelligence.
Communication is another critical capability that leaders must continually develop. You may be a skilled communicator with an office-based workforce, but as more people move to hybrid environments, you may need to become a stronger written communicator or shift to more real time tools like MS Teams. In organizations transitioning employees back to the office, being very clear about the why and the benefits becomes paramount.
In your view, what aspects of organizational culture become even more important as technology reshapes how people work?
Technology has consistently reshaped how work gets done and will continue, but strong cultures endure those transitions because cultures should not be tied to technology. Many have artifacts that reinforce the company’s culture.
For example, Fluor’s, first core value is safety. As a leading global procurement, engineering and construction (EPC) firm, safety is critical to the culture. Every meeting starts with a safety topic. From CEO-led meetings in office settings to teams on job sites, the practice is the same. It is impressive to see that focus brings culture to life multiple times every day.
Organizations are under pressure to evolve quickly while maintaining engagement and alignment. What cultural challenges are leaders navigating most frequently right now?
When the organization is winning, it is easy to drive engagement and alignment. It is also easy to establish culture when conditions are favorable. The real test comes when sales are lagging, initiatives are behind schedule or external pressures begin to mount.
I was part of a startup within AT&T several years ago. One of the first meetings we had was to define the culture we wanted to create. People quickly bought into it, and it became a great place to work. Like any startup, challenges eventually emerged. What impressed me most was the leadership team’s determination to protect and grow the culture despite the pressure. That is when we knew the culture was real and durable.
The business environment is very dynamic right now. Staying committed to a company’s culture or culture journey can be a significant challenge for leaders. At the same time, pressure can galvanize culture and bring people together around a common purpose.
Hybrid work has fundamentally changed how teams communicate and collaborate. What leadership adjustments are most critical in hybrid environments?
Companies are still trying to determine the best way to organize work and communicate. Employees value the flexibility of hybrid work, while many employers prefer more face-to-face engagement. That creates friction points in the workplace.
Leaders must alter how they communicate. They need to create virtual versions of “watercooler conversations.” Some of the most productive solutions often come from chance encounters between meetings or conversations in the hallway. Leaders need to be comfortable creating team chat groups and building margins into virtual meetings for open dialogue and relationship-building.
What are some common misconceptions leaders still have about building culture and accountability across distributed teams?
I do not know that it is necessarily a misconception, but leaders often underestimate the need for constant communication with distributed teams. Perhaps the misconception is believing that doing what has always worked will continue to work in a new environment.
I once led a team spread from Great Britain to Alaska. To build the right culture, we had to find meeting times that worked for everyone — not too late for Europe and not too early for Alaska. To create a strong team environment where everyone knew and supported one another regardless of location, we dedicated the first five to 10 minutes of each staff meeting for a 10-question quiz. Team members submitted answers through chat, and the winner earned a spot on the wall of champions.
It was a simple idea that cost nothing, but it helped create inclusion, camaraderie and team spirit across a geographically dispersed workforce.
In your experience, what practices help create trust, connection and strong communication within hybrid teams?
The best way to create trust in any environment is through a simple principle: Do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it.
If people know they can rely on you, trust follows. Capability matters, of course, but assuming someone has the ability to lead and deliver, consistency becomes vital. Trust is built one commitment at a time.
As AI and automation become more integrated into the workplace, what human skills or leadership traits will become even more valuable?
Continuous learning and curiosity will become increasingly important. AI is here to stay, and its impact on business will grow exponentially over the coming years. Instead of resisting it, leaders should find ways to leverage AI to make their work more effective and efficient.
Learn how to use it.
One example comes from a recent employee survey that generated thousands of open-ended comments. AI enabled us to summarize and analyze the information in ways that quickly became actionable. It unlocked insights we may not have uncovered otherwise and helped us develop concise summaries far more efficiently than in the past.
What do employees increasingly expect from leaders today that may not have been priorities a decade ago?
Leaders need to be prepared to have meaningful career and development conversations. Employees are much more career-mobile today than they were in previous decades.
When leaders build a reputation for developing people, they often find that top talent wants to join their teams. Too often, goal setting and performance discussions become check-the-box exercises. Those conversations can be incredibly meaningful, but only when both the employee and the leader are fully engaged and aligned.
Employees want leaders who are invested in their growth, not just their performance.
How can organizations embrace innovation and change without losing the human connection that drives engagement and performance?
My answer is simple: Make human connection a priority.
Invest time getting to know your team, and employees should make an effort to know their leaders as well. One of the best ways to do this is to understand what drives people — what gives them purpose.
If you can connect an employee’s purpose to the organization’s objectives and create opportunities for them to live that purpose through their work, you will drive both engagement and performance.
What is often overlooked is that many of us have not taken the time to fully understand our own purpose. That takes effort and reflection. But when you can clearly articulate what drives you, you unlock new levels of personal engagement, fulfillment and performance.
The future of leadership will undoubtedly involve new technologies, evolving workplace models and continued disruption. Yet the fundamentals remain unchanged. Leaders who communicate effectively, build trust, reinforce culture and help people connect purpose to performance will be best positioned to thrive in whatever comes next.
-Ryan Stafford, vice president of talent management at Fluor Corporation and TCU Neeley Executive Education faculty lead