There’s something oddly beautiful about the New York City subway.
One minute you’re standing next to someone in a business suit reading the Financial Times. Next, someone is speaking Portuguese on the phone while another passenger is carrying groceries from Chinatown. Different languages. Different styles. Different cultures. Somehow, everyone is headed somewhere completely different, yet sharing the same ride.
I couldn’t help but wonder: How do you communicate with a world that looks like this?
I’ve been asking some version of that question for most of my life.
Growing up between Germany, Botswana, Malta and the United States meant constantly adapting; not just to new places, but to new ways of thinking, speaking and connecting with people. Every move reinforced the same lesson: the same message can mean something completely different depending on who’s receiving it.
That curiosity about people and culture is what first drew me to internal communications.
This summer, as an intern at Integral, I realized there is another layer to that idea.
One of the biggest takeaways from the annual research we do, the Integral Index, is the statement: “Culture is not a vibe. It’s behavior made visible.” That line has stuck with me because it gave language to something I’d been observing throughout my internship.
Before coming to Integral, I often thought about culture through a global lens: nationalities, traditions, languages and lived experiences. Those things absolutely matter. They shape how employees build trust, respond to leadership and interpret communication. But this summer reminded me that organizations create cultures of their own. Workplace culture isn’t simply the collection of people inside a company. It’s built through the behaviors leaders model, the conversations teams have, the trust employees feel and the environment an organization intentionally creates.
As someone interested in both global communication and employee experience, that perspective was incredibly exciting.
There is also a funny paradox to my internship. Every day, I find myself thinking about two cultures at once. On one hand, I am experiencing Integral’s own workplace culture as an intern. On the other hand, I am helping support clients who are working to strengthen theirs. It is a constant reminder that internal communications isn’t just something agencies recommend, it’s something we have to practice.
My international background has always made me aware that there is no such thing as a “general audience.” Every employee brings different experiences, values and expectations into the workplace. Great internal communicators recognize those differences. They don’t communicate at employees; they communicate with them, making space for different perspectives while creating a shared sense of purpose.
Another insight from the Integral Index also resonated with me:younger employees are the most concerned that AI could eventually replace their jobs. As someone just beginning a career in communications, I understand why that statistic stands out.
But now that I am spending the summer surrounded by researchers, strategists and communicators, I have a different perspective.
AI is already changing how we work, and I believe every communicator has a responsibility to stay curious and continue learning alongside it. The professionals who embrace new tools while continuing to develop their own skills will be the ones who thrive. Just ask Carolina Mata who wrote Leave Best Practice Behind, explaining that we need to continue to move forward with our thinking.
At the same time, this internship is reinforcing something equally important: communication is, and always will be, deeply human. AI can help us organize information, generate ideas and improve efficiency. What it can’t do is build trust, understand the cultural nuances behind a message or recognize the emotions people bring into the workplace. Those moments require empathy, judgment and genuine human connection.
Looking back, I realize my global upbringing and this internship have been teaching me different parts of the same lesson.
My experiences around the world taught me why culture matters. Integral is showing me how organizations can intentionally shape it.
And to me, that’s what makes internal communications such a fascinating field. At its best, it helps people from different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.