By Kevin Eikenberry
Everyone has an opinion about hybrid teams, and they aren’t all the same. Some people love the approach while others prefer to be in the office every day. Then there are those who prefer to only come in for (very) special events. Yet regardless of how we feel—and whether we call hybrid work a compromise or an edict—we need this working arrangement to be successful.
In our work with leaders and teams around the world, we have identified the single biggest key to hybrid team success. It is simple and almost obvious, but it is often missed because of the deeply held feeling people have about the arrangement itself.
What is the key? Different environments require different work.
In other words, the nature and routines of the work for the individual and the group need to be different when we are together versus when we are not.
How to leverage the working environment
One of the complaints I have heard from people is, “At home, I put on my headphones and get to work. Why do I need to come to the office to do the same thing?”
If people are going to treat each workday exactly the same way, they are right—why would we come together? But remember what was lost and what people missed when everyone was sent to work from home?
It’s common to find people who missed:
In-person gatherings
Collaborative conversations
Lunch and coffee time for relationship-building
The ability to ask a question without feeling like they were bothering people
The ability to get away from a screen
Knowing that, make sure you are doing those things now when you are in physical proximity.
Use the in-office days to:
Hold more meetings
Create more informal gatherings
Focus on relationship-building
Engage in side-by-side training and mentoring
You get the idea—you can add to this list for your unique situation. In short, use the in-office, in-person days to your (and everyone’s) benefit.
However, the opposite is also true. When possible, allow people on their work-from-home days to:
Complete more project work
Do more heads-down focus work
Have fewer meetings
Rely less on messaging and email, if possible
In the best case, when people can work from home with fewer distractions, they can get more done, so help each other minimize distractions when possible.
Make it cultural
While individuals can, with this new perspective, make some of these changes individually, the greatest power comes when you implement these ideas across the team or organization. As a leader, share this big key to hybrid team success, and then let the team brainstorm specific ideas and agreements to make this most effective in your situation.
Once everyone sees the value and comes to an agreement on how to operationalize it, the benefits will increase. Not only will you enjoy increased productivity, but you will start to settle people into the new normal of hybrid work, perhaps even helping those who like it the least see greater value in this working approach.
Go first
While the big idea here applies to everyone, if we want our teams to maximize productivity and results wherever they are working, we need to go first. Try new routines for yourself. Schedule your one-on-ones in person whenever possible. Make sure you are spending time on relationship-building when you see people in person. It isn’t because these things can’t happen virtually, but because they can happen better in person. These are perfect examples of using the work environment to our advantage.
When you set the example, you will be a better advocate for the suggestions here and will let people see that some changes can give us better results.
And …
Yes, not all hybrid environments are the same. In some cases, not everyone is ever all together on the same days. In our experience, though, the advice shared above still applies to both individuals and the group. Look for ways to leverage time together and apart for maximum productivity and collaboration. As a leader, you can guide and facilitate the conversations that will help your team find ways to use each work environment to its maximum benefit.
Kevin is the chief potential officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a leadership and learning consulting company helping organizations, teams and individuals reach their potential since 1993, and the cofounder of The Remote Leadership Institute, formed in 2014. Kevin’s specialties include leadership, remote/hybrid work, teams and teamwork, organizational culture, facilitating change, organizational learning and more. He is the bestselling author of several books and hosts The Remarkable Leadership Podcast.
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