Where Have All Our Leaders Gone: Gone to RTO, Every One?

The Inappropriateness of Organisational Leadership Exposed by Remote Working

The widespread adoption of remote working in the post-COVID era has starkly exposed the inadequacies of traditional organisational leadership. While remote work has proven viable and, in many cases, more productive than in-office setups, it has also revealed the deep flaws in leadership practices that were previously masked by the physical presence of employees.

Lack of Understanding of Employee Motivation

One of the most glaring issues is leadership’s failure to grasp what truly motivates employees. Many organisations still operate under outdated assumptions that productivity is directly tied to physical supervision rather than autonomy, trust, and purpose-driven engagement. Remote work has demonstrated that employees often perform better when granted flexibility, yet many leaders resist this reality, preferring rigid, control-based models that stifle creativity and morale.

A clear example of this is Amazon’s recent mandate requiring corporate employees to return to the office five days a week starting January 2025. This decision, led by CEO Andy Jassy, has been met with resistance from employees who value flexibility. Critics argue that such rigid mandates may lead to higher turnover, as employees seek organisations that better align with modern work preferences.

Inability to Measure and Manage Productivity

Leadership's reliance on outdated performance metrics has also been exposed. In many cases, productivity was never properly measured even in office environments; leaders often equated long hours at a desk with efficiency. The shift to remote work has forced organisations to confront their lack of objective performance measurement tools. Instead of investing in meaningful output-based assessment methods, many leaders have defaulted to invasive surveillance tactics, further eroding trust between management and employees.

A former Google employee's resignation further highlights this issue. After working remotely to care for his sick father, he faced challenges when Google tightened its remote work policies, requiring higher-level approvals for full-time remote arrangements. This incident illustrates leadership’s struggle to balance company policies with individual employee needs, potentially leading to morale and retention issues.

Ignorance About Workplace Dynamics

Pre-pandemic office environments fostered a false sense of awareness among leaders, who assumed that their presence and occasional interactions provided them with a clear understanding of workplace culture. Remote work has highlighted just how little some leaders truly knew about their teams. Issues such as workplace dissatisfaction, misalignment with company values, and exclusionary practices were often hidden beneath the surface. Now, the challenge lies in fostering genuine engagement and connection in a distributed work environment, something many leaders struggle to achieve.

A growing trend in layoffs also exposes biases against remote workers. Recent studies indicate that remote employees are more likely to be laid off due to "proximity bias," where managers favour those they see regularly in the office. This suggests a significant gap in leadership’s ability to manage and assess remote employees objectively, further demonstrating the urgent need for evolved leadership models.

Weaknesses in Human Resources Management

Human resources (HR) functions, which should have been at the forefront of adapting to new work realities, have often been found lacking. The transition to remote work required HR professionals to rethink policies on performance management, employee engagement, and mental well-being. However, many organisations simply applied pre-pandemic HR frameworks to remote settings, leading to disengagement, burnout, and frustration. The inadequacies of HR leadership in driving meaningful change have become more evident than ever.

The Urgent Need for a New Leadership Model

Perhaps the most crucial revelation of the remote work shift is the urgent need for a new breed of leadership. Traditional hierarchical and ego-driven leadership styles have been rendered obsolete in an era that demands adaptability, empathy, and empowerment. Leaders who cling to outdated notions of control are failing to foster high-performing remote teams. Instead, organisations must cultivate leaders who prioritise trust, flexibility, and results-driven approaches over micromanagement and rigid policies.

Conclusion

The endurance of remote work has not only transformed how we operate but has also laid bare the inappropriateness of leadership that refuses to evolve. It is no longer sufficient for leaders to rely on presence-based management; they must develop new competencies that align with a digital, decentralised, and autonomy-driven workforce. The key question remains: What is the human resources profession doing to address these leadership shortcomings? The future of work depends on their ability to step up and drive the necessary change.