Leadership - How do you lead employees you hardly ever see?

The times of traditional employers are over: the new concept of fair and motivating management is leadership. But what exactly is leadership and what challenges arise, for example, from hybrid working? We have summarised the most important aspects and compiled 5 tips on how leadership can also work while working from your home office.

List of content: 

• What exactly is leadership?

• What is good leadership? 

• 5 tips on how good leadership can also succeed hybrid or remotely
  

What exactly is leadership?

Translated into German, the term "leadership" means management. Hence, a leader is something like a manager. Often, however, a leader is imagined to be something other than what "leadership" actually aims at. Furthermore, leadership is often confused or mixed up with management, although they are two completely different things.
Managers tend to be organisers and administrators, while leaders are visionaries.

Leadership in this sense means having a vision and inspiring and motivating other people. It is not primarily a matter of motivating employees with words, but rather of exemplifying the convictions and enthusiasm with one's own actions. Leaders therefore want to make a difference together as a team and create innovation and change.

What is good leadership?

A good leader needs some competencies to motivate his team and create change. We have summarised the most important ones in a nutshell:

1. Vision
   The most important thing is, of course, the vision. Leaders always need a vision to bring about improvement and change. It is important that the leader succeeds in infecting other people with their vision.
2. Motivation
   Good leaders manage to convince their employees of their vision and motivate them to achieve it together.
3. Empathy
   A certain degree of empathy plays an important role in leadership. A leader should be able to empathise with other people in order to recognise wishes, needs and problems. This makes it possible to respond to people in the best possible way and ensure that everyone feels comfortable and understood, which in turn increases motivation. 
4. Integrity
   A leader would not be a leader if he/she did not live and act according to his/her vision. He/she is a kind of role model for all employees. 
5. Risk-taking
   Striving for improvements and innovations always involves a certain amount of risk: only those who dare to take a risk have a chance of success. Leaders take on a lot of responsibility and are aware of the risks. They have confidence in themselves and their employees and learn from problems and mistakes. 

There is no question that even under "normal" conditions it is a great challenge to be a good leader and to motivate an entire team on a daily basis. But how does leadership work from a distance?
The classic 9-to-5 office routine has long since ceased to be the standard in many industries and companies. The trend is clearly moving towards time and location-independent forms of work, such as hybrid work. Employees can usually decide for themselves when and how long they are in the office and when they work from their home office. Overall, flexible working models bring a lot of advantages, for both, the employee and the employer.
But the lack of personal exchange and the possibly different working hours bring a lot of new challenges for a leader. How do you bring employees together? How do you maintain the team spirit? How does a good exchange take place between all team members? 

5 tips on how good leadership can also succeed hybrid or remotely

1. Establish clear rules and structures
   Especially in the home office, people need security and a clear structure to be able to continue working productively. Thus, it is essential to create a certain framework for work processes. For example, who can be reached when? Or who takes on which tasks and roles? 
   

2. Trust
   With hybrid work and flexible working hours, especially remote, controlling the work is almost impossible. Trust is one of the most important prerequisites for relaxed collaborative working. It helps to clearly communicate the expectations of the employees and to build mutual trust. 

3. Communication
   Closely linked to trust is communication: without open and honest communication, trust cannot be develop. Regular individual discussions and team meetings should take place to facilitate a good exchange. In addition, all important decisions and news should always be communicated promptly. Space and time for consultation and feedback should be given at all times.

4. Introduce rituals to strengthen the bond within the team
   One risk of hybrid work or working purely from home is the social distance that can occur.
   The small talk in the morning is eliminated, as is the small chat at the coffee machine. Little things like this strengthen the bond between colleagues. But why not introduce similar rituals digitally? How about a joint coffee or lunch break via video chat, for example? Every now and then there should be times when the team can also exchange ideas privately.

5. Digitalisation
   A prerequisite for the success of these tips is, of course, the digital adaptation of the company. Good systems for digital communication and organisation are the basis for everything else. For example, a simple chat tool that allows colleagues to exchange information quickly and easily at any time.

desk.ly is excellent for organising and managing hybrid work.
By uploading a room plan in our desk sharing software, employees can easily book their places in the office themselves - so everyone always has an overview of who is where and when, and the best way to reach them.

Any questions? We would be happy to answer them in a free demo.