Evidence shows that office life has traditionally brought with it a variety of ‘energy sources’ that feed our ‘social cognitive needs.’

The brain chemicals we need are generated in the following ways:

· Shared rituals trigger the release of serotonin

· Public praise brings a burst of dopamine

· Celebrating success together increases adrenaline

· Informal chats at the water cooler create connect and a boost of oxytocin.

“These brain chemicals, in turn, can impact our ability to think logically, deliver creative insights, improve focus, support courage and persistence in the face of adversity or challenge and, crucially, show understanding and empathy for others in the workplace. They can also impact our wellbeing in the workplace - at a time when remote work can make it harder to identify who is struggling.”

The challenges will be to meet these cognitive needs in different ways.

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A recent report from PWC entitled “The Future of Work. The Board’s Role in Rewiring Work” has some interesting insights.

Whilst addressing questions and considerations for Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), I believe that the report should be read by every leader tasked with leading their teams and organisation into the post-pandemic future.

The loudest and overriding message from the report was that there is no time to wait.

“While there may be hesitance among leaders to take bold steps, as they ‘wait for the dust to settle’ on our post-pandemic ‘normal’, NEDs must start pushing organisations forward and leaders must start to experiment and trial new approaches – to leadership.”

Yes – you read that right. Leaders must find new ways to lead.

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In the 1986 hit song “Wham! – I’m Your Man,” George Michael sings, “If you’re gonna do it, do it right (right).”

As organizations grapple with the future of work, this should become their mantra.

Unfortunately, when it comes to planning for where staff will work once the pandemic crisis ends, many businesses don’t have a clue of how to do it right.

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I bet you have read and heard a lot about good leaders, yet have you ever heard an employee say, “Let me talk to my leader”?

We hear “I will talk to my boss” or “I will talk to my manager”, but never “I will talk to my leader.”

In the halls of our organization we may hear random reference to ‘the leadership team’ but we hear very little conversation, if any, about individual leaders in the organization.

This led me to ponder what would happen when an inquisitive alien lands and demands “Take me to your leader.”

Where will you take them?

In response to your perplexed look, the alien’s request changes to “Take me to someone who remotely resembles a leader.”

As your thought process becomes prolonged, the alien impatiently says, “LISTEN – this is what it should look like in earth-year 2021.”

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This week, McKinsey & Company released an interesting article regarding the resilience imperative.

It supports much of what I have been banging on about for some time now. But it also raises concerns for me.

As the authors rightly say “2020 was a wake-up call. To thrive in the coming decade, companies must develop resilience - the ability to withstand unpredictable threat or change and then to emerge stronger.”

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I am excited to be contributing feature articles for Remote Report.

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Work is what we do, not where we go.

Whilst many organizations are rushing to embrace this new reality and gain competitive edge, you also need to consider the factors that if not addressed could be your undoing. Do not ignore the hybrid hiccups.

This is a transformation that is multi-faceted. It requires a fundamental mindset shift and the evolution of new operating models.

Consideration needs to be given to security, health and wellbeing, the war on talent, performance measurement, real estate, unified communications, micromanagement, proximity bias, onboarding and provisioning.

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A week or so ago I shared an article and a series of video blogs called “Resilience Is Not Like A Rubber Band.” I made a call for the analogy to stop because rubber bands snap and dry out if not looked after.

Both the article and videos received great feedback. Therefore, this week I thought I would continue the theme and look at other resilient analogies and why they should be scrapped or thought about more carefully.

Workforce resilience is not like bamboo unless you nurture it. It is not like a diamond that had 3 billion years to become resilient. It is not like a blow-up ball that can be squeezed and then return to it normal shape.

We need to stop belittling the need for workforce resilience by using analogies that are seriously broken.

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Great leaders provide emotional support. This should be provided at all times but is especially important for employees working in a hybrid team for the first time.

Emotional support for employees regardless of their location is crucial. Often those working remotely feel less cared for than those in the immediate proximity of a leader. That cannot be allowed to be a new reality.

Emotional support comes from leaders who lead with vulnerability, empathy and compassion and have the wellbeing of every employee as an overarching priority.

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Resilience is described as the ability to stretch yourself when the pressure is on and return safely to your normal shape thereafter – just like the rubber band. When change is constant when do employees return safely to their normal shape?

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The statistics in relation to the state of employee mental health in your Australian workplace are damning.

Yet the solution is right in front of you. Develop a multi-faceted solution as shown in this infographic and watch how a healthy organisation leads to a wealthy one.

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Microsoft recently realised its first-annual Work Trend Index. Titled “The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work — Are We Ready?” the report uncovers seven hybrid work trends every business leader must know as we enter a new era of work. The resounding response to the question is NO.

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In a hybrid world, leaders must be willing to make themselves available to their team members in fundamentally different ways. Employees need to be able to reach out for support and advice whenever they need it. They cannot see if the virtual office door is open or closed.

Leaders at every level of your organisation have to be visible. Not all employees are passing your leaders desks or offices as they navigate the office corridors. They need to see who is steering the ship regardless of where they are located.

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The new challenge facing many leaders leading hybrid teams, 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.

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OCM is a top 5 priority for the CIO according to Info-Tech Research Group.

Priority number 3 for the CIO in 2021 is to strengthen the organisational change management capability to help maximise technology investments.

As CIOs look ahead, helping to combat change fatigue and foster change resilience amongst staff should be a key leadership priority.

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Most managers have never led hybrid teams before. Their approach to setting objectives and managing performance have to fundamentally change.

This is uncharted territory so let’s chart it here.

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Capability invisibility is term coined via Deloitte to mean that when capability is not visible, employees can be given tasks they are ill-equipped for or their useful skills are not fully utilised.

The visibility of employee capability is a power tool for hybrid teams and increases connection, collaboration and engagement.

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Good leaders make such that everyone feels included and valued regardless of where they work.

Psychological safety is an environment in which everyone is comfortable expressing themselves. People are comfortable to ask questions, challenge ideas and basically be themselves.

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