The future is for leaders who are ready. Are you?

At the start of February, I wrote an article called “How To Successfully Lead Your Hybrid Team.”

I have also been doing a series of videos called “The Future of Work Is The Future of Leadership.”

The driver for both the article, the videos and this article is that the future of work is hybrid and the fact that most of our leaders are not ready, They have not done this before and are just not equipped.

If we do not change this situation, It is going to have devastating effect on our hybrid workforce. Increased stress, uncertainty, anxiety, fatigue and burnout will result and no employer should be prepared to accept that as a future state. No one.

This is uncharted territory. Let’s chart it.

Communication

This is my hybrid leadership model that is evolving the more I write about it.

@ 2021 Karen Ferris

Challenge

The new challenge facing many leaders is how to engage those working locally and those working remotely in an equitable manner.

The spontaneous face-to-face interactions and conversation that happen in an office are not available to those who are remote.

Remote workers may not have an opportunity to contribute to the conversation or listen in.

This can impact morale as remote workers feel they are being left out of decision-making discussions.

You are also missing out on gathering all the perspectives from all of team which can be invaluable.

New thinking

Organisations will have to start to be creative and innovative when it comes to communication and collaboration.

Whilst tools such as Zoom, MS Teams and Google Hangouts are great communication tools for remote employees they work best when employees are in similar time zones.

When employees are across multiple time zones, we need to think how we can communicate in a manner that is as close to real time as possible.

Remember to co-design solutions with employees. There is no one-size-fits-all response to this challenge. Every organisation and team is different and will have different preferences.

Involve them and you will have their buy-in.

Remember that this is a journey and as you try things out, you can improve along the way.

Access

If remote workers cannot be in a meeting virtually at the time it takes place, think about other options.

There are many communication options including the use of Slack channels, shared Google docs, access to recorded video calls and presentations in a central repository. These options enable rapid employee response and contribution whatever time zone they are in.

When decisions are being made that impact remote workers, make sure they are made aware of them asap so that they can respond in a timely manner.

Whenever possible, hold your meetings when all of the people who should have input are able to be present.

Make sure that everyone has access to the information they need to do their jobs. This could include policies and procedures; training materials; instruction sets etc. Ensure everyone knows where they are and that they are easily accessible. We can longer swivel in our chairs and ask “where is the latest version of the project plan?” It should be intuitive to find.

Asynchronous communication

Employees may work different hours even if they are in the same time zone. Flexibility is one of the advantages of hybrid teams.

It is going to be crucial that you and your team accept that asynchronous online communication will be a change that has to be adopted. This is a fundamental shift. There cannot be an expectation that a reply to a message, on whatever platform, will be responded to immediately.

Whilst this may appear to slow things down, it is a new reality.

Consider having the “important” meetings and conversations when everyone is available and allow the others to span all employee working hours.

Consider having meetings only when they are really necessary.

Clarity

Communication has to be clear. The chances of miscommunication increase in hybrid teams.

As a leader there is even more reason to check-in and ensure your message has been received as intended. When physically face-to-face it can be easier to sense that the recipient of your message has not understood it and you then deliver the communication in a different manner until you can see that there is understanding.

When you are not physical face-to-face, communicating through a screen or in writing over various time zones, communication can go awry.

You cannot afford to let this happen.

If you are sending out a written communication get a colleague or team member to give it the ‘once over’ to check it is clear and without ambiguity.

When you communicate verbally, ask the recipient to play back to you what they have heard. In this way you can check understanding.

If you are communicating to a large group, check-in afterwards with a random selection of recipients to check their comprehension.

Remember what Brene Brown said: “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”

Conversation

Encourage conversation. Encourage everyone to ask questions, challenge thinking and present new ideas.

Lead by example and ask lots of questions. Your employees will follow your cue.

Remember communication is not one-way. It is a two-way dialogue.

Customize

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to communication. Everyone is different with different needs.

As a leader you need to communicate with your employees in ways that suit the employee.

Leaders have to get insight into employees preferred communication styles and adapt their style to that of the employee.

Want to know their style? Ask.

Want to know if your communication is effective? Ask.

Summary

Do not let miscommunication disengage, demotivate and destroy your sense of “team.”

Hybrid teams require a special focus on communication, to ensure everyone has the information they need to perform well.

Open lines of communication are important for feedback, troubleshooting and celebrating success as well as discussing pain points.

Think through different communication patterns and methods, and harness technology to make sure you are communicating with everyone equally.