After months of working remotely, Sara was eager to get back into the office and be face-to-face with her team. She was disappointed when her employer decided to allow employees the choice of continuing to work remotely.  Sara was concerned that her hybrid team – some in the office and others working from home – would lack the cohesion that had made them highly successful in the past.  She was concerned that over time the remote workers might become less engaged or committed to their projects and that those in the office would have to pick up the slack.  She worried about incorporating new hires into the team seamlessly.  What could she do to support her team and help all of them perform at their best?

Maybe, like Sara, you are facing the challenges of leading a hybrid team. Effective leadership requires trust between the leader and her team members.  This is true regardless of whether they work face-to-face or in different physical locations.  Today’s fluid, flexible team dynamics require a different approach. Understanding what influences trust gives you levers to pull as you seek to keep your team focused and on track.  Here are four elements that influence trust, as well as six actions to take to stand out as a leader during this transition to a new way of working.

Trust can be a nebulous thing, yet it is generally seen as influenced by perceived levels of dependability, credibility, care, and respect.  As each component is strengthened, trust is improved; yet, strength in only one or two elements alone is rarely sufficient. Balance among all aspects of trust is vital to productive relationships. 

• Dependability is built on impeccable follow through.  Even the smallest commitment matters because team members who make idle promises gain a reputation for poor reliability. Dependability is largely driven by a sense that the person will deliver on responsibilities.
• Credibility represents confidence that the person has the expertise to do their job.  Often credibility is established during the hiring process or based on past successes and credentials. Those seen as credible know what they are talking about. They have the know-how to do the job.
• Care involves taking time to get to know one another. This requires demonstrating interest in and empathy for others. What are their professional dreams?  What are their biggest challenges?  Kindness and curiosity strengthen relationships. While care has long been an element of trust, in a world gone topsy-turvy because of healthcare, economic, and other trials, the ability to provide thoughtful attention is even more important for leaders to establish strong bonds of trust with team members.
• Respect in this case is not something earned by others, but rather respect you show to them.  How do you treat your colleagues?  Even if you don’t particularly like someone, you can still demonstrate respect. By acknowledging each team member as a person, you honor the work relationship.

Beyond the four components of trust is the need for regular and on-going communication. Clear communication is a hallmark of good leadership. There is an even greater need for good communication when team members are dispersed. Here are six simple actions to influence and cultivate trust within your team in spite of new team dynamics. While straightforward, these actions are not necessarily easy. They require your time and attention, as the leader, to engage and support all team members.

1. Clearly state expectations and hold everyone accountable. Clarity of expectations supports credibility and reliability, and also demonstrates care when everyone understands that they are all held to a similar standard of performance, regardless of work location.  Yes, you may need to take into account that a team member is also home-schooling children. What is that person expected to deliver relative to other team members?  Be fair and have well-defined deliverables and deadlines.
2. Frequency of contact matters.  Regardless of whether an employee is just outside your doorway or beyond borders, make a point to reach out to every direct report on a regular basis. This goes beyond asking for updates on their work.  What’s going well?  What challenges are they running into?  How can you help them? Really listen to the answers. With some team members this may be a 5-minute conversation.  With others, it may take a half hour.  Don’t think you have time?  You might be surprised how much time you save by proactively connecting with each team member every week.  Even if you see one another in meetings throughout the day, a brief conversation focused on them can make a difference.
3. Hold regular team meetings, in addition to one-on-one conversations. Make a point of inviting participation from each member of the team, perhaps especially those who are not physically present. Have an agenda. Consider rotating responsibility for running the meeting or assign a spokesperson for each agenda item. Notice participation levels. When someone has been particularly quiet, ask for their thoughts. Let folks know ahead of time that you will be calling on people for their input. 
4. Diversify your means of communication.  In addition to communicating regularly, switch up the tools you use for reaching out. Some information is appropriately passed along to the entire team via email. A quick text may be just what’s needed to pass along updates. In the age of easy video chat, sometimes we forget that a phone call can be more powerful, especially with “zoom fatigue” so prevalent. Calls allow us to focus fully on voice tone, timbre, and message. 
5. Avoid an “us” versus “them” culture.  By the very nature of seeing some team members daily and others only via video chat, it is easy to begin relying more heavily on those you run into in the hallway, forgetting to share information with remote employees, or joking about the “slackers” who don’t have to deal with a commute.  This is a slippery slope that can undermine team cohesion. Don’t do it and don’t allow team members to either. If there is an issue, real or imagined, address it quickly. Don’t allow it to fester or potentially balloon into a bigger problem.
6. Create opportunities to build community. One way to build comradery when the entire team is not co-located is to allow time for getting to know one another.  This could include a quick ice breaker at the beginning of each team meeting or special networking meetings. One globally-based team I know has a weekly Monday morning call they referred to as “Café Mondays.” The sole purpose is strengthening team connections. Team members take turns identifying the topic. For 20 minutes, they enjoy their coffee, tea, or soda and share quick stories and comments on wide ranging subjects such as best movie seen recently, something they cooked over the weekend, or favorite animal of all time. They feel connected even though many of them have never met in person.

After considering these possibilities, Sara realized that her operational model would have to shift. She was excited about the possibilities for creating new connections and building on existing ones as she brought clear intention to her work as a leader.  Understanding what impacts trust, why it matters, and how to use this knowledge to further strengthen relationships can serve as an accelerator of success, for Sara and for you.  

This article appeared in abbreviated form in the ATD Blog (April 12, 2021): 

https://www.td.org/atd-blog/cultivating-trust-with-hybrid-teams