Hybrid management: staying effective in the diversity of work styles

«Hybrid management»: this is a term that was barely heard until 2020 and that, in the context of the health crisis, skyrocketed in search engines and sources of interest.

The lockdown in spring 2020 forced companies to reorganize and implement teleworking for a large part of their teams in many sectors of activity. This situation, which was thought to be temporary, now seems to have become entrenched in the ways of working in companies and to be lasting.

Nearly 80% of executives worldwide believe that their company will now organize itself according to a hybrid work model.

International study by the Adecco Group (June 2020)

Managers must now juggle with on-site employees and others working remotely. However, we don't manage things the same way at the office and remotely. Hybrid management imposes new practices and a much higher requirement on managers in their ability to manage: they need to find the subtle balance between autonomy and support, trust and control, in order to maintain the connection and commitment of their teams that have become «hybrid».

Hybrid teams: a sustainable change in working methods

Although the first lockdown took a heavy toll on companies, forcing them to implement teleworking by force, many now admit that the period has enabled them to save several years in setting up a new work organization.

In fact, it is more than likely that teleworking will become permanently ingrained in our professional habits in the long term, with weeks split between home and the office. According to a Study by the Adecco Group In June 2020, 71% of employees in France want more freedom in the way they work and in the choice of their workplace. They believe that a hybrid work model integrating 50% of working remotely and 50% of work on site would be ideal.

However, with employees in the office and others working remotely, it is essential to maintain the connection, not only between hierarchical levels but also among team members. This involves organizing and regularly scheduling meetings. new individual and collective rituals, formal or informal, adapted to this new environment hybrid work. It will also be necessary to choose tools for remote communication adapted and accepted by everyone.

In this new working context, it is essential that the manager can remain attentive and provide regular feedback. feedback, Maintaining cohesion and a climate of trust (pre-requisites essential for engagement), motivating team members and possibly detecting situations of isolation or overwork.

Now, The key challenge is to maintain a strong sense of belonging to the company and a high level of commitment among hybrid teams regardless of the workplace. To succeed in this new challenge, The key to hybrid management lies in the autonomy of employees while at the same time holding them accountable..

Hybrid management: towards the empowerment of teams

To give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, the concept of hybrid management originates from the book «Hybrid management: putting leadership at the service of collective intelligence» by Vincent Lenhardt, who uses it to designate the complementarity between a «classical» management based on delegation and control, and a «new» management based on trust.

However, while this hybrid management model requires a great deal of agility from managers in response to the new flexibility of working modes, it should not be confused with the Agile management which is a codified concept based on the 4 values and 12 principles described in the Agile Manifesto.

Hybrid management would rather be the art of reconciling remote management and in-person management to effectively lead a hybrid team and activate collective intelligence., By having an engaging, inclusive, and equitable approach, regardless of the workplace of the employees. In any case, this hybrid approach encourages managers to really engage in the empowerment and autonomy of their teams.

Thus, to meet the company’s objectives in an increasingly unpredictable environment, the manager must go beyond his role as a leader to become a manager leader (hybrid leadership) that supports and holds its team members accountable in achieving results. The hybridization of practices must enable the development of more responsible management, based on the culture of results, which encourages employees to give their best.

In this context, the deployment of Management 3.0 (concept developed by Jurgen Appelo) takes on full meaning when it is implemented a real balance between managers and employees by participating in defining the objectives, leaving the freedom to achieve them, developing autonomy and responsibility, creating an atmosphere of trust, sharing certain decision-making, taking into account the motivational levers of each person...

Knowing that 75% of employees believe that the « soft skills »The most important thing for a manager is their ability to trust" (the Adecco study above), one can bet that Hybrid management based on flexibility and transparency will sustainably change management frameworks.

Management and hybrid work: the challenge of performance

While the key to hybrid management lies in the autonomy and empowerment of teams, managers must feel comfortable leading their teams in a hybrid mode! Beyond the necessary rituals to maintain connection in a context of hybrid work modes, The manager must face new challenges in order to achieve the performance of the team and the company., Knowing how to refocus everyone on the right priorities for action, maintaining a high level of energy over time, and advancing projects and making decisions collaboratively despite the distance (cf. our Short training in hybrid management).

Especially in the context of remote work, employees can quickly lose their bearings. The manager must therefore know how to provide regular guidance by reminding them of the company’s culture and goals, so that the entire team, both in the office and at home, can move forward in the same direction and in a collective manner.

To achieve this, at talenco we prioritize OKR method (Objectives and Key Results), particularly suited to the current situation, to align employees with clear priorities related to the company’s project, quickly engage and hold teams accountable for concrete, shared objectives, and fine-tune the implementation of priority actions in an agile manner.

Finally, in this hybrid work environment, The close manager plays an important role in providing «fair» support for each employee to help him refocus on the priority tasks, regardless of his work environment and the «distance» from the rest of the team… in a subtle balance between autonomy, accountability and performance.

According to the Adecco study mentioned above, nearly 80% of executives worldwide believe that their company will now organize itself according to a hybrid work model… Certainly, the local managers play a key role in ensuring that teams remain engaged and effective in the hybridization of work modes. Companies, for their part, must adapt by gradually evolving work modes towards a hybrid logic and by rethinking the employee experience, which is becoming more and more «phygital».