7 Ways to Succeed in Hybrid Workplace

I was invited to speak at Moody's last Wednesday as the speaker for Women’s Heritage Month. I shared my insights on various career questions, and one of the big topics that everyone seemed to want to know the answer to was this one:?

As living with COVID has become the new normal, we are venturing out more and places are opening up again. Many companies are bringing people back to the office, at least part of the time. Many of us have found ourselves to be so productive at home. Why should we go back??

Communication software such as Zoom, Teams, and Webex made it so easy to communicate with each other. We saved 1-2 hours each day of commute time, and many people, especially introverted people, felt they entered the heaven of productivity. They can get so much done without interruption!?

But if our employers require us to return to the office and give us more flexibility than we had before, then we need to explore what are the best practices for a hybrid workplace?

This question actually brought back a lot of fond memories. That may sound strange, but when I managed global teams of thousands of team members, I traveled around the world meeting my teams. Each day on these trips felt like a hybrid working day for me because I met them online initially, worked with them online,? and then visited my teams in person. I distilled a lot of best practices from these international business trips.?

From those days, I developed six best practices. Now, with the pandemic of the past two years, I have adapted those six and shared them with audiences who seem to have found them helpful.?

I’d like to share them with you and hope you find them useful for you and your colleagues.

First, why go back to the office???

Yes, you can get individual tasks done easily. However, when it comes to innovation, collaboration, and brainstorming, it is not that easy to stay productive. Asynchronous communication sometimes generates anxious feelings that the other person may not give you the answer in time.? The need for social interaction, building trusting relationships and clarifying confusion drives people back to in-person office interaction.?

When we try to advance our careers, getting assigned tasks done will not get us promoted to the next level. The next level of leadership requires more innovation and creativity, which is harder to achieve when you are simply a virtual person behind a screen. People are social animals. in-person interaction produces synergy, creative solutions, and more importantly, the trust that develops when connected to others.??

Perception is reality. Being present will give you a chance to project a positive image that you are a team player. You are a 3D person–not a 2D image on the screen!?

Best of both worlds - Hybrid workplace

While there are good reasons to return to the office, many more employers now understand there are benefits to their employees to work from home. The purpose of the hybrid working model combines the best of both worlds. Whether we are at the office or doing task-focused work at home, we must have some level of social interaction, innovation, and collaboration. So let’s strive to maximize productivity, efficiency, and mental health by finding the appropriate balance. If you do it right, you get the opportunity to interact with key stakeholders while also making the most of your work time, wherever you are.??

For a quick peek at how an executive handles a hybrid working environment, please follow me on one of my international business trips.?

Tip #1: Have a 10-hour working day when you visit your office

In the last two years, maybe it wasn’t easy but you learned to integrate your work and life.? Now, going back to the office will break that balance. I suggest you delegate your child care and other family tasks that have been integrated into your work-from-home routines to your partner or someone you trust. If you need to alternate with your significant other or childcare providers, make a schedule that allows all of you to make the most of the long workday. Get ready to go there for 10+ hours if you only go to the office once a week or a few times a month, avoid traffic and fully maximize your time at the office.

Tip #2: Reschedule online meetings to later times

Move your regularly scheduled online meetings either to in-person or reschedule them to a later time. This will encourage more in-person interactions when you’re in the office. If you have a bigger meeting that has too many participants to reschedule, then you can stay with a hybrid meeting at the office, especially if you have international meetings.?

Most of the companies I worked at had no-meeting Wednesdays, which led to more authentic in-person interactions.?

Tip #3: Schedule 1-1 with key stakeholders to build trust

The key stakeholders are the people you depend on and cannot move forward without their help and support. Schedule 1-1’s with key stakeholders for your projects, focusing on three situations:?

• Clarify and align disagreement and misunderstanding?
• Sync up and confirm key milestones and tasks in person
• Show appreciation for those who have helped and supported you in the past?

These are the most important meetings to schedule. These may be your team members, peers, manager, second-line manager, or people in other parts of the company.

Tip 4: Schedule parallel communication activities?

I wrote about parallel communication in my 2012 book,? Myths of the Promotion, 10 Steps to a Successful Career.? Having a talk while you are doing something both parties enjoy will build rapport and connect you faster.??

Here are a few parallel communication activities for you to reference. Book your stakeholder meetings in these formats:?

• Breakfast
• Coffee
• Lunch or early dinner
• Afternoon tea
• Walking around outside the office

Enjoying these activities with your stakeholders will make the rest of the working day more productive. Plus, sometimes unexpected solutions and support will move your project forward significantly.

Tip #5: Organize or participate and contribute to team activities

If you are a manager, a team leader, or just want to get some in-person leadership practice, schedule the following activities with your manager's support and budget:?

• Group lunch
• Early group dinner
• Team-building activities and exercises
• Happy hour in the early afternoon
• Townhall meeting in the morning or lunchtime

If your team has not met much in the past two years or you have many new members who just joined during the pandemic, please consider planning a few more team-building activities.

Tip #6 Prepare stories for the 1-1’s and team gatherings

Prepare interesting stories that can generate synergy and rapport. You can empathize with your audience and come up with something fun and interesting. Here are some prompts to consider:?

• Stories about your children
• Great books or recent articles you’ve read
• Things you had gratitude for during the pandemic?
• Showing support to the person you are meeting?
• Humorous stories and jokes

#7: Using Technology to Bring Everyone on the Same Page All the time

The goal is to create positive energy and build trusting relationships. No one is a perfect storyteller and you don’t have to cover all these categories. Just do the best you can. You may even write down a few stories and practice with your family members. If your colleague at the meeting is a good storyteller, ask them to tell you one. If they’re really good, ask them to hold the floor with more than one story! It is not about who is telling the story; it is about the feeling and atmosphere you like to generate when you have these key stakeholders' meetings.?

The most important thing is to have fun together.?

I have many more tips from my 20+ years of experience managing global teams of thousands of team members and my million miles around the world. But these six will get you started as we all navigate the new hybrid work world.?

Please subscribe to this newsletter and tell me what you like me to share from my 20+ years of experience.

Watch the 5 Strategies to Fast Track your career at