In a post-covid world, managing a hybrid environment in the workplace has become part of the main skillsets required by leaders in a new day and age.
“What started as simply working from home quickly became much more than that as the fundamentals of our relationship with work began to shift. Employees from C-level management through entry-level hires reevaluated their priorities, resulting in the Great Resignation where employees resigned in droves to seek better work-life integration and improve their well-being.” (Forbes). “To handle all of this, managers need a new toolbox of skills and strategies to ensure their teams are fulfilled, productive and connected.”
McKinsey & Company offers four solutions to this issue, including managing performance through outcomes, impact, and ownership, doing more to build trust and togetherness, facilitating and engaging with teams, and encouraging team problem solving.
“Leaders must learn to effectively manage in a hybrid environment, and successful companies are taking action. In working with such companies, we’ve found that four management shifts are proving helpful for both leaders and employees amid flexible work.” (McKinsey).
According to McKinsey, reliability, acceptance, openness, and authenticity are required to build trust and togetherness.
“Trust and togetherness are imperative to support employee innovation and creativity. However, traditional methods like walking the company floor, chatting at the coffee machine, or taking employees to lunch are less readily available. Moreover, insecurity can lead some to micromanage and exhibit controlling behaviors.” (McKinsey).
Staying connected in a hybrid environment is easier said than done. More goes into it than one might think.
“Hybrid work is here to stay and the key to long-term hybrid work success is communication. But just sending emails or having video meetings won’t cut it. You need to take a proactive role in finding the communication channels and frequency that maximize connectedness without slowing work down.” (Forbes). “Beyond ensuring that work gets done, managing through hybrid also requires you to keep tabs on the emotional well-being of your team. Asking people how they feel and showing more interest in them as people on a more frequent basis and from afar can seem trivial, but it makes a big difference in ensuring no one is headed for burnout.”
Overall, it is the responsibility of leaders to create a sustainable hybrid work environment.
“Managers have the power to create a work environment—whether in person, remote or hybrid—that effectively supports employees.” (Forbes).
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Sources:
Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2022/10/14/the-new-skill-set-for-effective-management/?sh=5d0b2aed6002
McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/how-to-lead-in-a-hybrid-environment