Are Your New Leaders Prepared to Lead Hybrid Teams?

by Kevin Eikenberry

Most often on this blog you read about tips and ideas for new and front-line leaders – people in the role of supervision and leadership after the move from bud to boss.  This post takes a different approach, focusing more on the organizational view.  If you are an individual leader thinking about your ability to be successful in hybrid team leadership, keep reading – and share it with others in your organization who you would like to influence!

Leading is hard.

Leading for the first time is the hardest transition of our careers.

And leading in a changing world of work (including hybrid team leadership) is harder yet.

As an organization have you assessed your leaders (including your new and front-line leaders) for the skills they will need in the future workplace?

While I don’t know if you have announced your future working arrangements, have implemented them, or are on hold in implementing them. Regardless of where you are, now is the time to think about that important question. 

How to Do To It

Organizationally, if you already have a process for assessing leadership skill needs, just add any specific hybrid team leadership nuances in your setting to that process.  If you don’t have a process, the first step would be to decide how much time/resources/expertise you have to put into this effort. Here are some simple ways to better understand the needs:

• Survey your leaders for their current challenges and issues
• Look for clues in your existing data – employee engagement, exit interviews, employee retention/turnover stats
• Have some focus groups of employees or leaders to talk about what they need moving forward.
• Talk with Senior Leadership about their expectations of leaders in the future and take that into account.

If you are thinking about an extensive look at leadership readiness/competency, we would be happy to help (you can email us to start a conversation).  

Once you have identified the gaps in skills, take a look at our Building Effective Hybrid Teams Master Class as it might help you or other leaders in your organization close that gap. 

As you look at the future of work – whether wearing your organizational or personal leadership hat – there is plenty to think about. While hybrid team leadership is an important component, there is plenty to be thinking about as we look to the future.   If you want to be better prepared for the future of work and how your organization and team can succeed in it, sign up for our Future of Work Newsletter.  It will help you work and lead more effectively in this new world of work.  Subscribe now for free!