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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An appreciation of credibility can deepen when comparing it to watching television. Relaxing in front of a television while noticing the actor’s mouth is moving yet the words are heard 2 seconds later is enough to make me jump out of my chair and turn the set off; it’s just not serving in the way I expect it to. Similarly, when the opposite occurs with visual and the audio being in sync, I trust the television unit, the actors, the show and all that it encompasses.  The former example is fraught with a lack of credibility, yet the latter exudes credibility.

According to Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, co-authors of The Leadership Challenge®, as the world falls deeper into economic downturns and conflicts, as communities become more heatedly partisan and as many workplaces show growing signs of disengagement, issues of credibility remain front and central.

 Credibility is the currency of effective leadership. Currencies stay strong when the market is active, the environment is robust, and the people are confident. Currencies weaken when the market weakens, becomes inconsistent and people have no idea what the future holds. In times of turbulence and change, leaders create psychological safety, wellness and stability through the virtue of credibility.

Ponder:

1. When have you said one thing, and done another?
2. Why did you feel that was acceptable? (Remember: others deposit or withdraw from their ‘trust’ account based on your actions)
3. On a daily basis, how often do you check your ‘credibility balance’, and if decreasing, how proactive are you in turning that around?

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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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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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When people work through challenge, they are commonly at their personal best having to redesign, recalibrate and reposition. Leaders live in this space and accordingly develop new ideas and approaches which create hope thereby convincing others to willingly follow.

Ahmed, Bob, Sally and Efran are all potential buyers with four distinct and different needs. Kouzes’ and Posner’s acclaimed leadership research has now been extended into the realm of sales affirming that buyers definitely want sellers to stop selling and start leading. Could Ahmed, Bob, Sally and Efran each have just the challenge upon which a seller could practice his leadership skills, converting each one into a personal best sales situation?

The book ‘Stop Selling and Start Leading‘ states: ‘Seller Stories about their personal best include leadership behaviors that buyers desire, but sellers did not attribute their success to these behaviors. Instead, more than 75% of sellers linked their success to persistence’. When will the ‘push philosophy of show up and throw up’ approach finally succumb to the value of a relationship where people shall willingly follow a salesperson to a new product experience? New research from Jim Kouzes, Barry Posner and Deb Calvert clearly states that extraordinary sales results will be achieved if the seller leads a customer experience.

This could appear differently for each of our customers. Ahmed wants to feel a commonality in beliefs with the seller so he feels to be in safe hands, hands which will genuinely care and protect. Humans respond to emotional connection. Bob needs to know that ‘it’ can be done better and faster, hoping for more efficiency and less time-wasting. He wants his experience to include a compelling image of what a future with higher efficiency would look like from the seller’s point of view so Bob can decide to embed himself in that picture, or not. Sally has jumped into that picture as she’s excited by the picture of efficiency but needs to know how to make that happen. She is willing to partner with the seller to match her desired outcomes with new ideas and even slow and steady implementations to ensure the new product suits her need entirely, encouraging small wins. Efran has completely different skill levels with the product and lack confidence to operate it, and looks to the seller to collaborate with her until she herself has the confidence and competence to take it over. And through it all, a trusting community spirit is emerging and strengthening all.

This is leadership in action during sales interactions. Sales professionals feel a sense of contribution to a higher purpose of leading the customer to a whole new level and the buyer is proud and dignified in the moment. What is in that process not to trust? Stop selling and start leading, the results will speak for themselves. Sellers who lead are leaders who sell.

Debbie Nicol, owner and managing director of ‘business en motion’ and a Certified Master of The Leadership Challenge, moves businesses and leaders through change. She specializes in change, leadership, performance and organizational cultures through the services of solutions, learning and coaching.

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When leaders are working with their people, fostering collaboration and strengthening competence and confidence, pride, passion and engagement will be the return on a leader’s investment. Does this take time? Sure it does! Does this take effort? Sure it does! Was Rome built in a day? Was Rome built by one person?

Once a strong relationship exists between the one who aspires to lead and others who choose to follow, insights about each person’s reality will exist, providing knowledge of how much challenge or direction each needs, how far each wishes to stretch and what time span each can endure.

Just imagine you are ready to lead a team along a sandy patch. One of your team is in a wheel chair, one has no shoes, one has a fear of sand and yet another is a professional desert runner. Some may want more information than others, some may prefer pre-training on a different surface, some may wish to be physically helped while others may simply ask for freedom to find their own way. Leaders who provide choice to their team members influence the pride people report back. With each wishing to reach the end of the path, a leader willingly finds different ways to reduce anxiety for some and boredom for others, to stretch each just beyond their comfort zone and build their willingness to go beyond the track ‘tomorrow’, facilitating pride and passion.

‘When leaders enable others to act, team members are more than 30% more engaged in their workplaces,’ report Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, while also vastly increasing levels of employee pride. Show me a leader who would not want that!

View supporting data on slide 9

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