Staying Connected in a Virtual or Hybrid Workplace

As I spend time on my favorite Greek island with family and friends, my mind still sees organizational patterns and connections all over. One question keeps coming up in my mind: what would it look like to work here on a (semi) permanent basis, in this little corner of the world, in our personal paradise? Considering the rise of virtual work and the growing number of digital nomads working in similar places throughout Greece (and other highly desirable places), this is not unrealistic. In fact, as I spend more time here each year, I prove the feasibility of this concept as I continue to serve my clients just as effectively with some adjustments for time zone differences.

In the past, managers have been recalcitrant towards remote work for their employees because it lacked two necessary ingredients: Technology and Trust.

With the advancements in technology, we are now able to replicate much of the instant connectivity and collaboration we have when working in the same physical space, without many of the distractions and time-wasting activities, not the least of which are unexpected “pop-in visitors” and the daily commute. But we cannot fully replicate the actual benefits of physical proximity. The real-time exchanges of information and nuanced non-verbal communication, the learning that takes place from simple observation, the personal contact and connection of in-person interactions are all hard to replicate virtually.

The bigger issue though in my opinion is the lack of trust. Since the advent of the knowledge economy, managers have struggled to measure the productivity of their growing white-collar workforce. After all, how do you quantify creative thinking and internal processing time? And if you can’t measure it, how do you manage it? This presents an “existential threat” to the manager’s role, especially when the employee knows more about their job than the manager!

This became very evident in a discussion I had with a senior leader who was pushing to have his people return to in-person work full-time. When I asked him why he felt so frustrated about the reluctance his staff had shown to coming back into the office full-time, he said that he “didn’t want people out there mowing their yards or playing golf on company time!” When I pushed him a little more and asked about the performance of the team during this time of increased virtual and hybrid work, he admitted that last quarter they had achieved the three most profitable months in their history.

When confronted with these facts, he begrudgingly accepted that his fears had more to do with his personal sense of lost purpose and effectiveness – not being able to see people working and engaging with them in person –and less to do with his people’s productivity. I added to his realization that the employees that were not engaged when working from home are likely the same ones avoiding any productive work in the office as well. Creating additional rules and policies to manage these exceptions was a sure-fire way to disengage more members of his team, and especially his high performers.

You must trust and believe in people, or life becomes impossible. - Anton Checkov

To counteract this conundrum, I challenged him to embrace the Leadership Paradox: a series of seemingly opposing concepts that can be extremely effective when synthesized into a more mature and human way of leading others. This Janusian thinking (from the Roman God Janus that had two faces looking in opposite directions and could see the past and the future at the same time) allows us to consider ideas from both directions and bring them into a focus that avoids the false, binary choice of one or the other, and instead create a consolidated option that includes one and the other.

Here are three examples of a Leadership Paradox that can help enhance your effectiveness in leading your team and can make a big difference when managing a dispersed workforce.

The first is empathy and tough love. Keep a balanced perspective between the need to build relationships with members of your team and the demand from your business leaders for results. Seeking to understand the needs, fears, and perspective of others while setting the priorities and boundaries needed to maintain a balanced focus with the results is essential. Understanding the situation, however, does not mean excusing poor performance. Any remote working arrangements should benefit both the employee and the employer, allowing each to get the best from the other.

It’s important to consider the unique circumstances that each of us must navigate when working remotely in order to be effective. Not everyone has the luxury of a home office or dedicated workspace. That doesn’t mean they can’t work well and produce the desired results. But it does mean that healthy boundaries and clear priorities are set to enable them to operate within the norms and requirements of the team and meet the agreed upon performance expectations.

The second is high-tech and high-touch. Use available technology and tools to increase the frequency of opportunities for meaningful personal contact with members of your team in order to build stronger connections. When you don’t have the benefit of physical proximity and the spontaneous water cooler moments that allow for impromptu communication and human connection, you need to create them in a more purposeful way.

Set up regular times to meet as a team and one-on-one, using the technology tools available. Keep appropriate levels of professionalism while working to enable the mental separation between work and personal time. Out of sight does not need to be out of mind. So, don’t allow too much time to go by without checking in with your remote team members, even just to say “hello” and let them know you’re there to support them.

The third is outcomes and outputs. Shift your approach to leading knowledge workers by helping them manage the demands for their personal productivity with the priorities of the organization. You can’t just measure performance by the number of emails read and answered or the number of hours spent in meetings. Getting beyond the need to show busy-ness to truly impact the business requires a fresh perspective and focus on what activities truly move the performance needle.

This will require greater planning and analysis from the leader to understand what outcomes are needed from the team member and what is reasonable over set periods of time. Clear expectations and deadlines will help keep things on track, while allowing team members the empowerment and flexibility to manage how they arrive at the outcome. Ongoing discussions may also be needed to ensure that any productivity levels are met within the necessary timelines and quality standards.

The complexities of today’s workplace and the evolving relationship between team leaders and members demand that we challenge how and where work is best done. There is plenty of debate around the merits and effectiveness of in-person work vs. remote work, and whether a hybrid approach will be the ultimate solution to win over employers and employees. The answer to where and how the work is best done will depend on each organization’s priorities, values, and culture. One fact remains constant, however: we are more effective over time and can accomplish more by working together. So, let’s look at how we connect our people into a cohesive and high-performing team.

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