No wonder it feels personal that this team rejects your efforts. It is personal; it's happening to you. But it's not about you. This team might have so much internal tension that they can't stand to be in a meeting together. Maybe they had a bad experience with your predecessor. They might think they know it all already and attending meetings is just wasting their time. Or it could really be as straightforward as what they've told you: Their working hours and training times are already used up.
1. A ring light so you can take all your important meetings looking like your brightest, best self and not like you work in a dark cave. It's got three different light modes, 10 brightness levels, and easily attaches to your computer or phone.
As a remote professional, I can tell you firsthand: a good webcam matters. A lot. You don't want to look-or sound-grainy when you're talking to management, clients, or collaborators. And you definitely don't want to constantly crane your neck or shift in your chair just to stay in frame. So when I saw Insta360 unveil its latest webcam lineup at CES 2026, I was genuinely interested-especially because these models were clearly designed with remote workers in mind, not just casual video calls.
Rebecca Hinds has studied office meetings and collaboration efforts for more than 15 years and most recently she's seen how AI can make corporate get-togethers better - or worsen existing problems. In a study commissioned by Read.AI, Hinds found that AI, when correctly implemented, can encourage more participation by women and lower-level employees. At the same time, it can actually hurt hybrid meetings, with in-room participants speaking up much more than remote attendees. AI could make meetings much worse.
The meetings that actually work-the ones where breakthroughs happen and teams leave energized rather than depleted-operate on a completely different logic. They're designed around how human brains actually function, not how we wish they would.
