Leading Hybrid Teams | 7 Competencies HR Execs Should Focus On For Training

Roberta Sawatzky

SAM Consulting

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Introduction

Human Resource professionals have long known that for leaders to be most effective, it is essential they develop certain leadership “competencies.”

The Society for Human Resource Management defines competencies as “a cluster of highly interrelated attributes, including knowledge, skills, and abilities that give rise to the behaviors needed to perform a given job effectively.” Competencies can be observed, measured, and most importantly, developed.

I asked more than 110 individuals across industries, geographies, and age groups to share what knowledge, skills, and practices are required to lead hybrid teams effectively.

My research reveals seven key competencies hybrid leaders need to develop. In this article, we look at these competencies and discuss why each is vital for successful leadership of hybrid teams.

7 Hybrid Leadership Competencies

Build Collaborative Teams

Collaboration is all about people working together to achieve a common goal, which can be more complicated in hybrid settings. Traditional methods of collaboration such as ad-hoc meetings or office drop-ins are less practical when employees work in different locations, at different hours, or even across different time zones. Instead, leaders need to be well versed and comfortable rolling out collaborative tools such as Miro or Mural, as well as project management tools such as Monday.com or Basecamp, which support both asynchronous and synchronous communication. Hybrid leaders can use tools like these to help with goal alignment, role clarity, open communication, and establishing trust. These tools also help reduce the potential for proximity bias within hybrid teams.

Demonstrate Vulnerability

Research Professor Dr. Brené Brown defines vulnerability as the willingness to be open to uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. Vulnerability is particularly important for building strong relationships in hybrid teams where employees see each other less frequently. When leaders of hybrid teams embrace vulnerability and authenticity, it sets the stage for team members to do likewise, fostering deeper relationships and trust. Vulnerability is closely tied to a leader’s willingness to re-think opinions, previous decisions, established ways of doing things, and represents an openness to learn anew – all crucial when leading hybrid teams.

Create Psychological Safety

According to Amy Edmondson, a Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard, psychological safety can be summarized as the ability to “be yourself and voice dissenting opinions without fearing negative consequences.” While all teams can benefit from a strong culture of two-way feedback, it is particularly important for hybrid teams who need to feel comfortable giving feedback or having difficult discussions when not together in person.

Hybrid leaders should strive to create an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their personal needs and commitments. Team-level agreements on when and where work gets done should balance the needs of the team with the needs of the individual, allowing the team to create and revisit norms as needed.

Practice Cultural Competence

In her book, Virtual Teams Across Cultures, Theresa Hollema defines cultural competence as “the ability to work successfully with people from other cultures. Culturally competent people reconcile cultural dilemmas, which begin from a place of deep respect, listening, and integration.”

As companies and teams become increasingly hybrid and distributed, it becomes that much more important for leaders to be trained in cultural competence. Hybrid leaders need to be mindful of cultural norms in building team norms, with implications on everything from expected working hours to meeting times to how feedback is given across a team.

Build Relationships in Virtual Contexts

It has always been critical for leaders to be great relationship builders at the organization, team, and individual level. As organizations become more hybrid and distributed, leaders have to become stronger at building relationships virtually.

Building relationships virtually is a different skill set from building relationships in person. It requires different training around how to engage with team members, how to use 1 on 1 time, and how to think about offsites as opportunities to drive lasting connections. Leaders that are adept at building relationships virtually will benefit in nurturing new business relationships and being more effective at tapping into a wealth of global talent.

Demonstrate Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you. Emotional Intelligence is an important skill for all leaders, but is particularly important when interacting with teammates virtually.

According to renowned psychologist Daniel Goleman, leaders should focus on building Emotional Intelligence in four areas:

1. Self-awareness: Your strengths, weaknesses, and how you come across to others
2. Self-management: How you control your emotions and maintain positive outlook
3. Social awareness: Developing empathy for team members and collaborators
4. Relationship management: How you influence and manage conflict and teamwork

Coach and Facilitate Growth

Professor, author, and musician Frank J. Barrett likens leadership to a growth design activity. Barrett describes leadership as “creating space, offering sufficient support, and presenting challenges so that individuals will be tempted to grow on their own.”

All leaders need to be good at developing their team members, but hybrid leaders need to be effective at coaching and skill development when not always working shoulder to shoulder. Leaders should be trained in coaching both synchronously and asynchronously, helping employees develop new competencies, adapt to changes, and enhance their skills.

Conclusion

In this article we identified seven key competencies for hybrid leaders. Awareness of the need for these competencies should inform three specific areas of Human Resource Planning when considering leadership in hybrid environments:

1. Hiring Leadership: Those responsible for organizational hiring can refer to these specific leadership competencies to be included in a Job Analysis and serve as the foundation for behavioral interview questions.

2. Leadership Growth & Development: Supporting leaders of hybrid teams in the development of these competencies will strengthen their likelihood for success. HR teams should integrate content on these competencies into leadership training. Performance processes should make sure to give leaders feedback on how to improve their capabilities in these key areas.

3. Succession Planning: When using a Competency-Based Management approach, HR professionals will be able to identify potential employees who already demonstrate certain proficiency levels in these competencies and offer further development for promotion opportunities.

Human Resource professionals are in a unique position. Through a strategic people-centered focus on competency development, HR teams can take an organization from merely surviving a rapidly changing working landscape to one that thrives. It’s all about the people; identify the necessary competencies, hire accordingly, and then commit to supporting leaders with opportunities for continuous growth and development.

About the Author

Roberta E. Sawatzky MA, CPHR, GPHR
SAM Consulting

Roberta Sawatzky is a seasoned business coach and professor specializing in remote work. With a Master's in Leadership and Management, she leverages her expertise to empower individuals and teams in virtual settings while teaching at Okanagan College School of Business.

Robertasawatzky.com
Blog: https://probeandponder.com/
LinkedIn: https://probeandponder.com/