I have a client who loves to work from home and feels quite comfortable managing her leadership team remotely. Another client prefers to be in the office and is much more inclined to have frequent in-person meetings with his leaders. The hybrid workplace can be challenging as different preferences, values, and work styles either help or hinder the ability to have highly effective hybrid teams.
Let’s face it, while many organizations are shifting back to requiring more days (or all days) in the office, it is pretty clear that hybrid working is here to stay. In fact, a 2023 SHRM research report found that, by the year 2025, 82% of businesses are expected to have implemented a hybrid work model.
The most common challenge I hear from leaders and those they lead is how to find ways to build trust and communicate effectively when team members have limited face-to-face time together, may have different work preferences and schedules, and encounter barriers to communication. Here are a few ideas:
- Be intentional about lines of communication – What team agreements have you established around communication? Being clear about modes of communication, response times, out of office protocols, and other guidelines will help to keep communication flowing and overcome barriers. If you use a platform like Slack, Monday.com, Trello, or Asana, make sure everyone is trained on how to use it, has easy access to support, and understands the expectations for use, rules of engagement, and protocols for communicating on the platform.
- Maintain check-ins – It is essential to prioritize regular check-ins, both individual and team, to build trust and have strong communication. Often check-ins consist of project updates, addressing an issue or two, and then you run out of time. That will not build trust or ensure strong communication. Instead, have regular check-ins that are only about building the relationship, sharing two-way feedback about how things are going and how you are working together, and elevating any issues that need attention. Check-ins are not nice-to-haves that you readily cancel or bump for other things or squeeze into 15-minute time slots. They are an essential part of building trust.
- Increase transparency – In reviewing 360 feedback for my clients or employee opinion survey data, I often see transparency (or lack thereof) as one of the top issues that arise. Transparency is one of the key drivers of trust. Team updates and check-ins serve to keep everyone in the loop. They also help to ensure that team members understand how their work relates to that of others, creates opportunities for collaboration, and promotes innovative problem-solving. As a leader, sharing both the successes and challenges you, the team, and the organization face promotes transparency, builds trust, and encourages team members to share their challenges and take risks.
When team members trust each other, they are more likely to work together effectively and support each other. Leaders have the responsibility to model and enable trust – and that’s even more important in our hybrid world of work.
In what ways have you been able to build trust and strong communication in your hybrid workplace?
Please leave a comment.
If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
To work with a coach to help you build the leadership skills necessary for this changing environment, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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