A few months in the past, I had an surprising change with my 15-year-old daughter that completely captured a few of my hopes for the long run. “Act chalant,” she mentioned to her pal. My ears perked up.
“You imply ‘nonchalant,’ proper?” I mentioned. “It’s an unpaired phrase; I think about you realized that time period in English class. There’s no such phrase in English as ‘chalant.’”
“Mother, I imply chalant. It’s the alternative of nonchalant. It means attentiveness. Please don’t furrow your forehead at me. It’s a part of my lexicon,” my daughter responded.
I used to be poised to push again on this—in spite of everything, I’m married to a cybersecurity engineer, and I’m a Gen Xer. Neither cybersecurity nor Gen X had been added to the dictionary till I used to be in school.
“Chalant.” Paying consideration. Paying attention. I checked, and it’s not formally in a dictionary but.
She obtained me desirous about how simple it’s to disconnect, to isolate, to not take note of others on this period. And concerning the nature of what it’s to which we listen and what which means for us all.
Expertise has quietly usurped facets of our lives for many years, however we’ve got all observed that it has gotten even louder lately. It has modified each activity in our orbit. AI is altering how we work, and whereas it enhances collaboration in some methods, it additionally allows us to withdraw from one another and challenges our potential to attach.
Within the two months since my daughter taught me the significance of being chalant, I’ve resolved to make 2026 all about elevated connection and collaboration.
As a chief advertising and marketing officer, I oversee groups, outline methods, construct processes and resolve issues.
My day is crammed with devising and executing methods. I’ve many calls and conferences associated to “getting issues carried out.” The expertise we depend on each day has made many new issues potential. However change is all the time crammed with tradeoffs.
In 2026, I’m taking my groups on a brand new journey. The truth is, it’s already begun, and it’s working.
Day by day stand-ups: Inventive change to enhance authorized groups
At year-end, I usually ask workforce members to organize a one-page memo along with their annual assessment. Every workforce member proposes a mission to steer and take a look at in Q1. This method has beforehand delivered robust outcomes.
I’ve determined to go additional. In an effort to foster transparency, construct belief and expedite connection, I’ve began every day stand-ups with a workforce. Persons are required to be on display or in individual the place potential. These brief, 15-minute “dailies,” or gatherings at a set time, have allowed workforce members to resolve points, determine roadblocks, summarize and share progress.
Prior to now month, there have been some outstanding exchanges that I imagine will improve our shared work administration instruments.
Connecting and speaking are like muscle mass—they develop stronger with common use. These small conferences and one-on-ones with workforce members have led to them attending to know each other, turning into acquainted and extra snug with one another.
As a substitute of concern, obfuscation, nervousness or stagnation, we’ve got begun to foster readability and transparency, creating an surroundings the place individuals can and need to assist each other develop and enhance. As a substitute of workforce members being accountable just for their piece of the advertising and marketing and gross sales funnel, they’ve begun holding particular person conferences to find out about what others’ marketing campaign metrics imply and to attach on potential progress methods subsequent yr.
In an period the place AI and expertise are making us extra impartial, we have to construct in real-time interplay, suggestions and change. It takes sustained effort, however these dailies are just like icebreakers at occasions. They’re already permitting individuals to get to know one another and start to share their work and concepts.
Whereas the way in which we work is altering and can proceed to, and AI will change our duties and the way we carry out them, individuals nonetheless want to speak, handle, make choices, decide targets, lead and collaborate. Sharing concepts and time—paying extra consideration to one another—is a useful a part of the method.
Let’s get chalant.
Jenn Bankston is the chief advertising and marketing officer at DiCello Levitt, a fancy points and trial legislation agency.
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