Many leaders struggle to make the case for in-person work beyond habit or preference. At our recent Leadership Summit, AT&T CEO John Stankey shared a more grounded take: it depends on your organization—but for AT&T right now, it's important for team members to be collaborating side by side rather than digitally.
AT&T is running seven large, multi-year transformation initiatives at once. Stankey believes that kind of work can't be accomplished without coming together.
He also points to his workforce—a mix of seasoned veterans and newer hires—and argues that mentoring and career development require physical proximity. People need to be around each other to learn.
His third reason is more personal: digital tools have flattened relationships. The antidote, he says, is human connection—the kind you build at a coffee machine, not between back-to-back Zoom calls.
Where does your organization fall on this?