What really happens to employee trust when AI rolls out across an organization?

According to Symphony Lindsey, Head of Human Resources - GTM at Twilio, it does not disappear. It becomes conditional. And that distinction changes everything about how people leaders should approach AI adoption.

In this episode, Symphony joins host Darcy Mehta on CultureClub X to share the playbook she has built leading global teams through AI-driven change at companies like Amazon Web Services, PepsiCo, and Twilio. She covers what actually builds trust during implementation, why managers are the most under-leveraged asset in any AI change program, which wellbeing signals surveys alone cannot capture, and why treating employee skepticism as resistance rather than feedback is the most costly mistake people leaders make right now.

Her most direct advice from this episode: "Have the conversation you have been avoiding. The worst thing a leader can do right now is stay silent. Employees are already speculating."

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

- Why employee trust in AI becomes conditional rather than disappearing, and what that shift demands from leaders

- The difference between imposing AI and introducing it, and why the approach determines whether trust holds or breaks

- What integration pauses are, how they work in practice, and why peer learning turns AI from a threat into a shared tool

- Which signals reveal hidden AI adoption risks beyond engagement scores: psychological safety indexes, attrition spikes, and tool utilization rates

- Why managers are the most under-leveraged asset in any AI change program, and how to equip them even without AI fluency

- The one action people leaders should take this month to get ahead of fear of obsolescence before it spreads

- Why employee skepticism about AI is data, not resistance, and how reframing it changes what leaders do next

- How pulse surveys surface what employees actually experience during AI rollouts, and why acting on that data is what earns trust back

ABOUT SYMPHONY LINDSEY

Symphony Lindsey is Senior Director of HR Business Partnering for GTM and Marketing at Twilio, one of the world's leading cloud communications platforms. With over a decade of experience leading global HR strategy, she has held senior people roles at Amazon Web Services and PepsiCo, supporting globally dispersed workforces across North America, EMEA, APJ, and Latin America.

Beyond her corporate work, Symphony is a certified professional coach and founder of Ili Ori Coaching LLC, where she partners with leaders navigating transformation, growth, and purpose. She has been at the table for some of the most consequential people decisions in tech and consumer goods, and brings that lived experience directly into her approach to AI adoption.

Connect with Symphony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/symphone-e-lindsey/

🔗 LINKS AND RESOURCES

Full episode page and transcript: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/s06-e07-reassure-teams-in-ai-rollouts-playbook-for-impact-in-2026/

1️⃣ How trust shapes employee behavior and engagement at work: https://www.culturemonkey.io/employee-engagement/trust-in-the-workplace/

2️⃣ How to design an employee trust survey that surfaces real sentiment: https://www.culturemonkey.io/employee-engagement/employee-trust-survey/

3️⃣ Compare and choose the right employee engagement survey tools: https://www.culturemonkey.io/employee-engagement/employee-engagement-survey-tools/

Explore all CultureClub X episodes: https://www.culturemonkey.io/cultureclubx/

Explore CultureMonkey: https://www.culturemonkey.io/

Book a demo with us: https://www.culturemonkey.io/features/book-a-demo

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