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.

Available and visible

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

Good leaders must be both available and visible.

Available

In a hybrid world, leaders must be willing to make themselves accessible and available to their team members.

Leaders need to know how their remote workers are doing emotionally and share their support. Everyone needs to know that regardless of location, help is readily available from their leaders.

It is easier in a physical environment to see that the boss is in the office and that their door is open. That is often a visible sign that they are available. Leaders need to find ways to replicate this in the virtual environment. This could include use of messaging systems that can show whether someone is available or not. Leaders could also indicate the best time and way to be reached during the working day but also nominate the best way to be alerted if something is urgent e.g., SMS. Leaders need to work with the team to determine the best way to indicate their availability and ensure everyone understands the “rules of engagement.”

Leaders have to make sure that they are available to support employees whenever they are needed.

I want share this extract from an article written by Niall Eyre for People Management. This is what leader availability sounds like. This is a communication from a CEO of a tech company to all employees.

“I want to share some words with you about the organisation I want us to be. I do not care whether you are in the office at 8am. I do not care if you choose to work from home, or not. I do not care if you work from the garage while you get your car fixed. I hired you for a job and I trust you to get it done. Just let me know what you need from me and I will show up for you. Life happens! You do not need to justify to me why you need a day off. You do not need to explain how sick your child is to leave early. You do not need to apologise for having a personal life. 

“Yes, I care about results, but I also care about you. We are all human and we are all adults. I lead people. I do not run an adult daycare centre. My advice to hiring managers is 1. Select the right people; 2. Agree the deliverables (be crystal clear); 3. Provide proper tools and support; 4. Get out of their way.”

Visible

Leaders at every level of your organisation have to be visible. This is even more important when your are leading remote teams. Not all employees are passing your leaders desks or offices as they navigate the office corridors.

Employees in an office can see the captain and his or her officers steering the ship through the post-pandemic storm and beyond. When employees are working remotely and they cannot see who is steering the ship, it can lead to feelings of disconnection, isolation, stress and anxiety.

All your leaders need to connect with their employees regardless of their location. You need to create an authentic and human connection.

Get out from behind the email

More than ever, employees need to see and hear from you as their leader and not just receive communication via a blanket email. Whilst email may have sufficed when combined with face-to-face in-person communications, it will not when employees are working remotely.

If the only visibility employees have of their leader is the receipt of an email, it is cold and distant and isolating.

It can also lead to distrust as employees start to think that leaders are “hiding” and not sharing the truth.

You need to get in front of your employees in every way that you can.

You can “stop by” in virtual meetings to say “hi” and answer questions. You can host virtual town hall sessions. You can host “Let’s Talk” session where employees can ask you anything they want to.

Consistency

You need to be visible and communicate on a regular basis so that employees feel connection and trust. If visibility and communication is episodic or sporadic, employees will fill the gaps with rumour and conjecture.

Schedule regular meetings where you can provide updates and employees can ask questions. I run these as part of my change management communication and engagement activities and call them “Let’s Talk.”

Make the work visible

Leaders also need to ensure that information is easily available and visible to every employee. In the physical workplace, walls and windows could be covered with paper and sticky notes that indicated who was working on what and the progress that was being made.

Leaders now need to employ virtual collaboration platforms, Kanban boards, white boards and the like that everyone has access to at any time.

Summary

Leaders will have to make a fundamental shift and address the challenges that leading hybrid teams brings. It is critical that your people know that you are available when they need your support or advice. It is imperative that you are visible to your employees and they can see you steering the ship whether they are in the engine room, in the canteen, in the laundry, in the garage or in the bedroom.