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Hybrid working: skills for leadership
Hybrid working: skills for leadership

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2 New ways of working need new ways of leading

Who are you as a hybrid leader? This next section of the course will focus on you and your role as a hybrid leader. You will have to be flexible in your leadership approach to adapt to the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world we live in, and that flexibility requires self-awareness. Anderson and Adams (2019) believe that we become better leaders by transforming ourselves.

In the next video Jacob Morgan, best-selling author, speaker and trained Futurist, focuses on the qualities leaders need for the future.

Download this video clip.Video player: hyb_2_2022_sept104_skills_for_future_leaders_jacob_morgan.mp4
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Thinking of great leaders you may have observed in organisations you have worked for or with, you may have noticed qualities that they possess that you would like to develop or build on. There may be other qualities and behaviours that you feel are not something you want to develop.

It can be lonely at the top

Sarah McVanel published a guide called ROCK as a Leader: How to Thrive Through Change and Crisis [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] on how to survive making tough calls, as often it can feel lonely at the top (Dyer, 2022, p. 138). During COVID-19 more than ever leaders had to make tough decisions which could affect many if not hundreds or thousands of people, with incomplete information at their disposal. McVanel came up with a set of leadership behaviours to enable a leader to be a ‘rock star’ or to ROCK in this kind of situation, where ROCK stands for recognise, organise, communicate and kindness. Exhibiting these behaviours, she says, will enable your team to deliver STAR results: satisfaction, teamwork, accomplishment and retention. McVanel argues that these behaviours will not only set you up to survive in a hybrid world and even survive a crisis, but actually enable you and your team to thrive and continue thriving beyond the crisis.

Activity 5 The best and worst of hybrid leaders

In this activity you will reflect on hybrid leadership attributes by writing a fictional blog from two perspectives:

  1. As though you were the best hybrid leader
  2. Where you were the worst hybrid leader

Think about what each version of hybrid leader would look like, sound like and what they would think, feel and do in your organisation. Consider the impact they have on the business and their employees. Aim to write about 200 words maximum for each version.

If you are uncomfortable with creative writing, research an example of a great hybrid leader and one you think is a poor hybrid leader. For each example, consider the impact they have on their organisation and its employees. Again, aim to write about 200 words maximum for each version.

Do you share any traits with the leaders you have written about?

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