How to lead talent in a hybrid work team

The appearance of hybrid work models, which combine remote and face-to-face working, has been a major challenge for many organizations, especially in terms of technology, talent management, and team leadership. Fostering multidisciplinary teams, empowering different professionals, building lasting and quality relationships, managing uncertainty, and keeping teams connected despite the distance are just some of the challenges facing today’s business world.

At Esade, we take an in-depth look at what a leader managing hybrid working teams should be like (i.e., what their key competencies should be), and we provide some talent management strategies to optimize the hybrid work experience. Renew or die.

What is hybrid leadership?

Hybrid leadership, also known as blended leadership, is the quality of team leaders to manage both face-to-face and virtual environments.

The difference compared with other traditional management styles does not come so much from the new skills of the person in charge, but for the key importance of its role in fostering team cohesion. In this sense, the leader must manage teams by promoting human connection and the management of digital tools, while encouraging the workforce’s sense of community and emotional security.

Managing and leading hybrid work teams: what to consider

We can say that most of today’s companies have different workforce models or realities: employees who work exclusively remotely, others who juggle both remote working days and physical office locations, as well as professionals who combine with flexibility both modes.

This new labor scenario demands a specific profile of people leadership and team management that adapts communication flows to the new rules, ensures that teams remain coordinated and connected and, at the same time, keeps professionals aligned with the business strategy. Let’s see how this is achieved.

How to lead successfully a hybrid work environment

We highlight 5 key competencies that any team leader will need to put into practice to ensure that the hybrid working model runs without a hitch:

1. Define the tasks, goals, and the environment in which they will be carried out. One of the first functions of a hybrid team leader is to specify the different types of tasks that will be part of the work routine, to set goals that can be achieved in optimal time frames, to assign responsibilities and, of course, to determine what will be done face-to-face and what remotely.
   
   The key? Organizing all teams responsibly, assertively, and transparently to establish absolute credibility in the strategy and business actions implemented. And, of course, establishing regular productive meetings with employees to assess results and promote two-way communication.
2. Discover what workers need, especially remote workers. A good hybrid work team leader will develop their leadership skills in an egalitarian way, so that no employee feels excluded and disconnected. And this is often the case with remote workers. The leader should endeavor to empathize with their needs (emotional, training, or resource needs) to optimize their remote working experience.
3. Master the technological tools to manage communication flows. It is essential that managers, in today’s online and offline reality, know when and how to use digital platforms to collaborate with the team: video conferencing, Trello, Toggl, Teams, Slack and others. They should also stipulate the occasions when a face-to-face meeting is preferred. Plus, as in any work model, the manager must be available and committed to the workforce, but without being perceived as controlling or authoritarian.
4. Trust and empower the hybrid team. Building mutual trust within coworkers in a hybrid working environment is difficult, but losing trust is easy. This is one of the major disadvantages of the hybrid working model. But it is what distinguishes a good CEO. To this end, it is vital to encourage professional “co-responsibility” and to create spaces that facilitate effective management of this.
5. Build and foster relationships among the hybrid team. In a hybrid format, it becomes more challenging for relationships between employees to develop naturally. Leaders will be responsible for creating a sense of community and team spirit, and encouraging informal contact via internal communication events. For example, through team building activities. Ultimately, the manager should offer an alternative to the unintentional social function of the water cooler found in a traditional office. It’s a whole big thing.

There is not a unique ideal type of leader, since management styles vary from person to person and from company to company. But one thing is clear: bad leaders are one of the main reasons why workers leave their jobs. Here are the different types of leadership in business and everything you need to know about educational leadership.

3 strategies for managing human talent in a hybrid team

Here are some of the strategies that hybrid companies should consider when attracting or retaining human talent. Take note.

• Flexibility. Something essential in a hybrid model is that employees meet their strategic goals in a timely manner, no matter when and where. In fact, there is now a demand for new alternatives within the already well-known “emotional wage”, which include benefits that are not just about dollars and cents, but concern workers’ personal and family lives. This new working model is therefore believed to promote a better work-life balance for members of the organization.
• Prevent burnout. Burnout is one of the most frequent drawbacks for employees working remotely, whether it is the daily struggle with loneliness, the difficulty of distinguishing between work and personal life, or the lack of self-discipline, among other factors. To avoid this situation, the RRHH of hybrid companies should use a project management program, like LeanKit or Kanbanize, that makes it possible to see each employee’s workload and define and control timings and deadlines to do different tasks, in addition to other communication and motivational actions like bonuses or commissions, employee of the month, monthly challenges, promotions, etc.
• Talent development programs. Employees who work mainly or fully remotely tend to feel that they have les promotion and training opportunities. To manage talent in a hybrid organization in the best possible way, employees should be supported with talent development programs such as training seminars, mentoring, coaching sessions, or other special projects.

Are you interested in digital transformation programs? And for female managers, we recommend this program that will help you to successfully lead your organization and teams. We look forward to seeing you at Esade.