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The digital workplace is rife with the “hybrid” buzzword. Everyone’s going hybrid, including your organization.
While hybrid schedules and hybrid policies are important, where the rubber really meets the road is around managing a hybrid team.
Team leads are the ones who feel the changes the most. Even if they agree that workplace flexibility is worth it, they now have to be both a great in-person manager and remote manager…AT THE SAME TIME.
Are you ready to hold hybrid meetings? Have you shifted how you track team progress? Are you constantly rearranging your calendar and trying to find the right sized space to work? How do you balance the needs of your social extroverts with the I-never-want-to-wear-pants-again crowd? Are you able to maintain employee freedom and autonomy while still reaching KPIs and goals?
With these and many more questions to answer, you’re probably feeling lost or at your wit’s end. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Managing a hybrid team takes pride; it takes finesse. But most of all, it takes a manager willing to admit fault and become the beacon of hope and leadership that propels a company or team to success.
So whether you’re tail-between-the-legs or on the cusp of losing your mind, find out what the challenges of managing a hybrid team are and how to overcome them.
Challenges of managing a hybrid team and how you can fix them
The odd thing about the challenges of managing a hybrid team is that the problems — at least at the core — are similar and yet wholly dissimilar to issues you would find in the office or in 100% remote work. The only change is how you handle them. So while these challenges may seem oddly familiar, the key is to pivot to solutions that more broadly fit a hybrid work arrangement.
1. Productivity
In an office environment, productivity is part of a well-oiled machine. We get used to monitoring activity and workload simply by standing up and taking a quick glance at the level of concentration. Or, you can call a quick meeting instantly and everyone is there.
On a hybrid team, you have no such luck. You’re floundering between a virtual world and a real world that rarely intersect. It’s like the Venn diagram of two circles that only touch on a tangent. Therefore, productivity can lag without a cohesive vision or communication.
Solution: Move all your productivity metrics to a digital platform
The question, “Are we achieving our goals?” should not be answered by a random role call. Instead, you should have a digital scoreboard that everyone has instant access to. It should include your leading and lagging indicators and success stories.
2. Collaboration
In the office, collaboration is as quick as turning your chair around and yelling a question out loud. In fully distributed teams, all collaboration happens on digital platforms.
On hybrid teams, you have both going on. Which means you have some meetings that get recorded and some that don’t. You have some conversations that leave a digital paper trail, and some that don’t. Some discussions include everyone, and some don’t.
Solution: Be digital-first, and strategic about your in-person collaboration
Hybrid teams need to have a digital-first approach to collaboration. That means that most conversations should be on digital platforms and accessible to all. You have to address the core remote communication challenges of fidelity, durability, responsiveness, and access.
Also, improve your digital meeting game.
Since hybrid teams also have regular in-person gatherings, be very intentional about those times. Use them for things that are very hard to do digitally such as relationship building and informal leadership development.
3. Culture
A hybrid team doesn’t necessarily manifest itself into culture shock, but keeping an inclusive and diverse culture becomes increasingly difficult. The biggest mistake that managers of newly formed hybrid teams make is trying to become everything to everyone. By doing so, your plan for hybrid work culture has the opposite effect. No one feels like they fit in and some may even feel alienated.
Clinging to indoctrinated ideas from the office or a remote workplace can further the downward spiral of culture in the hybrid workplace.
Solution: Let your hybrid culture evolve naturally with a tailored approach
Some things are out of your control, be it personally or professionally. But letting go of the reins and simply allowing a situation to play out is often the best move. Constant control only leads to stress.
If you have the right staff — especially a team that doesn’t require constant supervision — you’re in a unique spot to let your hybrid culture evolve of its own volition. You only need to swoop in when things get messy, people seem lost, or you see a significant dropoff in productivity or morale. Sometimes, less is more.
Take the additional step of being aware of proximity bias, which is the unconscious act of showing favoritism toward certain workers, typically those with you in the office. Make reasonable accommodations to all your workers, whether they’re at home or in the office. Always think “access equals opportunity” and you should be able to keep proximity bias at bay.
4. Faltering leadership
Not everyone can have a Lincolnesque level of leadership in the hybrid workplace. It’s extrinsic and far from innate. But this shouldn’t upset you. Leadership is often an acquired skill that takes years to fine-tune and perfect. And when you add in a hybrid work arrangement, you’ve created another variable that can impact your ability to lead.
The hybrid workplace also lessens your ability to read body language and rely on person-to-person cues. This creates a situation where you’re running on instinct, regardless of whether that instinct is correct or not.
Solution: Switch it up
A unidimensional approach to leadership in the hybrid workplace isn’t going to work in most cases. You need to make adjustments as you go. While this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change your entire leadership style, it does means that you should add a certain level of flexibility.
The best way to approach leadership in the hybrid workplace is to make the most of your time with people in the office. Eat lunch together, learn about their families and interests, and build a rapport — especially with employees who are remote more often than not.
You may also want to employ situational leadership, which alters your management approach based on certain individuals, their personalities, their work ethic, and their expertise. Experiment to some degree, but avoid the temptation to do a total overhaul. Your employees know your approach to the workplace outside of a hybrid arrangement, so don’t startle them with an all-new management style.
Stick with what works to successfully overcome the challenges of managing a hybrid team
Even with the challenges posed by managing a hybrid team, success isn’t as far off as it seems. Sure, you need to make adjustments on the fly and tackle challenges head-on. But this couples with a simple mentality: stick with what works.
While volatility, challenging one-off scenarios, and minor crises will persist throughout your time as a manager, don’t alter your system completely. The ability to alter your management plans and strategy is your prerogative but don’t overdo it or burn yourself out. Trust in yourself, your team, and the keys to overcoming challenges to build the basis for success.
Challenges are just a way of testing character. Armed with the right ideas and trusting your instinct are just two ways to persevere. So shed the uncertainty and the trepidation. Your success depends on it.
Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels
The digital workplace is rife with the “hybrid” buzzword. Everyone’s going hybrid, including your organization.
While hybrid schedules and hybrid policies are important, where the rubber really meets the road is around managing a hybrid team.
Team leads are the ones who feel the changes the most. Even if they agree that workplace flexibility is worth it, they now have to be both a great in-person manager and remote manager…AT THE SAME TIME.
Are you ready to hold hybrid meetings? Have you shifted how you track team progress? Are you constantly rearranging your calendar and trying to find the right sized space to work? How do you balance the needs of your social extroverts with the I-never-want-to-wear-pants-again crowd? Are you able to maintain employee freedom and autonomy while still reaching KPIs and goals?
With these and many more questions to answer, you’re probably feeling lost or at your wit’s end. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Managing a hybrid team takes pride; it takes finesse. But most of all, it takes a manager willing to admit fault and become the beacon of hope and leadership that propels a company or team to success.
So whether you’re tail-between-the-legs or on the cusp of losing your mind, find out what the challenges of managing a hybrid team are and how to overcome them.
Challenges of managing a hybrid team and how you can fix them
The odd thing about the challenges of managing a hybrid team is that the problems — at least at the core — are similar and yet wholly dissimilar to issues you would find in the office or in 100% remote work. The only change is how you handle them. So while these challenges may seem oddly familiar, the key is to pivot to solutions that more broadly fit a hybrid work arrangement.
1. Productivity
In an office environment, productivity is part of a well-oiled machine. We get used to monitoring activity and workload simply by standing up and taking a quick glance at the level of concentration. Or, you can call a quick meeting instantly and everyone is there.
On a hybrid team, you have no such luck. You’re floundering between a virtual world and a real world that rarely intersect. It’s like the Venn diagram of two circles that only touch on a tangent. Therefore, productivity can lag without a cohesive vision or communication.
Solution: Move all your productivity metrics to a digital platform
The question, “Are we achieving our goals?” should not be answered by a random role call. Instead, you should have a digital scoreboard that everyone has instant access to. It should include your leading and lagging indicators and success stories.
2. Collaboration
In the office, collaboration is as quick as turning your chair around and yelling a question out loud. In fully distributed teams, all collaboration happens on digital platforms.
On hybrid teams, you have both going on. Which means you have some meetings that get recorded and some that don’t. You have some conversations that leave a digital paper trail, and some that don’t. Some discussions include everyone, and some don’t.
Solution: Be digital-first, and strategic about your in-person collaboration
Hybrid teams need to have a digital-first approach to collaboration. That means that most conversations should be on digital platforms and accessible to all. You have to address the core remote communication challenges of fidelity, durability, responsiveness, and access.
Also, improve your digital meeting game.
Since hybrid teams also have regular in-person gatherings, be very intentional about those times. Use them for things that are very hard to do digitally such as relationship building and informal leadership development.
3. Culture
A hybrid team doesn’t necessarily manifest itself into culture shock, but keeping an inclusive and diverse culture becomes increasingly difficult. The biggest mistake that managers of newly formed hybrid teams make is trying to become everything to everyone. By doing so, your plan for hybrid work culture has the opposite effect. No one feels like they fit in and some may even feel alienated.
Clinging to indoctrinated ideas from the office or a remote workplace can further the downward spiral of culture in the hybrid workplace.
Solution: Let your hybrid culture evolve naturally with a tailored approach
Some things are out of your control, be it personally or professionally. But letting go of the reins and simply allowing a situation to play out is often the best move. Constant control only leads to stress.
If you have the right staff — especially a team that doesn’t require constant supervision — you’re in a unique spot to let your hybrid culture evolve of its own volition. You only need to swoop in when things get messy, people seem lost, or you see a significant dropoff in productivity or morale. Sometimes, less is more.
Take the additional step of being aware of proximity bias, which is the unconscious act of showing favoritism toward certain workers, typically those with you in the office. Make reasonable accommodations to all your workers, whether they’re at home or in the office. Always think “access equals opportunity” and you should be able to keep proximity bias at bay.
4. Faltering leadership
Not everyone can have a Lincolnesque level of leadership in the hybrid workplace. It’s extrinsic and far from innate. But this shouldn’t upset you. Leadership is often an acquired skill that takes years to fine-tune and perfect. And when you add in a hybrid work arrangement, you’ve created another variable that can impact your ability to lead.
The hybrid workplace also lessens your ability to read body language and rely on person-to-person cues. This creates a situation where you’re running on instinct, regardless of whether that instinct is correct or not.
Solution: Switch it up
A unidimensional approach to leadership in the hybrid workplace isn’t going to work in most cases. You need to make adjustments as you go. While this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change your entire leadership style, it does means that you should add a certain level of flexibility.
The best way to approach leadership in the hybrid workplace is to make the most of your time with people in the office. Eat lunch together, learn about their families and interests, and build a rapport — especially with employees who are remote more often than not.
You may also want to employ situational leadership, which alters your management approach based on certain individuals, their personalities, their work ethic, and their expertise. Experiment to some degree, but avoid the temptation to do a total overhaul. Your employees know your approach to the workplace outside of a hybrid arrangement, so don’t startle them with an all-new management style.
Stick with what works to successfully overcome the challenges of managing a hybrid team
Even with the challenges posed by managing a hybrid team, success isn’t as far off as it seems. Sure, you need to make adjustments on the fly and tackle challenges head-on. But this couples with a simple mentality: stick with what works.
While volatility, challenging one-off scenarios, and minor crises will persist throughout your time as a manager, don’t alter your system completely. The ability to alter your management plans and strategy is your prerogative but don’t overdo it or burn yourself out. Trust in yourself, your team, and the keys to overcoming challenges to build the basis for success.
Challenges are just a way of testing character. Armed with the right ideas and trusting your instinct are just two ways to persevere. So shed the uncertainty and the trepidation. Your success depends on it.
Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels
