3 tips for leading hybrid groups

Hybrid. It means ‘composite’ or ‘cross’. And the locations of people in this new world of work can certainly create a mix or cross of several things. 

Some people continue to work from home. 
Some are on site or on location with clients or suppliers. 
Others are in offices or shared working spaces. 
Some are mobile. 

And it will change. 

Here are just 3 of the many things to consider when leading a team and working hybrid:

▫️Who’s here ... who’s there. 
Know where people are located. And continue to call them by their name, not by their location. 

▫️Who’s together ... who’s alone 
Know whether people are co-located with others, or working alone. Consider how you’ll encourage greater connection and inclusion among and across the hybrid team. 

▫️On the same page ... on a different page
Identify where people’s thinking is at. Are you aligned and united or is there some work to do to clarify and build understanding?


As we work together in these hybrid ways, new techniques, tools and considerations will help us adapt and do well. 

It’s not easy and it won’t be flawless. 

But it’s worth the persistence for better connections with each other. 

Adapting to hybrid

A Harvard Business Review article ‘How to manage a hybrid team’ reports on what we’re seeing and experiencing: “your team members are likely contending with vastly different situations.”

Beyond just their locations of work, many are adapting to changing situations at home or the office and the more permanent distribution of team members across locations. 

This is the hybrid workforce. HBR suggests we ask: 

➡️ “What is the experience my employees are having at work, and how can I empower them to do the best they can?”

▶️ “What protocols can you put in place to ensure that the employees in the office are in sync with those working from home?”

Given people in your team might be located in different places but still need to be brought together - in meetings and workshops - how will you build empowerment and keep things in sync? 

Tips include : 
- beware of an ‘us vs them’ situation 
- be clear, inclusive and flexible
- know it’s not easy and will take some adjustment for all parties. 

For those who are new to this, be open to learning and experimenting, knowing that perfection isn’t possible, but progress certainly is. 

Why the rush to simplicity

When things are messy, challenging or difficult, we can be impatient to make it all simple so we can tick it off and move on. It happens in meetings and workshops when the leader - meaning well, doing their best - takes what someone has said and simplifies it down to one big simple word.

The leader responds, ‘oh right, so what you’re talking about is < simple, big category word like productivity, strategy, collaboration>‘.

’No’, the person may say, that’s not quite what they were saying. Their contribution or explanation gets distilled so far ... pushed ahead to a single word, for the sake of simplicity.

But it could be too simple.

It’s like that exercise some people run in workshops: ‘What’s ONE WORD to describe today’s workshop/conference/meeting?’

Why the limit to one? One word may be easy, quick and controlling for you to put on people but it’s less effective for engagement, sensemaking and meaning making.

We may distill so far that the deeper (and intended) meaning vanishes, evaporates and is lost. Beware that by stripping things away to make it easier for you, may make contributions so vanilla... there’s no vanilla left.

Focused on the technology or the humanity

As we adapt to leading and working in some new and different ways, don’t lose sight that we are still leading and working with humans, people.

We might be learning new apps, systems and tools and discovering which button does what, or what the best features of the app are, but remember there are people there, wanting to connect and contribute.

Focus on the people. And allow time for it. Ask them questions. Seek their responses. Gain their participation and contribution. Validate their views and opinions.

Yes, the apps and tech may be new to us, and we may be distracted by these bright shiny objects, trying to learn them and be (perfectly) proficient with them. And yes, maybe we need the tech to help us do the task or job better ... you know, perfectly.

But the human connections you make with the other humans matter more than pursuing the perfect tech. Remember to ... Focus on the people. Look at their faces. Listen to their suggestions. Ask them more about their thoughts. See more of our humanity.

The more you talk, the less they can

The balance of participation in a meeting or workshop is curious to observe. The more you talk, the less they can contribute.

Have you asked a question? Did you acknowledge the response? Or did you just keep talking?

The space between when you stop talking ... and they start talking ... is known as ‘exchange time’. Is there an actual space there or are the usual voices picking up after each other? Can anyone break in to the conversation to add their comment?

I’ve been randomly measuring and observing exchange time in most of the online meetings and sessions I’ve been in over recent weeks - as both a session participant and a session leader.

When the topic engages and rapid comments come, exchange time shortens. It’s harder to add to the conversation. When two people are in conversation, exchange time can’t even be counted sometimes because the space is so thin. It’s impossible to find the gap. So it’s easier to just observe, to wait them out.

Disengagement and distraction are appealing. What do you deliberately do, to get the input and participation of people? Waiting for them to jump in is not a strategy.

Too often there is simply no space.