Vibe Teaming: The AI Collaboration Worth Trying

As generative AI enters the bloodstream of modern work, the most profound shift may not be in what machines can do alone, but in how they reshape the way humans collaborate.

At the Brookings Center for Sustainable Development, researchers have begun to name and shape this shift. Their emerging model, called “vibe teaming,” goes beyond using AI as a post-meeting assistant or writing tool. Instead, it integrates AI as a full participant from the outset, transforming how strategy, research, and decision-making happen inside teams.

From Vibe Coding to Vibe Teaming

Inspired by the viral trend of “vibe coding,” where developers describe the mood or intent of a feature and AI generates a first draft, vibe teaming brings that logic into broader knowledge work. The inputs are unscripted conversations. The output is structured, thoughtful content.

Unlike traditional prompt-based workflows, vibe teaming begins with natural dialogue. The AI listens, transcribes, and generates a rough draft, freeing humans to stay focused on idea flow.

Testing the Model: Strategy in 90 Minutes

Brookings put vibe teaming to the test with a real-world challenge. Economist Homi Kharas led a team tasked with designing a strategy to end extreme poverty. The group followed four clear steps:

1. Structured team conversation, transcribed by AI
2. First draft via AI using conversation transcript
3. Human-AI drafting to develop and refine the draft
4. Structured team review, transcribed by AI to refine outputs

Similar experiments on topics like gender equity and state fragility produced equally strong results. But the breakthrough was not just speed. It was the emergence of a new form of collaboration—more real-time, more inclusive, and more fluid.

🗣 “We have been testing and pioneering methods well beyond what Brookings describes in this excellent report,” says Scott Wolfson (Managing Director at Valize, formerly with BCG and KPMG).

Five Shifts That Redefine Leadership

Vibe teaming does more than change workflows. It reshapes what it means to lead.

1. Leaders begin by shaping the conversation, not just the deliverables. With AI in the room from the start, effective framing and good questions become a new leadership superpower.
2. Teams operate as a collective voice, not just a set of roles. AI captures every contribution, not just the dominant ones, making space for broader inclusion and more balanced input.
3. Attention shifts to meaning and cohesion, not transcription or formatting. With structure handled by the AI, leaders and teams spend more time reflecting, aligning, and connecting ideas.
4. AI fluency becomes a shared team capability. Prompting and editing AI outputs becomes part of the group’s rhythm, not a siloed technical skill.
5. Trust is built through transparency, not control. By naming how AI is used and inviting input on its outputs, leaders help teams stay confident, critical, and connected. In fact, trust—not technology—is the real driver of successful AI adoption.​​

🗣 As Gianni Giacomelli, senior advisor at BCG and head of MIT’s Collective Intelligence Lab, writes, "Vibe teaming". In other words, teams' problem-solving is helped by AI. Many of you may already do some of it. For the others, this is worth a read."

But, Be Cautious

AI can supercharge collaboration, but it also introduces real risks. When transcribing rich team conversations, AI may capture sensitive or client-specific information—making data governance essential. Leaders must set clear policies for consent, storage, and access.

AI’s tendency toward “safe” answers can also mask creative tension, so teams should actively surface dissent and refine outputs together. And while automation saves time, over-relying on it can lead to skill atrophy.

Keep prompting, reviewing, and writing a shared responsibility to preserve critical thinking. The goal is not perfection, but mindful integration.

The Bottom Line

Vibe teaming is not a finished playbook—it’s a live experiment. But that is exactly the point. Trying it now helps your team discover how they collaborate best, then adjust from there.

We often hear leaders must reskill for the AI era, but what does that really mean? This method offers clarity: build facilitation muscle, ask better questions, ensure inclusivity, guide prompts, and coach the model with intent.

The future of work is not just about using AI—it’s about leading differently with it.

📝 Prompt​
​Pick a low-stakes project and invite AI to co-create—name it your "vibe teaming pilot."

Leader: Set ground rules for AI use (transparency, feedback welcome, no perfection expected).

Team: Talk out loud while AI listens and drafts. Wrap with: What felt easy? What felt weird? Would we do this again?

I keep a close eye on what our Future Work Experts are thinking, saying, and questioning. I break down the key conversations and brainstorm practical steps we can take to move forward.

This week:

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

​Phil Kirschner: Three Levels of Change Clarity​

• Phil Kirschner warns that most transformations collapse due to a lack of clarity between leaders and employees. Using three levels of definition—from the “Five W’s” to mapping long-term behavioral shifts—he urges managers to chart the course before launching change.
• Whether applying PROSCI, Kotter, or LaMarsh frameworks, precision is the antidote to resistance. Phil's rule: if you can’t explain what’s changing, who decided it, and what it means in 15 minutes, you’re not ready.
• Real transformation begins with ruthless clarity and evolves through stakeholder collaboration.

📝 Prompt: Run the 3-Level Clarity Check
- Level 1: Can everyone answer what, why, who, when, and where?
- Level 2: What are the fears, blockers, and ripple effects?
- Level 3: How will this change live long-term in culture, metrics, and habits?

​👉 Download 40+ questions to define your change clearly​
​🎫 Join Phil’s July 8 Workline Webinar on AI resistance and change leadership best practices.

LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

​Sophie Wade: Empathy Is a Competitive Advantage​

Sophie Wade makes the case that empathy is no longer a soft skill—it is a strategic imperative.

• Be the Leader They Need: In an AI-enabled, skill-based future, human understanding remains the anchor. Empathetic leadership—from executives to frontline managers—ensures alignment, belonging, and resilience through change.
• Empathy in Action: Everyday behaviors like active listening, open questions, and coaching over commanding build psychological safety and trust. Without them, disconnection rises—and so does burnout.
• Human-Centric Leadership in Practice: Companies like Salesforce, Cisco, and Slack operationalize empathy through rituals, manager training, and culture design.

📝 Prompt: Use Sophie’s Human-Centric Leadership Audit as a regular team ritual. Each team member should rate 1- 5 from their recent experience (past 3 months) based on the following:
1. I feel heard and understood when I raise concerns or ideas.
2. My manager checks in on how I’m doing—not just what I’m doing.
3. Feedback I receive takes into account my point of view.
4. I feel safe admitting when I don’t know something or need support.
5. My manager recognizes emotional undercurrents in team dynamics.
6. My manager adapts communication style across personalities and generations.
7. I feel supported through change and uncertainty.
8. Empathy is valued and demonstrated in how we work—not just talked about.

➡️ Discuss together: Where are we strong? Where do we want to grow?

​👉 Access Full Audit and 🎓 Join Sophie’s Course on Empowering High-Performing Teams​

TEAM DECISION-MAKING

​Gustavo Razzetti: Stop Groupthink Before It Starts​

• Gustavo Razzetti warns that groupthink disguises itself as collaboration, quietly killing innovation and decision quality. Teams aiming for harmony often suppress dissent, leading to mis-hires, poor strategy, and avoidable failures—especially when AI amplifies sameness.
• Referencing Asch's conformity experiments, NASA’s Columbia disaster, and his upcoming book Forward Talk, Gustavo outlines five tools to fight groupthink: assign a rotating devil’s advocate, use consent (not consensus), brainstorm silently, treat AI as a thinking partner—not a decider—and protect dissenting voices.
• Independent thinking is a team asset—not a risk.

📝 Prompt: Break the Groupthink Habit
- Who plays devil’s advocate in your team—and how often?
- When was the last time your team protected a dissenting voice?
- Do your brainstorms start in silence—or with the loudest voice?

​👉 Read Gustavo’s full breakdown and pick one ritual to start this week.​

🔥 QUICK HITS

​(LEADERSHIP UPGRADE) Brian Elliott & Sophie Wade: Human-Centered Beats Tough Talk​

• While some CEOs revive command-and-control styles, evidence shows emotionally intelligent leadership outperforms in volatile environments. Brian and Sophie outline five traits of strong (not soft) leaders: empathetic communication, clear accountability, reliability, team-based flexibility, and fallibility.
• Leaders like Tim Cook and Satya Nadella show that trust and adaptability drive sustainable performance. Companies with high leader trust are 11x more likely to outperform. Emotional intelligence is not optional—it’s the power skill for today’s hybrid, AI-integrated workplaces.

📝 Prompt: Score your own leadership team on the five traits—where are you strong, and where are you slipping?

​👉 Read the full MIT Sloan Article to see how human-centered leadership builds performance-ready cultures.​

​(AI & LEGAL RISK) Anthony Onesto: Lawsuits Will Not Kill AI, They Will Make It Better​

• From AI-powered hiring platforms to internal talent systems, legal challenges are rising—and they signal maturity, not meltdown. Anthony Onesto explains that bias lawsuits, like the one against Workday, show why human-in-the-loop design is essential.
• AI in HR is here to stay, but it must be transparent, accountable, and ethical. Legal scrutiny acts as a pressure test, pushing leaders to rethink how technology, data, and people systems work together.

📝 Prompt: Where does your HR tech rely too much on automation and how might you redesign it with more human judgment?

​👉 Read the full article for lessons on building AI-enabled and legally resilient people practices​

​(AI IN REAL ESTATE) Antony Slumbers: Where Office Value Really Lives Now​

• Antony Slumbers argues that in the AI era, profit shifts from square metres to smart metres. The most valuable asset is now the algorithm running your building, not the space itself.
• AI-native buildings—those built with intelligence at the core—outperform traditional assets by automating operations, compressing costs, and enhancing occupier experience.

📊 4 Disruption Zones

• Asset Ops: AI cuts leasing costs, predicts maintenance, and boosts NOI
• Capital Markets: Instant underwriting, real-time risk, fewer fees
• Design/Build: Generative design and robots slash timelines
• Occupier Experience: Smart services drive retention and revenue

📝 Prompt:​
​What part of your building generates profit today—and will it still tomorrow?
Start identifying where AI can replace cost with value.

​👉 Read the full breakdown by Antony Slumbers to see where real estate is heading next.​

I track what’s worth your attention—bringing you the news and updates that matter most to how we work, lead, and grow.

This week:

ORGANIZE TO VALUE

​McKinsey’s 12-Element Operating System​

Despite strong strategies, top-performing companies still face a 30% strategy-to-performance gap, driven by outdated or misaligned operating models. McKinsey introduces a new “Organize to Value” framework: a 12-element dynamic system covering purpose, leadership, tech, behaviors, and more—offering each organization a unique operating model fingerprint.

Two-thirds of firms redesigned their models in the past two years, but most still rely on traditional hierarchies. In contrast, companies adopting enterprise agile, product platform, or decentralized networks are better positioned for trends like AI, regulation, and talent shifts.

Results from full redesigns include 10–30% gains in efficiency and engagement, and 5–10× faster decision-making. McKinsey advises CEOs to redesign holistically, not just restructure, and to focus on clarity, speed, skills, and commitment as measurable outcomes.

📝 Prompt: Map your current operating model across McKinsey’s 12 elements. Which ones are misaligned with your strategic goals—and what would a new “fingerprint” need to look like to close the gap?

TRUST IN AI

​INSEAD: Only Full Trust Drives AI Success​

Up to 80% of AI projects fail, not due to technology, but because of trust—both cognitive (what people think) and emotional (how they feel).

A field study at a Scandinavian firm ("TechCo") uncovered four types of trust that influence employee behavior with AI: full trust, uncomfortable trust, blind trust, and full distrust.

Only full trust (high cognitive and emotional) leads to consistent AI use and reliable data, while full distrust causes withdrawal, manipulation, and eventual failure.

Leaders must train, communicate policy transparently, manage expectations, and create psychological safety to cultivate both kinds of trust and enable AI to succeed.

📝 Prompt:
- Which of the four trust types best describes your team’s current mindset toward AI?
- What emotions (fear, curiosity, confidence) do you see around new AI tools?
- How can we strengthen both understanding (cognitive) and comfort (emotional) before the next AI launch?

PLAY WITH AI

​Spotify’s CHRO: Grow Inside, Play with AI​

As MIT highlighted, playfulness is a defining trait of successful AI leaders — and Spotify’s new CHRO, Anna Lundström, brings that spirit to life.

She is championing AI fluency across the entire organization, not just within tech teams. Her team recently opened up “hack week” to all employees with a simple invitation: play with AI.

This hands-on approach is supported by practical experiments like GPT-powered deck reviews and real-time AI data assistants.

Inclusion remains non-negotiable, and internal mobility is rising — 30% of open roles were filled through their AI-powered talent platform, Echo.

📝 Prompt: What is one weekly ritual your team can adopt to “play with AI”—not just use it?
👉 Try this: Dedicate 30 minutes every Friday to an “AI Curiosity Sprint” where each team member shares one new AI tool, prompt, or experiment they tried—no pressure, just play.

JOY & WELL-BEING

​Busy, But Joyful: How Leaders Reclaim Happiness​

A Harvard study of 1,500 professionals found that while most feel achievement and meaning from work and family, joy is the missing third pillar of life satisfaction.

Even with just 26 discretionary hours a week, how people spend their free time matters more than how much they have.

The happiest professionals apply five strategies: connect with others, avoid passive habits, follow personal passions, diversify activities, and fiercely protect leisure time.

Active, joyful downtime not only boosts well-being but also improves engagement and performance at work.

The result is a virtuous cycle where happiness in life enhances success at work—and vice versa.

📝 Prompt: Which of these five strategies are you actively encouraging in your team’s work-life balance—and what might be missing

EMPLOYEE-MANAGER GAP

​Bosses Misunderstand Nearly Half Their Teams​

A new Predictive Index survey reveals 46% of employees feel misunderstood by their manager, with 43% receiving feedback that conflicts with how they see themselves.

Gen Z is hardest hit—54% say feedback feels inaccurate, and 62% report being overlooked due to misperception, 18 points above average.

Nearly half feel undervalued, and 44% say they miss out on raises or promotions due to misunderstood skills or style. Workers are calling for better leadership training (44%), more meaningful feedback (45%), and behavioral assessments (80% of Gen Z) to improve understanding.

The root issue is not burnout, but a growing disconnect between perception and reality in the workplace.

📝 Prompt: Ask yourself: Does my team feel as seen and understood as I believe they are? What assumptions might I be making about their strengths, motivations, or challenges—and how can I uncover the truth?

🔥 QUICK READ: GLOBAL TRADE UPDATE​

(For your supply chain, vendor planning, and team impact, especially if colleagues work from conflict zones.)

• US–China Deal: Trump says trade deal is “done”—tariffs rise to 55%, sparking major import/export drops.
• World Bank Warning: 2025 global growth cut to 2.3% due to trade turmoil.
• ASEAN Ambition: New plan targets becoming world’s 4th largest economy by 2045.
• US–UK Pact Finalized: Tariff cuts on cars, aerospace, and steel.
• Green Trade: Indonesia–Singapore sign $10B clean energy deal.
• Markets Rattle: Oil soars after Israel hits Iran; EU exports plunge.
• China–Africa Boost: 0% tariffs for 53 African nations.