As Integral’s SVP, Employee Communications, I’m still improving my communication skills every day. And I’m okay admitting that.
In the past, I’ve made the mistake of not considering how my communication impacts those in front of me. I’ve assumed that people communicate like me, someone who grew up in corporate America. But when I think about my own sons, who are 24 and 26, and consider how they experience the world, I realize that there’s another way.
We’ve all heard the saying that the only constant is change, but it’s never been more real than right now. With evolving technology, a multi-generational workforce and all the demands on us in our personal and work lives, we need to be able to move, pivot and evolve with flexibility. As leaders, we must address the needs of multiple people at the same time, and center what matters to each of them in our communication.
That’s the essence of true leadership: bringing your authentic self to enable others to pivot, shift and adapt while feeling like they can truly be themselves in the process.
What’s Really Happening Here?
Consider this: in today’s world, every leader needs to address someone who, since birth, has been accustomed to targeted, personalized information delivered instantly on their phone. At the same time, this leader must connect with someone else who expects managers to clearly communicate priorities and share resources through more traditional channels.
As a leader, my job is to figure out how to adapt to each.
In our annual Integral Index report, in partnership with the Harris Poll, we study what matters most to employees across generations, from my Gen Z sons to the senior most Baby Boomers. We find similarities, like the common desire for value alignment within an organization, but we also find significant differences. In 2025, we saw a surprising lack of trust in colleagues from the newest generation of professionals. These younger workers are most likely to report positive emotions at work (i.e., excitement or pride), but they’re also most likely to predict negative behaviors from their peers in the workplace (i.e., posting a negative review of the company online or walking out).
Where does this disconnect come from? We’re managing people who grew up with instant, independent access to information online alongside others who’ve spent decades in the workforce with face-to-face interaction, structured processes and traditional hierarchies. The challenge is to find common ground, bridging the gap in perception and behavior through mutual understanding and respect.
So What’s Being Asked of Us?
After over 30 years of experience building the landscape of internal communications as we know it today, I’ll offer one key insight that outweighs everything else:
Develop self-awareness, and then develop it some more.
This is the number one priority. It’s not just about listening to feedback or knowing your strengths; it’s about listening to yourself and understanding what holds you back from being authentic in every interaction. It requires vulnerability, observing what matters to the people around you, knowing your audience and recognizing the impact of your communication.
Ask yourself: Where do you feel challenged, and where do you feel triggered? What holds you back from showing up as your authentic self?
Ground in your own lived experience: Whether it’s engaging in energy work or simply reflecting, grounding connects us to ourselves, to our environment and to others.
Ask yourself: What do I value, and what motivates me? What’s happening around me that influences my behavior? What values do I share with those around me, and what do we believe in, together?
Maintain open dialogue and be open to new ideas: Each generation brings a different filter based on how they’ve experienced the world; this shapes how we show up, how we want to be perceived and how we expect to perceive each other. The key is to use our authentic self-expression to meaningfully connect across these divides.
The Bottom Line
As the workplace changes around us, we must ground ourselves deeply to lead through it. With new perspectives and fresh ideas, ways of working shift. Change calls for each of us to step back, reflect and ask thoughtful questions. From here, we build a strong foundation of shared understanding and a platform for meaningful conversation and connection.
And yes, showing up as our authentic selves requires vulnerability. But from my experience, vulnerability is the place from which true leadership grows.