How to Be a Leader in a Hybrid World

Today most “knowledge workers” are working some, if not all of their time, at home. And this hybrid world is creating quite a conundrum for leaders. Why? Because they often don’t know how to manage their direct reports in a virtual world.

Recently, one of my clients asked their manager if they could participate in a certificate program co-sponsored by their organization and a reputable college. The manager replied, “Does that mean I am not giving you enough work to do?” I wondered whether the manager was kidding or not.

Interestingly, the effort the employee would need to put into this program would require them to attend classes after work hours and do the course work on their own time. And yet, the first thought that came to the manager’s mind is “Do you have too much time on your hands?”

I believe this manager is struggling to manage employees in a hybrid world.

In the past, managers, consciously or unconsciously, used as a measure how well their employees were executing their job by how much time they saw them in the office. The employee must be working hard if they are staying extra hours to accomplish their tasks. It was also easier to check on the employee’s work by stopping by their desk and asking about their progress on a task or project.

If you think about it, two questions might immediately come to mind if you see an employee working a lot of overtime.

1.???? Are they struggling to perform that work?

2.???? Have they been assigned more work than they have the capacity to do in a normal workday?

Virtual leadership requires strong, consistent, and frequent communication with your team members. A leader needs to clearly communicate expectations and guardrails for assigned work. How you manage one employee may be different from how you manage someone else.

For some, you may be able to provide the end goal that needs to be achieved and then provide the latitude for them to figure it out.

For other employees, you may need to provide detailed instructions about a task or coach the employee, by asking them questions, which will help them to figure out what and how they need to accomplish a task.

Many managers miss the step of scheduling checkpoints along the way to discuss the progress of a project and what obstacles have shown up. You don’t want to wait until something is due to find out that it is incomplete or that the employee misinterpreted what you were looking for. Paying attention to these checkpoints requires more forethought in a hybrid environment.

Here are some crucial steps leaders can take to effectively manage their direct reports when working with them virtually.

1.???? Get to know your employees on a personal level and touch base with them on a regular basis about their personal life.

2.???? Ask your employees how often they would like to be in touch and what method of communication works best for them: email, text, instant message, or phone call.

3.???? Share your own communication preferences. Agree on a plan for communication that works for both of you.

4.???? When assigning work, be sure to provide specific detail of what your expectations are and set up dates for reviewing progress before the project is due.

5.???? If an employee is struggling with some obstacles, help them to figure out what to do by asking open-ended questions that will guide them to an answer.

6.???? Create a reference document for yourself and list all your direct reports, their strengths, their opportunities for growth, how they like to communicate, and how they like to receive recognition. Use this document to design how to best manage each of your team members.

7.???? Pay attention during your conversations. Don’t multitask.

8.???? Develop a consistent feedback culture and be open to receiving feedback from your team members as well as providing feedback.

9.???? Have regular conversations with your team members about their professional growth.

10.? Have cameras on in virtual meetings.

11.? Increase your sensitivity to recognizing changes in vocal tone and facial expressions.

12.? In a hybrid environment, it is more important to overcommunicate. However, you can be succinct in your messaging. Be clear about a topic of an email in the subject line. Put the most important points at the top of the email.

13.? Vary how you communicate with the team. Sometimes a phone call can yield information that you might not otherwise have.

Not surprisingly, all these ideas are important ways to be an effective manager for your direct reports whether virtual, hybrid or in person.

Final thought: Invest some time regularly in reviewing how you are showing up as a leader and what are the needs of your team members. Everyone will benefit.