What does being the leader of a hybrid team have in common with canning fruits and vegetables? They both are excellent ways to preserve things for a long time. They also come with potential problems. Stick with me.

Unseen dangers

When I was a kid, my mother tried canning peaches and making her own pickles. They were okay. Not great, but nobody died from them. It turns out that was a bigger deal than we thought at the time. Poor sealing techniques can mean the food sitting on your shelf that you plan to eat later can develop toxins that will kill you if you’re not careful. One of our neighbors got botulism poisoning from her own canning experiments (and she’s the one who taught my mom! Yikes!).

What does this have to do with leading a remote team? It turns out that one of the most dangerous factors on a team where not everyone has equal physical access to each other is proximity bias.  This is the natural tendency to rely on people who work where you do. Have a question? Turn to the person at the next desk. Need to delegate a task? Alice is in the office more often than not, and you can easily supervise what she’s doing. In many cases, this isn’t a terrible thing.

The unseen dangers of proximity bias

But over time, proximity bias is like botulism:

• It occurs naturally
• It is usually unnoticed until something bad happens
• It even has limited positive uses (ever wonder what the “bo” in botox is?)
• It can be highly toxic

Remember, the tendency to develop closer relationships and rely on those we spend the most time with is a natural behavior. It goes back to caveman days. And it’s a naturally occurring bias in our brains. Proximity bias is the twin sister to affinity bias. We naturally ascribe more positive traits to people who share our interests, backgrounds, and experiences. This isn’t a big deal when asking if someone wants to share a table at lunch. It’s a much bigger deal when it’s time for performance reviews or someone gets to do a project that can impact their career trajectory.

Like botulism, the effects of proximity bias can lay dormant for a long time. If people feel they are not getting the same treatment as their peers it can be corrosive. Over time, they disengage. According to a new study from Gallup, in the book Culture Shock– “an unstoppable force is changing how we work and live.” There were numerous studies on remote and hybrid work work. It turns out the biggest single factor in engaging employees is frequent “meaningful” conversations. These are defined as 15-30 minutes,( usually weekly but it can vary.) These conversations deal with not only task status and updates, but dig deep into how connected and supported people are feeling. These directly impact engagement and motivation.

Proximity bias isn’t all bad…

Proximity bias is not inherently evil. In the short term, sometimes we need tasks done NOW. Sometimes those tasks require supervision or frequent consultation and being in the same place at the same time helps. You just have to be aware of the difference between convenience and willfully excluding others.

…but it can be deadly.

Finally, proximity bias can become toxic. When employees feel that the organization (represented by their manager) favors one group or person over another, they can become frustrated and resentful. Employees who don’t share a workspace with their manager report less frequent feedback, and what they get is far less encouraging and meaningful. Systems that place being in the office and face time with the team over other metrics such as productivity or quality of work, set the stage for disengaged employees and high turnover.

Watch for signs of stress on the team the same way you’d check your food for botulism:

• Inspect the can for bulges, dents, leak or rust. On a team, has gossip increased? Have people quit contributing to meetings or volunteering for projects?
• Check for unusual odors. In this case, has the work and quality of deliverables undergone a noticeable change? You may not know what’s up at first, but it will become more noticeable over time.

If you’re unsure whether you’re exhibiting proximity bias, it doesn’t hurt to ask. You might save your team’s life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wayne Turmel
Co-Founder and Product Line Manager

Wayne Turmel is the co-founder and Product Line Manager for the Remote Leadership Institute. For twenty years he’s been obsessed with helping managers communicate more effectively with their teams, bosses and customers. Wayne is the author of several books that demystify communicating through technology including Meet Like You Mean It – a Leader’s Guide to Painless & Productive Virtual Meetings, 10 Steps to Successful Virtual Presentations and 6 Weeks to a Great Webinar. His work appears frequently in Management-Issues.com.

Wayne, along with Kevin Eikenberry, has co-authored the definitive book on leading remotely, The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership. Wayne and Kevin’s follow-up book, The Long-Distance Teammate, offers a roadmap for success not just for leaders, but for everyone making the transition to working remotely.

The latest book from Wayne and Kevin shows leaders how to design a team culture that has a one-team mindset and gets great results under hybrid-work conditions. You can order The Long-Distance Team: Designing Your Team for Everyone’s Success now.