Times are changing. The ongoing digital revolution, the cultural pressure of the new generations (millennials and the emerging generation Z) and this new era of exposure and transparency (inherent to people and organizations) came to disrupt the business processes and work models. The pandemic accelerated most of these changes turning on-site working into remote working – and now, increasingly from remote to hybrid-work mode.
In some organizations, corporate teams and job-roles, the pace and intensity of change has been disruptive. The previous time and space synchronicity that structured most of team work and processes is no longer feasible. Working routines and rituals had to be adapted. Leadership models or styles, bonded to old habits, are, in most cases, the hardest thing to change.
So, does let´s talk about leadership models. You can can define this concept in a multi-level perspective: individual (one´s personal style), team or department (aligned with specific business processes) or corporate (aligned – hopefully! – with the values and the corporate culture). A leadership model must have underlying values, dimensions (eg, strategic, operational), touchpoints (most impactful moments) and experience (eg, the cognitive and emotional outcomes, like commitment or strategic foresight). And, of course, behaviours, routines and initiatives. These happens in every company, whether is consciously structured or not.
The truth is simple: in a hybrid work model, you have different leadership contexts and variables – affecting job-role autonomy, empowerment and reporting rituals. People will work anytime-anywhere, more focused on results and deliverables than on the processes. Leaders “command & control” style wil be repidly ineffective. In this new era, they should manage to provide vision, context, challenges and support (what and why) and let people perform their work (how). And address team’s cohesion, alignment and collaboration levels.
So, the main question still stands: does your leadership model work in hybrid work?
Carlos Sezões
Managing Partner of Darefy – Leadership & Change Builders
