Tips for Servant Leaders who manage hybrid teams

Photo: Unsplash.co Chris Montgomery @cwmonty

Many companies have shifted to hybrid work or entire remote teams. As a result, companies want a clear picture of their evolving culture and leadership styles.

For the servant leader, navigating the waters of staying in touch with your team members is paramount. As such, ensuring that servant leadership thrives for in-person and remote teams is essential.

As a proponent of Servant Leadership, I recommend you set a goal of staying connected with your team members in a hybrid or fully remote environment.

Building and maintaining relationships is paramount since team members play a significant role in your business.

A servant leader emphasizes the importance of serving others within an organization. However, the servant leader may encounter difficulty ensuring that their leadership style works just as effectively with remote team members as onsite.

Of the many benefits of Servant Leadership, one standout is building strong relationships within your organization. The result of this leadership style equates to less turnover and more engagement.

While many servant leaders now manage hybrid teams, the importance of maintaining a connection with all team members is more necessary than ever.

So how does a servant leader serve team members without being physically present? Here are a few tips to consider:

1. Remember to lead with empathy and use active listening skills

This point is essential if your company recently began working remotely. Be sure to acknowledge the team members' contributions to the organization.

Also, ask how the team member is adjusting to remote work; this is especially important since some team members will have their family at home while working. You might also ask them what they like or do not like about remote working.

Knowing what your team members think about working conditions is essential for your relationship with that employee and may help you connect and manage with other team members.

Thus, you'll also develop better relationships with them, resulting in more creativity when solving problems and encouraging teamwork.

2. Be aware of various interpersonal styles

It's also important to remember that we are all different in many ways, especially in our personality and individual preferences.

One of the key ways your team members vary is where they fall on the introvert to extrovert continuum.

Some of your team members may be introverted and prefer and work best with minimal to moderate social interaction. Others may be quite extroverted and require more social contact to perform at their best.

Be sure to keep this in mind as a servant leader when considering the amount of contact you need with each team member.

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3.Establish office hours and keep a visible schedule

It's essential to be available for your team, even if they're not emailing you directly. Share your office hours with your team members, which will also help them adjust their work schedules.

In Dorie Clark’s July 2021 Harvard Business Review article “Staying Visible when your Team is in the Office…But You're WFH”, she provided excellent tips to help those employees working from home. Here's one of her tips: "Ensure you're easy to work with. Have explicit conversations with your colleagues about communication preferences."

4.Encourage ongoing communication

Determine if you'll communicate critical information in writing, on the phone, or by video. Then, collaborate with your team members and ensure they know when to escalate an issue with their immediate supervisor or you. Finally, be sure to check your company's standard operating procedures for more insight on these issues.

In addition to texting and email, communicate with team members over video chat to personalize meetings. Acknowledge and celebrate the teams' milestones and concerns; encourage ways to ensure that communication remains fruitful, unobstructed, and interactive.

5. Delegate some tasks to your direct reports

Depending on the frequency you need to communicate with team members, remember to delegate some of your tasks to your direct reports. Seamless communication of your leadership expectations can be reviewed and emphasized in your executive team meetings.

Conclusion

When you implement these tips, I'm sure you will see improved communication and productivity from your team. If you are interested in learning more about how I can help you improve your organization's communications, teamwork, and leadership, please contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation.