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We are a team - but how does a sense of unity arise when we're never really together?
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Michaela, 36, writes: »I lead a team of twelve employees. For the past two years, work has been carried out almost exclusively in the home office. Now we work hybrid – half the time in the office, the other half at home. Some newly hired employees have only worked from home so far. How can I lead my team well under the new conditions and strengthen the sense of togetherness.«
Dear Michaela,
It's great that you're thinking about how you can do justice to your role as a manager under the new framework conditions and how you can strengthen the sense of unity in your team again after this long time in the home office.
Because this phase has certainly left its mark.
So it definitely makes sense and is important not to just pick up where you left off before the pandemic.
This will not work.
Pick up your employees from where they are now by first having a conversation with each one individually about how he/she has experienced the past and how he/she imagines his/her work situation in the future.
For most employees, this will be a hybrid form of work, because very few want to go back to the office completely.
Together as a team, it is then a matter of repositioning oneself organizationally and especially in terms of human interaction.
Ask questions like:
Should there be fixed days when all team members should be present in the office?
How should workplaces be designed in the future?
Are there still fixed workplaces or do you dial into a workplace for the days of attendance?
Many companies have significantly reduced their office space in the course of the pandemic, so that it is no longer possible for all team members to be present at the same time.
Which processes should be adapted under the new framework conditions based on the experiences made in the past?
Does it make sense to redistribute certain tasks and if so, how?
The last question in particular offers room for improvements in the processes and also in the cooperation of the team members on the basis of the experiences made.
It is a good opportunity to work on the topics together in a team.
After the long virtual time, a team day can make sense, perhaps with joint activities in the fresh air.
This offers the employees who were hired during the pandemic in particular the opportunity to have personal contact with their colleagues and, last but not least, with you as the team leader.
In focus: The informal exchange
As a manager, you have a crucial role to play.
You have certainly taken the opportunity during the pandemic to hold team meetings in virtual form and thus to bring all employees together again and again and to promote mutual exchange.
Unfortunately, the small conversations at the coffee machine or from desk to desk did not take place.
Therefore, it is definitely important to promote this exchange again in the future hybrid form of work.
It is now important that, in addition to the technical issues, your team – and last but not least you yourself – get more into conversation.
This also means taking a greater interest in what occupies your colleagues and developing a sense of togetherness.
Recent research shows that a sense of belonging plays a key role in employee retention and job satisfaction.
The willingness of employees to change jobs has increased significantly in the last two years, since precisely this identification with the team and the organization has declined.
Against this background, it will also be important that the working hours of your employees on site offer real added value compared to working at home.
In order to fill the buzzword "New Work" with life, a good combination of community and exchange as well as self-determined and flexible working is required.
Her new role: to shape these framework conditions and to be approachable for the employees as a coach and enabler.
I hear more and more complaints from employees that their managers "have disappeared into the home office" and just let things go.
This has nothing to do with good leadership in hybrid forms of work.
Because in order for your team to be able to work independently and confidently, it also requires an emotional sense of security.
Have your employees rate the following five sentences – on a five-point scale (from “do not agree at all” to “agree completely”).
They are based on a self-test developed by Harvard Business School professor Amy C. Edmondson.
I can make mistakes without fear that my colleagues will take offense at me.
My direct manager appreciates my ideas.
It's easy to ask other team members for help.
No one on this team would intentionally act in a way that would undermine my efforts.
Working with the members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and used.
The answers are a good feeler for the emotional security in your team and what you should pay special attention to in your future management work.
Approach your new challenges as a manager with courage.
In this new beginning there is also a great opportunity for you to develop further in a new understanding of your role.
I wish you the best of luck.