The epidemic has accelerated the change in the way teams work. Companies and employees have understood that routine tasks of coordination, reporting can be done remotely but team collaboration is best done in-person. This would require a hybrid collaboration with work done both remotely and an occasional in-person meeting.
Leadership requires a different set of skills to manage this hybrid team. It will require leaders who are at ease in both modes. Most of the meetings would be help virtually. This requires establishing goals, ensuring connectivity among members, sustained information sharing, progress monitoring. During in-person meeting leaders should ensure proper coordination and completion of the objectives of the meeting like fostering innovation, team bonding, work-related discussions.
The composition of the team members and the nature of the project will determine how the teams operate. Tasks like reporting, administrative reporting, information sharing, drafting can easily be done virtually. Even training, coaching, briefing sessions can mostly be held virtually. But tasks that require knowledge sharing through discussions, discuss difficult problems, bonding between members, understanding each other properly are best done in-person. Many other team activities like solving complex issues, innovation, reconciling differences and build common culture require in-person meetings. These activities are difficult to perform virtually and it requires in-person discussion for better results. It involves
- Collaboration: This is not only about content coordination but also about building trust and understanding.
- Innovation: This requires brainstorming, learnings that are best conducted in a non-stressful setting and in-person.
- Assimilation: It required extended periods of in-person contact to build trust, understanding and reinforce belief in each other.
- Dedication: Focus on the work by having a shared purpose, part of community and professional growth.
What this means is that the hybrid style of working requires different skills to lead the teams both virtually and in-person. Leaders have to play four different types of roles to adapt to the hybrid working style. The role to be played depends upon the amount of team coordination and integration that exists at the moment.
Conductor
Ensure that the plans, information and decisions are shared among team members achievements are shared to motivate the team. Ensure each member performs individually and as a team. Manage goals, coordination, decision making and track progress. Ensure trust, and engagement is sustained among team members.
Catalyst
A catalyst stimulates collaboration, creativity, and innovation. Build an environment of safety, dedication, and shared culture. Encourage creative conflicts, not personality clashes. The focus is on enabling others to give their best and collaborate with others.
Coach
When working with a person one on one play the role of a coach. Focus on helping people achieve peak performance, peak performance and build trust. It requires an ability to balance between empathy and encouraging people to stretch their limits. Coaching can enhance connections, productivity and engagement.
Champion
While the above characteristics are directed at teams who directly report to the leader, this role requires leaders to promote their teams to external stakeholders. It requires the leader to secure the resources for the team, communicate achievements, build trust with external stakeholders. It requires negotiating and influencing skills without written authority and build alliances.
The main theme is all these roles is building and sustaining connections and trust. Remote work was not new, but very few companies adopted it as there was a lack of trust between the leaders and members. There were also fears that the manager would not be able to monitor the performance.
Leaders must realize that they may need help to support their teams and may require additional training, coaching, or counseling to adapt to the roles required as per the situation. To be successful in the new norm, leaders must switch between various roles based on the requirement to be effective in this hybrid setup.
The Future of Team Leadership Is Multimodal
Robert Hooijberg and Michael Watkins • MITSMR 2021/02
R2G 