Making the Hybrid Workplace Work
Many organizations are still trying to sort out the impact of the pandemic years, specifically how we work together when we are not together. Companies that had multiple offices or locations for years may have had more time and experience leading complex groups, but in truth, it wasn’t always great. We’ve often worked with clients whose teams were spread out worldwide, in different time zones and cultures, speaking different languages, and that poses its own challenges. If, indeed, the hybrid workplace is here to stay, how can we really create the kind of impact we want when we are not working side-by-side in a physical space very often, if ever?
Right now, it’s messy out there in the workplace. Pre-pandemic, most organizations expected their teams to be together at times to collaborate and share formally and informally. Many people who previously chose not to work for companies where they might work in isolation now often work in isolation. Many companies who balked at creating a “flexible” work schedule for employees had to create something that was ultimately flexible for ordinary business operations to occur. One healthcare provider shared that they’d been arguing about telehealth for four years and, in 48 hours, had created a viable system! To create the most flexible working situations, many companies now say team members can work from home some days and work in the office the other days. How can we make sense of this?
We need to manage a complex situation where we know the sum is greater than the parts and that necessary collaboration leads to innovation and creative solutions, but now it seems more challenging. Even those companies that were spread all over the place in the past rarely did it well: their engagement and turnover were more difficult to positively impact than those who were working in closer proximity to each other.
We need a few things to make the hybrid workplace work:
1. Clarity of purpose and direction: There is an exponentially greater need for specificity and clarity. Leaders must clarify, over and over, the details of the who-what-why-when and how of work. Communication must be clear, concise, and consistent. Getting into the habit of a “review and confirm” mindset will increase efficiency and effectiveness. When we are not together to hear the directions, decisions, or discussion, more nuanced errors can take us way off course.
2. Connection in relationships: Just because you are on the same team or you work together doesn’t mean you have a relationship. (Read that again!) Your work relationships are a direct reflection of your related behaviors. I always say the best way to increase teamwork or collaboration is to give people a real work issue to solve or a project to work on together, and they will begin to see the need to evolve a relationship. It is through communicating, making mistakes, clearing things up, cheering each other on, trying to solve problems, and learning that we deepen our relationships with each other. This needs to be purposeful when you are managing a hybrid workplace. A Zoom happy hour isn’t enough. A quick icebreaker at the beginning of a meeting can add insight, but it doesn’t create relationships.
3. Consistent clearing of obstacles: A leader’s real job is to be clear about the goal or direction and then remove obstacles to motivation so people can do their best. If you’ve done #1, and you’re consistently investing in #2, then your job is to both get out of the way and consistently identify potential or real obstacles to people performing their best work. Often, you won’t know the obstacles because they are hidden inside your systems and infrastructure or because no one is willing to tell you about them. Even asking “What is getting in the way?” or “What could get in the way?” can create an openness for you to identify problems or issues that you might miss both because they are hidden and because each person working in a hybrid system is dealing with different factors and indicators.
Do a quick self-assessment:
Have you been clear about what’s expected?
Are you facilitating real relationship connections?
Are you consistently identifying and clearing obstacles?
Reach out to me if I can help: libbywagner@libbywagner.com
