Leaders are you ready? Research says most likely not.

The future of work is the future of leadership

There is no question that the future of work will be the hybrid team.

Whilst some employees may choose to work remotely on a permanent basis, others may choose to return to the traditional office location.

Some employees may choose to work flexibly between the two options.

Research on Australian employees by Redback Connect found that, after social restrictions lift, 28 per cent of respondents want to work from home full-time and permanently, 39 per cent want to work from home one-to-two days a week, and 20 per cent want to work from home three-to-four days a week.[1]

 The leadership challenge

Regardless of what the “hybrid team” will look like, leadership is facing a challenge like never before.

We are waking up to the reality that work is what we do, not where we go.

Whilst leaders of multinational organisations may have been leading hybrid teams for many years, for most of our leaders they have never done this before.

This is a new challenge facing many of our leaders and the reality is that most are not equipped to deal with it.

Research by Terminal revealed that most leaders are tackling the challenges of remote work for the first time, with 77% of leaders reporting that they’ve never managed a fully remote team, and 89% having never managed a partially remote team.[2]

Many leaders, or managers are struggling with the concept of managing a team where they have no direct line of sight of all their team members.

Despite much being written on the subject of moving from a position of command and control to one of empowerment and trust, many leaders still measure performance by the hours a person spends in the office as opposed to delivery of outcomes.

Micromanagement is at large

Micromanagement also continues to be pervasive whilst it should be difficult to conduct in a virtual environment.

The magnitude of the situation is evident from global research by TOP10VPN. The increase in demand for employee surveillance software highlights the inability for many leaders to operate in this new territory.

Global demand for employee monitoring software increased by 87% in April 2020 compared with monthly average prior to the pandemic. In May 2020 it increased by 71% versus pre-pandemic levels.

In April 2020, use of the search term “employee monitoring software” increased by 107.55% compared to the same month the previous year. The search for “free employee monitoring software” increased by 96.32% in the same month.[3]

Whilst there are many factors that will have to be dealt with in our hybrid world such as reimagining office space, policies, logistics, security, and technology, the need for a new style of leadership is paramount.

Guidance

There is a plethora of guidance out there on leading remote, hybrid, distributed or virtual teams.

Unfortunately much, if not most of it, does not encompass all that is needed for leaders to be effective and to lead hybrid teams that are healthy, engaged, motivated and high performers.

Effective communication and listening skills, support and clear expectations are important aspects of leading any team but they are elevated to a different level of consequence when teams are working from different locations.

In addition to the amplification of these skills requirements there are many more that are just being overlooked.

Perhaps it is because they fall into the too-hard basket or maybe there is just not the awareness that there should be.

The model

This is my model for leading hybrid teams and I will be exploring this in more detail in coming articles.

All of these skills, traits, capabilities and competencies are needed to lead hybrid teams and whilst ensuring they are safe, also ensuring they are happy and productive.

Leaders who do not recognise they do not currently have the skills to lead hybrid teams are putting their team and the organization at risk.

The leaders of the future are those that embrace the future of work, recognise the new challenges it brings, and are prepared to bridge the gap from where they are today to where they need to be - however far that may be.

[1] https://www.businessfranchiseaustralia.com.au/latest-news/86-aussie-workers-want-work-home-permanently

[2] https://terminal.io/remote-leadership-report#experience

[3] https://www.top10vpn.com/research/investigations/covid-employee-surveillance/