In the third newsletter in the “Future of Work Redesigned” we are exploring the leadership point on the compass.

There are six points on my Future of Work Redesigned compass. These are the six directions in which you must head if you are going to redesign the future of work in your organisation.

Culture – improve the culture in the organisation so the benefits of hybrid working can be realised

Strategy – co-create a hybrid working strategy

Leadership – leadership requires an uplift in skills and competencies to lead high performing hybrid teams

Technology – optimise hybrid working now and into the future by using the best technologies available to you

Empowerment – employees need empowerment and autonomy over where, when, and how they work and there must be trust

Wellbeing – provide every employee with a holistic and contextual platform for mental wellbeing and increased resilience

The future of work redesigned compass 

Leadership

There are many definitions of leadership. I like this one Kevin Kruse in a 2013 article for Forbes called “What Is Leadership?”. In this article he deconstructs some of the definitions from some of the most respected business thinkers of our time and calls out what is wrong with them.

Kevin’s definition:

“Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.”

 What I like about this definition is that it states that leadership stems from influence, not authority or power; leadership requires others, but they do not have to be direct reports in a hierarchical structure; and there is a goal – not just influence without an intended outcome.

The challenge

Jacob Morgan found during the research for his book “The Future Leader” that there is a clear lack of leadership training and development. Most people become leaders in their mid-to late 20s, but most do not receive any formal training until their late 30s and early 40s. This is possibly two decades in which those in leadership roles within organisations have had little support, development, coaching, or training. 

The situation is worsened when you think that this pattern has been repeated for generations upon generations of “leaders”, which means that the only role models these new “leaders” have had are the bad bosses that have gone before them. And so, the cycle perpetuates.

The challenge is to break this cycle and prepare leaders now for the future of work. Whatever skills leaders have today will not be enough to lead a highly performing hybrid team. As the saying goes what got you here, won’t get you there.

The biggest challenge is that this must start from the top of the organisation. The CEO must recognise they require different leadership skills for the future of work. This recognition must permeate the organization.

If we do not establish good leadership in our organisation, we will soon feel the impact. The war for talent is back on and the employee is in the driving seat. Many employees now have a smorgasbord of potential employers to choose from now that they are not fettered by geographical boundaries. They are seeking out the organisations with good leadership and they only need to scan social media and platforms such as Glassdoor to know who they are.

The challenge is to also stop procrastinating and act now before it is too late.

The response

Define “good” leadership

We all instinctively know when we have a good leader as opposed to a bad leader but what defines the good leader. We need a clear definition of leadership that we wish to see in our organisation and use that as a benchmark when we are hiring and promoting.

I don’t often recommend bringing in external facilitators but in this instance I do. It is often hard for leaders to drive a deep scrutinization of what is needed from leaders in the organisation when it is likely to reveal shortcoming in their own capacities and competencies. An experienced external facilitator can establish a safe environment in which the prevailing message is one not of exposure but opportunity to grow. The facilitator can work with leaders and employees to create a definition of what defines a good leader with their organisation.

Once a definition has been agreed, a program of development, education, and growth, can be put in place to address the gaps arising. Once again, this must be seen as a development opportunity, not a witch-hunt. Those who continue to see it as the latter should be the first to exit the organisation.

I have classified good leadership in my Future of Work Redesigned into capacities and competencies.

Capacity in leadership is about being a person willing to learn, be courageous, tackle difficult situations and challenge the status quo. Capacity is the option to think and act in different ways depending on the situation presented.

Competency in leadership are the skills and behaviours that when well developed, can contribute to superior performance.

I like this description of the differences in capacities and competencies from Clear Impact Consulting Group.

“Think of leadership competencies as software that’s run on a computer. Those competencies become increasingly more effective using more advanced operating systems. Leadership capacity is about the structure of our thinking, not what we think about but rather how we think about it.”

I am about to publish two books on future leadership capacities and competencies needed for leading hybrid teams with online publication house Bookboon. Therefore, there is far more content than I can compress into this newsletter. So, in interest of brevity, I will summarise the seven capacities this week and the seven and competencies next week.

The seven capacities

Empowerment, autonomy, and trust

 There is no place for micromanagement in the future of work. Lack of empowerment, autonomy, and trust, just screams at employees and says, “I do not trust you.” Put that in your culture pipe and smoke it!

In March 2020 we saw an increase in demand for employee surveillance software jump by 80% compared with the 2019 monthly average. In April it was also 65% higher than in 2019. Disturbingly, the demand was stronger in 2021 than in 2020. (Source: Top10VPN). It was empathically clear, that managers did not trust their employees to work when they were out-of-sight. The absurdity of the situation is that these managers did not know what their employees were doing even when they could see them at a desk.

Leaders need to be enabled to lead with empowerment and autonomy in an environment of mutual trust and respect. A lack of trust kills motivation, creativity, innovation, and engagement. Trust increases productivity, collaboration, and conflict resolution. It is core to organisational effectiveness.

As Warren Buffet once said, “Trust is like the air we breathe. When it is present, nobody really notices. But when it’s absent, everybody notices.” 

According to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer (a survey of 33,000 people in 28 countries) one in three employees do not trust their employer. The continuance of the pandemic into 2022 will only perpetuate the situation unless organisations act.

Equity and inclusivity

Most organisations have been dealing with the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) challenge for many years.

The introduction of a hybrid working model has created an additional DE&I challenge. We are now adding two more identities – those who are in the office and those who are remote.

Everyone must be treated equally regardless of where they are located. There cannot be unfair treatment due to a belief that employees working in an office are more productive than those working from home. All employees need to be on a level playing field whether they are in the office or working remotely.

Leaders must ensure that every employee feels included as a part of the team and the wider organisation wherever they are working. Employees must not feel excluded from conversation or decisions made in the office. Every employee needs to have a sense of belonging which is generated through an inclusive working environment 

Available, accessible, and visible

When you are available, you put your employees on your list of priorities. You leave time in your calendar for unscheduled conversations. You make it clear to your employees how you can be reached outside of the regular one-on-one meetings and team meetings you have with them. You do not reschedule these conversations unless absolutely necessary.

When you are accessible, you create an environment of psychological safety so that your employees feel free to speak up, ask questions and challenge without fear of negative repercussions or reprisal.

Visibility of leaders is diminished when an employee works remotely. No longer are all employees passing your desk of office as they navigate the office corridors. All leaders must connect with their employees regardless of their location. You need to create an authentic and human connection.

When leaders become invisible it can be dangerous. When employees lose ‘sight’ of their leaders it can result in an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mindset – leaders and everyone else.

Mindful communication and collaboration

While effective communication has always been an important skill for leaders, the leaders of hybrid teams need to be exceptional communicators. The biggest challenge to communication is the lack of non-verbal communication cues. In the absence of these clues, leaders should practice more mindful communication.

The mindful leader of the hybrid team considers all the communication media available to them and chooses the most appropriate for a given situation. They consider the desired outcomes of the communication, the people that need to be involved, when and for what duration. The mindful leader can flow between the variety of communication medium with ease. They realise that dialogue is dynamic and that there is no one-size-fits-all to communication, comprehension, and engagement.

Mindful communication is the practice of paying attention, being on purpose, in the present moment, awareness, acceptance and non-judgement.

Effective collaboration is key to high performing teams. The differentiator in a hybrid team is that as the leader you may have to intentionally create the collaboration opportunities whilst teams get used to working across multiple locations. The unintentional collaborations that may have occurred as the result of a spontaneous interaction in the office are not as prolific in a hybrid team. Therefore, leaders must drive intentional collaboration. Teams need to be more intentional and enable collaboration by design, not chance.

Empathy

In October 2021 an EY Consulting survey confirmed that 90% of workers believe empathetic leadership leads to higher job satisfaction and 79% agree it decreases employee turnover. The majority (88%) felt that empathic leadership creates loyalty amongst employees towards their leaders.

The EY survey also revealed that respondents had left a previous job because their boss wasn’t empathetic to their struggles at work (54%) or in their personal lives (49%). The more disturbing of the survey results was that almost half (46%) of employee feel that their company’s efforts to be empathetic toward employees are dishonest. These employees feel that their companies are talking the talk, but not walking the walk, regarding empathy and support in the workplace.

Leaders must appreciate the challenges their employees have had, and may continue to have, in adjusting to new ways of working. When employees are working remotely, the demarcation between work and home time can become blurred. Leaders must support employees in establishing the right boundaries.

Leaders must be more intentional about making sure their employees feel seen. Working remotely can lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection so leaders must be intentional about the ways in which they connect with every team member. There must be frequent and proactive check-ins - not only to talk about work but to discuss how each employee is feeling. Leaders must listen and provide support when needed.

Positive culture

Workplace culture is unique to every organization and includes its values, beliefs, behaviors, goals, attitudes, and work practices. A positive culture is one in which these aspects are shared by everyone. Leaders must intentionally nurture this culture.

Everyone needs a shared sense of purpose. During the pandemic employees were given an opportunity to reflect on what they wanted from both their personal lives and work lives. Employee expectations have been raised and they want their work to be more than just a job. They want work to fit in with their life purpose. Leaders need to find out what matters to each of the team members and help them find more purpose in their work.

Leaders must create an inclusive environment in which everyone feels valued, heard, and treated fairly. Employees must feel safe to be their authentic self and share their feelings and concerns. Leaders must create a team culture where being open and vulnerable is commonplace and each team member supports the other with empathy.

Leaders must communication openly and transparently. Everyone must be in sync regardless of location. Information must be shared widely and consistently. This is the time for leaders to treat employees as grown-ups and acknowledge that they can handle information – good, bad, and ugly. This transparency also fosters trust and establishes open and honest communication is the norm.

Growth mindset

Leading in a hybrid world requires different mindsets and behaviours. There will be challenges, obstacles, setbacks along the journey to an effective hybrid operating model. This is uncharted territory for many and must be seen as a learning and development opportunity.

A growth mindset is the belief that skills and behaviours can be cultivated through concerted effort. Leaders will need a growth mindset to let go of the old ways of working and embrace the new. Letting go of in-person meetings and employee availability 9-5 and replacing it with the intentional removal of proximity bias and enabling mindful communication.

Leaders must see challenges as opportunities, manage by output not input, and experiment whilst embracing the setbacks.

Summary                                                 

Every organisation must invest in leadership development and capability uplift if they are to retain and attract the talent they need for success. Employees are speaking up and making their expectations clear. They deserve good leadership.

Next week I will be exploring the seven leadership competencies in the Leadership point on the “Future of Work Redesigned” compass.