Thu, 22nd Oct 2026 (Today)
MARA SUGUENews Editor
React argues that businesses investing heavily in artificial intelligence still need human-led training in workplace communication and leadership. It says the shift towards AI is increasing the value of judgement, empathy and listening at work.
Central to its approach is the use of professional actors to help managers rehearse difficult conversations in <a href="https://bitcomme.com/real-or-not-teaching-children-about-generative-ai-2/” title=”Real or Not? Teaching Children About Generative AI”>realistic settings. The workplace learning specialist says this allows employees to practise situations such as poor performance discussions, conflict resolution and restructuring conversations before facing them in real life.
As artificial intelligence takes on a larger role in customer service, recruitment, administration, data analysis and decision-making, many organisations are focusing on building AI-ready workforces, React says. But learning how to use AI tools does not remove the need for people to handle emotionally charged or unpredictable interactions with colleagues, it argues.
For Adrian Cook, chief executive officer of React and founder of the Trust Pyramid ecosystem, the growth of AI has sharpened that distinction rather than reduced it.
Cook said: “AI can give a manager information, suggest what they should say and even help them prepare for a difficult conversation, but knowing the answer is not the same as being able to handle the person sitting opposite you. People don’t follow a script. They become defensive, emotional or frustrated. They interrupt, challenge you, misunderstand what you meant or simply disagree. Those moments require judgement, empathy and the ability to listen and adapt. As we embrace AI, we need to be careful that we don’t lose the opportunities people have to develop those skills through genuine human interaction.”
His comments reflect a broader debate among employers over what kinds of training will matter most as AI systems become more widely embedded in day-to-day work. While digital tools can provide information, suggested responses and coaching prompts, React argues that practical rehearsal remains necessary for skills that depend on reading behaviour and responding in the moment.
React draws a contrast between management training and other fields where rehearsal is routine before high-pressure performance. It points to actors, athletes and pilots as examples of professionals expected to practise repeatedly before stepping into situations where mistakes carry consequences.
Managers, by contrast, are often expected to conduct some of the most difficult conversations of their careers for the first time with an actual employee. These exchanges can include confronting inappropriate behaviour, addressing underperformance, managing anger over a decision or explaining organisational change.
According to React, the consequences can extend beyond the immediate issue. The way leaders communicate in uncomfortable situations can affect productivity, workplace relationships, staff retention and employee wellbeing, it says.
Alongside its actor-led learning model, React has developed what it calls the Trust Pyramid, a framework designed to help organisations assess and strengthen trust across different levels of a business. The model aims to turn trust from a broad cultural idea into something leaders can identify in behaviours, relationships and management practice.
React says the Trust Pyramid ecosystem includes a book, leadership development programmes, behavioural diagnostics and an AI-specific masterclass delivered globally. It presents the initiative as a response to concerns that the spread of AI may lead some employers to over-rely on technical or information-based training methods.
The argument rests on a simple distinction: understanding a principle is not the same as demonstrating it under pressure. A manager may know the theory behind difficult feedback or conflict resolution, but that knowledge may not hold up when another person becomes upset, resistant or openly sceptical.
React sees demand for in-person rehearsal in that gap between theory and live interaction. By staging conversations that can be paused, reviewed and attempted again, learners can test different approaches and see how changes in language or tone alter the other person’s response, it argues.
For businesses, the message is that AI may change the mechanics of work, but not the need for human judgement in moments that shape trust. React maintains that organisations will still need leaders who can listen, persuade, challenge and respond calmly when conversations become difficult.
Cook said those behaviours cannot simply be absorbed through theory because “those moments require judgement, empathy and the ability to listen and adapt.”
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