There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to re-evaluate the way they operate. For some, the shift to remote working has been a success, with employees proving that they can be just as productive outside of the office as inside. However, there are also challenges that come with this new way of working, and as we enter a new phase of the pandemic, businesses are faced with the question of whether to return to the office or continue with remote working.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, and it will ultimately come down to what works best for your business. However, these factors may influence your decision.

Top 7 Benefits of Hybrid Workplaces

If you are a business leader considering a hybrid workplace, here are the top seven benefits you should know about:

1. Balance / Employee Satisfaction
   Greatly-reduced commuting time provides more time for individual interests and pursuits. Increasing numbers of online collaboration tools pave the way for timely interaction. 
2. Less emphasis on facades
   The status of workwear brands has taken a back seat to the ability to create and produce in a timely fashion.
3. Positive Impact on mental health
   WFH can provide the space many people need during critical times of crises.
4. Increased competitiveness in the talent war
   When flexibility is at the core of organizations, it attracts those who ‘make things happen’ in their own way. They seek empowerment, trust and ownership and are repelled by a supervised timetabled approach. 
5. Increased Productivity
   Less distraction and/or office politics reduces the chance of diluted productivity. 
6. Reduced FFE business costs
   Furniture, fixtures and fittings were previously an essential asset, yet now can be downsized.
7. Shift in operating culture
   Micromanagement is dying a natural demise, paving the way for trust and empowerment

There is an 8^th research-based benefit, ‘hot off the press’ at the time of publishing this blog post, as shared by @Siobhan Morrin, Editor of LinkedIN, July 2022. Morrin quotes research from Stanford University: 

“Hybrid work arrangements make people less likely to quit, research shows. Nicholas Bloom, remote work expert at Stanford University in the US, says quit rates are down and satisfaction is higher at a range of global firms that offer hybrid work options, with attrition falling 35% at one tech firm. Surveys have shown that workers prefer hybrid work, citing benefits such as less frequent commuting and better work-life balance. It’s these advantages that lead Bloom to believe hybrid work will thrive, even in the face of economic downturn.“

CHALLENGES FOR HYBRID WORKPLACES

Challenges always accompany any major change: resistance to change, changing structure, resourcing and policy requirements, the need for ever-evolving training and support, along with the probability of unforeseen problems and reactions. These ‘mountains’ have been climbed in many differing change contexts previously, and therefore will also be able to be navigated for the ‘to hybrid or not to hybrid’ argument with a little thinking, exploring and planning. There’s absolutely no reason these challenges should become insurmountable barriers for this current ‘hybrid’ issue.

The bottom line is that the decision to move to a hybrid workplace is not one to be taken lightly. It’s a complex challenge that requires careful planning, thoughtful execution, and – perhaps most importantly – strong leadership that allows people their freedom, and moment to shine. Are you up for the task?

We help organizations build their hybrid workplace

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What if we had leadership-at-all-levels of organizations? What if everyone took steps to change what is no longer serving?

If this really was the reality of the workplace, we would surely have living and breathing organizations, evolving continuously with the help of all. 

What is needed for that to happen?

Connection

Connection breeds productivity. In healthy organizations, connection is evident in the relationships between people, a need to work at personal bests, a desire for progress, active and authentic inclusion of all stakeholders, one shared focus and loads of stories that demonstrate contribution to 

Sound like utopia? Not really.

It can exist, with:

• Ownership

Ownership is the outcome of involvement. Involvement breeds trust, belief and commonality. Great leaders nurture this from the outset.

• Environment

Common languages, behaviors and expectations are at the core of inspiring work environments. They encourage an appreciation of ‘if I do this, what will it impact’, enabling all into a heightened state of intention and awareness.

• Co-Focus

Efforts and stories revolve around the same exciting future, one that brings hope.

People are crying out for more connection in the workplace; it’s the antithesis of a legacy where working in isolation prevails, a win vs lose attitude exists, hierarchies that reward few both thrives and separates the masses while #mediocrity rules. 

It’s the only way to move beyond a group of disparate individuals to a co-joined, self-correcting, relevant and ever-changing entity.

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1. Organizational Culture

Imagine a day when your leader announces a major change to take place on Monday. You had no prior knowledge, you received no further detail, you had not been involved in the discussions and decisions leading up to this moment. The desired outcome and indicators of success have not been mentioned. You have no access to the reasons why the change is happening, nor what will be required of you. Due to this reality, it is likely your confidence levels would decrease when it comes to leading others through the change.

Organizational Culture can be a great source of resistance if this description typifies the way a company operates, and seems beyond the sphere of influence of middle managers.

2. Lack of Awareness and Knowledge about the Change

Adults are babies in big bodies. We know that a child will always ask ‘why’; so too an adult, as this provides the reasons for the need to change and also the consequences of not changing. Through receiving that information, a middle manager would also understand more about the nature of the change. Yet, even with Awareness (the ‘why’ of change), there is still a need for greater depth to Knowledge (the ‘how to’ of change). 

• Imagine a Chef who has been told to change the pie menu, yet not given the recipe nor an understanding of why the prior item is ‘off the menu’.
• Imagine an Accountant who has been informed by the CFO the accounting system is currently outdated and must change, yet provided no insights into its failings and what is required to close the gaps.
• Imagine the IT Officer’s app has just been scrapped, with no reasons being shared, and no idea or direction as to how to evolve to a higher standard.
• Imagine the HR Officer receiving a directive to change the company’s uniform with no understanding of the what, why or new priorities.

The ‘why’ and ‘how to’ of change is imperative for a middle manager as it will fill in the blanks, opening the pathway to clarity, and further action.

Lack of Buy-In

We’re back to middle managers being real people, with real human needs first and foremost. You are a real person too, and consciously or unconsciously filter any change requests through your values, opinions, background experiences, history and credibility of the sender, and the list goes on. When something does not align to your realm of reality, why would you accept to adopt any change?

A middle manager is almost superhuman, stuck between those above (often out of touch with what’s really happening on the ground) and those below (who depend heavily on the one closest to them for support). Being there for both parties is a balancing act for any middle manager – how long could you continue to serve all those around you, compromising the very core of what matters most to yourself? 

Many moons ago, my mentor taught me to behold resistance, grab it and serve it; after all, it is only showing up to be heard. It simply wants attention, answers and opportunity for  alignment. 

If you lead a middle manager:

• Anticipate, and provide for the needs of the manager during change, before resistance shows up.
• Provide the what, why and how of change, so the puzzle is as complete as possible. 
• Allow time for the manager to process and explore the WIFM (What’s In It For Me) factor.
• Walk alongside the middle manager during change, providing consistent and relevant support.

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Leaders are always curios about the need for Change Management. To appreciate the below insights, it would help to have full understanding of what Change Management is. 

• According to Prosci®, on a project level, Change Management is the application of a structured process and set of tools to achieve a desired outcome. On an enterprise level, Change Management is a leadership competency and strategic enabler. 
• According to APMG®, Change Management is an emergent profession and organizational capability. It is a business discipline focused on navigating change by exploring key questions which will influence the adoption and acceptance of change.
• According to a mentor, Change Management is a business profession that impacts business as usual.

Why structured?

• Structure holds things together. It provides strength. It arranges positioning for all elements to excel. 

Why a set of tools?

• Tools build items which cannot otherwise exist. Tools enable action. 

Why desired outcomes?

• Desired outcomes are what we aim for. They provide direction and make us feel great once reached. Desired outcomes are best when tangible and measurable.

Why 'the people side of things'?

• People are not machines that can be programmed, but rather are bodies of emotions that will create willingness and desire against their own criteria.

Why a competency? 

• Competencies provide evidence of performance, with strong capability, belief and conviction.

Why a business discipline?

• Discipline maintains consistency, demonstrating a degree of conviction to action. Business disciplines provide efficiency and effectiveness. In the case of change, this translates into 'faster and better' adoption of usage.

Is the need now clear? Without structure to hold change up or connect its elements, without tools to enable change, without desired outcomes setting a clear set of priorities, without discipline and conviction, people can and will take different paths, hold different priorities, work in different ways and drive the organization towards different destinations.

Any and all successful change outcomes are linked to a dependency on people’s adoption and usage. How does your P&L line reflect your need and priority for Change Management? How can your leadership survive without its capability?

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Refreshingly-retro or adaptively-now? We say ‘both’.  Engaging intention or intriguingly-impactful? We say ‘both’.  

The Leadership Challenge® Suite leads in so many ways, through equally as many channels. Workshops are just one of many – what! In 2022, still a workshop! Oh yes indeed, workshops with a difference; we keep them relevant for today’s 70-20-10 learning rule.

Imagine the difference in ‘adaptively-now’, ‘intriguingly-impactful’ workshops. Embedding the 20 into the workshop suite, the social learning, the social media, the social experience, the social communities, the social support groups, the social networking, alongside the 70 of experiential reality, team and relationship application and solution-making makes for a winning combo in 2022.

The Leadership Challenge® Workshop, facilitated by Certified Master, Debbie Nicol

• astoundingly simple to apply the practices and behaviors
• meet yourself from where you are
• data-driven information steers your decisions
• highly dynamic and interactive, online or face-to-face  

The Leadership Challenge® Facilitator Workshop, facilitated by Certified Master, Debbie Nicol

• co-creating resources and pathways that suit differing needs
• find yourself in the methodology, while becoming the methodology
• emerge ‘with title’, while understanding the responsibility you now carry
• create the future with others; digitalize the experience 

The LPI® Coach Training Workshop, facilitated by Certified Master, Debbie Nicol

• short, sharp, indisputable results
• correlations for depth
• a toolbox for coaching

Be the change that keeps workshops (in any format, in any structure, using any mode) alive, dynamic and relevant. Is that your challenge – your leadership challenge?

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Have you ever…

• Had a conference participant unable to write key points on a chart during a meeting?
  • We have!
    • He had not physically written for many years; keyboard strokes are the only language he ‘speaks’ right now.
• Had a person convince you to employ them through providing a business case, with an invitation to you to mold it as desired?
  • We have!
    • They knew exactly how their portfolio of skills would benefit as a step to their next accomplishment
• Spent time with a mind you don’t understand initially, only to discover it has a super-power that would bring such value to existing resources?
  • We have!
    • We continue to seek more perspectives as an avenue to open our own mind wider.

 …..and that’s why we surround ourselves with this new generation. We learn so much from them! As we move businesses and leaders ahead through change, they equally lead us, ourselves, through change. This allows us to co-create, fully, together, alongside difference.

•  Who are you surrounding yourself with currently?

• Who else would you like to be surrounded by?
• How will you attract that into your business ecosystem?

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Research by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner branded as The Leadership Challenge® indicates that everyone can be a leader. It’s not about whether you were born or made a leader, but rather leadership is about ‘what you do with what you have’.

Let’s dig further into those words: ‘it’s what you do with what you have’. Whether you have an abundance or lack of resources, both can be used or applied. Let’s drill down into the word ‘resources’, as that often is interpreted as purchasable items. Could resources also be ‘˜ideas’, those little nudges I call life force that pop into your mind when you least expect them? What do you do with those – jump into action (make that call, read that book, speak to that person) to use those ideas or let them fade away and become forgotten? Could resources also be your personality or behavioral preferences. What do you do with those- use them to their fullest allowing them to bring results for your desired outcomes? Could resources also include the dreams that will offer more hope than the reality you currently face? What do you do with those – see them as something to wait for, or opportunities to step into?

Let’s take a practical example where success has come from taking the first step, any step into an unknown because you believe in a change, yet have no idea how to make it happen.
Rania desperately watched on as her company colleagues were handed redundancies in waves of 100’s. It was unacceptable to her to see the damage this caused, seeing people no longer wanting to get out of bed and falling into the depths of depression. While understanding that when a company met economic hardship there really was no other option, she also believed fervently that everyone deserved hope in their life. She intended to reconnect these people to hope even though she had absolutely no idea how to achieve that. So, she simply took a step, just one step, by picking up her phone and sending an SOS message out to anyone in her phone list. She asked everyone to consider what they may be able to offer that might give these people hope. She then put down the phone and walked away. Within minutes the messages started flowing in from consultants, coaches, and trainers, offering free-of-charge motivational talks, webinars, techniques. Rania then set up a timetable and infrastructure from which these people could serve.

Was Rania a leader – you bet! She’s an ordinary person who has made a difference to thousands of people, by taking one step into the unknown because it was just unacceptable any other way. It was the choice to take a step which made the difference.
Nothing in the leadership research cited above hints that leaders should be perfect. Leaders are not saints. They are human beings full of flaws and failings, and make mistakes too. Yet the key is their intention for greater hope and a better world, be that in a household, in the community, in the organization or in the country. They are real people like you and me doing something with whatever it is they have. Does that present any opportunity for you?

Debbie Nicol, MD of ‘business en motion’, a business consultancy and learning organization moves businesses and leaders ahead through change. Operating across the GCC for over 15 years, she achieves this through the services of training, coaching and solutions services, specializing in strategy, leadership and change.

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By writing these words, the floodgates on ‘memorable facilitation experiences’ has indeed opened. Ahh, the impact from covering the 600-wide audience with a physical substitute for the ‘workplace glass ceiling’ (fabulous experience yet logistical nightmare!), uggh, the loss of voice throughout the global rollout, ahh, the thrill of witnessing my alternative learning design result in major aha’s, uugh, the moment the front row audience member had an epileptic fit, ahh, the excitement of converting a hardcore traditional audience into storytellers, uggh the client who monitored every word yet would not facilitate themselves and the list goes on; nothing can derail me as responding to challenges on the spot has become second nature to me.

Additionally, having co-created and co-managed a global online corporate academy involving asynchronous communication now enabling the internal corporate culture, I would classify myself as highly experienced with technologically-driven learning experiences in a Moodle environment. So why, oh why would someone of my capacity be put to the test through COVID- 19 when transitioning my global ‘certified master’ status with the time-tested global The Leadership Challenge Workshop to a Zoom-based, facilitator-led virtual learning experience?

There really are only a finite amount of responses for any unexpected situation that happens in workshops. Physical, socio-economic and emotional missteps may occur with participants and to be honest, while they tend to show up in different ways, many boil down to the commonality of a lack of integration or alignment on either a personal or professional level. Throughout my Zoom-based facilitation within the COVID-lockdowns, there were countless more variables to anticipate and handle, such as psychological, technological and contextual, with much less being within my sphere of influence or my locus of control.

a. Psychological

The space a learner finds themselves in during a face-to-face workshop is somewhat visible, and the more time you mingle over breaks and lunch, the more is exposed. I needed to enter the space of the learner before the online interactions commenced, and understand it intimately. Was there a private area to work from or would there be a likelihood of children ‘bombing’ the class adding a layer of complexity or distraction to the learner. What was the ‘temperature’ of the environment from which the learner would be interacting eg hot due to loss of job or cold due to the level of COVID-based fear? Were there demands on the person regarding time competing for other responsibilities to name but a few. To gain these insights, I set up a one on one personalized chat with each participant prior to the session with surprising results. Feedback indicated they felt comforted that I would know their reality and was willing to cater for their new realities. While from my side this took quite some time, it was an investment I would highly recommend, yet do so with full understanding that other psychological factors could show up at any time.

b. Technological

The virtues of technology are far-reaching, however not as far-reaching as the steps I felt I needed to take to be ‘ahead of it’. What exactly do I mean by that? To roll out the first highly-successful virtual The Leadership Challenge Workshop, a global team of Certified Masters were planning and plotting scenarios for over 8 weeks. The time spent on designing backup tactics, testing and re-testing, adapting exercises to the capability of the technology, ensuring everything would be within the constructs of one seamless platform while well-founded, was disproportionate to the preparation required for a standard iteration of the workshop.

The technology itself was being upgraded at the developer end (no surprizes there in a changing and competitive market) and we had to keep abreast of those regular changes. There was constant analysis for supporting technology: do we invest in this, or go with the free one, what’s the compatibility with our chosen platform with the aids to integrate, when to video and when to not video, how to discover new functionalities and align those to our objectives, how to ensure it displays across all browsers in a similar way, to name just a few. For the ‘man off the street’ or the trainer in a classroom, that’s certainly a lot to work through.

Yet, so too is the task to gain the confidence of audiences to return to public workshops, eat in the restaurants and engage in group work yet again, all through the shroud of a mask.

c. Contextual

I needed to appreciate the context for each learner, such as the level of resourcing. Were they working in a highly resourced area such as three monitors, the ability to print, the experience with the technology, the employer’s restrictions on some workplace restrictions etc? Were they already suffering from Zoom fatigue, having a not-so-welcoming outlook to technology for me to work around? Were they feeling overwhelmed at work with the amount of online meetings?

COVID has gifted us so many lessons in life. In this case, what has evolved for me from transitioning my facilitation into a live, tech-based environment would be the following:

1. Never say never; nothing is impossible; take the first step while relinquishing control, entering a world that’s ready to help you
2. While the transition will take much time and effort, simply consider this as a wise investment that will yield vast returns
3. Whatever is invisible or intangible can have major impact; dig deep into every aspect in order to steer a customized response (relevant to individuals and technology)

So why do these findings excite me? I have a favorite saying: never forget your roots. Regardless of the large variety of experiences my career has given me, I periodically and consciously honor those roots of my original school teaching career, three career phases ago. There is nothing on that above COVID gift-list that wasn’t relevant to the success of my first career all those years ago. They may be dressed differently today, yet as strong foundational keys, they are what allow me to deliver so much value to and with my clients. I was true to those fundamentals then and I remain so today. Perhaps for me, the role of COVID was to reconnect me to my roots, stripping me back to my basics. How about you?

Debbie Nicol, MD of ‘business en motion’, a business consultancy and learning organization moves businesses and leaders ahead through change. Operating across the GCC for over 15 years, she achieves this through the services of training, coaching and solutions services, specializing in strategy, leadership and change.

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The all-time classic song from Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, is likely to feel like a corporate ‘achilles heel’ snapping. Business consortia, owners and teams face unlimited challenges in the path of COVID-19 destruction: diminished demands for previously sought-after products, a lack of essential resources due to a challenged supply chain, a lack of market confidence in the future, essential restructuring and downsizing, restricted social contact to name but a few.

As a consequence, some businesses are simply shutting doors, all but given up hope. Then there’s a rare few which are flying high on the unintentional yet rather fortuitous business proposition COVID afforded to them; take for example those who refit hospitals back into an original hotel state, those who provide elearning infrastructures or those who create retail plastic shields. The bulk of business however is willing to make change, yet are perplexed as to where to start for adaptation in order to survive.

To ‘pivot’ is to twist, turn or even toss in a confined space to result in differing outcomes. Pivoting works with what exists in order to manipulate and maximize. COVID-19 has given business little room to squirm yet much opportunity to pivot. When doing so, the following are key to actions and decisions.

1. COVID-19 has taken business to the edge, the exact space we all need to be, a space the future has been demanding of us for some time yet many feared to go. Picture yourself in a precarious situation, clinging to a cliff face that towers over a deep canyon; it’s here where only two choices exist: do or die. And once you’ve chosen ‘do, any and all action will be powered by urgency, focus and precision. COVID-19 has dragged us all from the plateau of business comfort, that dangerous place with the luxury of time, multiple attempts and unlimited resources. 2020 is no longer a dress rehearsal.
2. This space is a great place to ensure you separate the business issue from the cause of that issue; one is reality and the other generated or revealed the reality. Are you focusing on the issue of portfolio relevancy or the market’s restricted movement, the issue of antiquated systems or the downturn in business, the issue of market opportunity or lack of consumer confidence? This does not have to be a long, drawn-out process yet clarity is vital to allow the result of your plan to serve your pivot point. If an arrow shot from a bow knocks down the haystack, is it the fault of the arrow, or the inefficiency of the haystack’s design? What matters today, right here right now?
3. What do the people who interact with your business need? What’s hidden deep within the capability of your business that might address that? What do you have that can be repurposed, repackaged and introduced to attract attention? What consequences will that attract? Ensure your pivot works with what exists, and the externaI environment is one not to be forgotten or marginalized. If your pivot does not increase demand, you likely repurposed out of alignment with the environment. If there’s no change of behavior within the organization, it’s likely you weren’t surrendering to the new norm. Both simply equate to footsteps on that cliff face creating loose rubble under your feet, a sobering thought indeed.
4. Isolated, all-encompassing expertise was always an illusion in business. Partnerships are vital to enhance your surrounding environment with missing resources or capability. Yet, there’s no room for misaligned or unbalanced reactive partnerships; those will neither sustain nor serve. True business partnerships are so in sync they almost defy the reality of difference while transcending all barriers. The commitment to shared beliefs and goals is so strong that ‘we’ overrides the focus of ‘me’. The more that’s known about partners, the more relationships and business results can prosper. Yet is there time for that now?

Challenge is the crucible of true business leaders. Just as Hans Akerblom, creator of Healon®, the substance that is used even today in cataract surgery, hit his challenge many years ago when the one vital element for a global supply had only one source, that being the one last centimeter of a chicken quill which separates the chicken body’s flesh from the bulk of chicken feathers. Urgency, focus and precision carried Hans to success, a feat which millions of people around the world celebrate even til today.

Crises such as COVID-19 have us all coming face to face with ourselves. We will never be immune to crises in business, and neither should we approach them with an air of invincibility. Rather, as Debbie Nicol, managing director of ‘business en motion’ demonstrates, when a structured thinking and development process is applied to an evolving set of non-negotiables for today’s changing world, struggling business will create a customized option for a pivoted business future. No longer shall the rough waters be troubled but rather rippled from essential adaptation.

Dubai-based business en motion’ moves businesses and leaders ahead through change. It offers business consultancy, learning and coaching services to reconnect people, priorities and results.

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