Managers must ditch ‘T Rex approach’ to the new working landscape

Nobody likes to be told they’re out of touch but it’s a charge being levelled at managers who have taken what’s been described as a “Tyrannosaurus rex” attitude to hybrid and remote working. Generalisations are always risky, but it appears that age may be a contributory factor here, with older managers finding the adjustment more difficult because the principles and practices they grew up with no longer apply.

Business coach and speaker Neil O’Brien of Time to Fly is candid about what he thinks is going on. “Hybrid has killed management and wounded leadership. The big issue is not hybrid any more, it’s how we lead and manage in a world where followers [employees] have passed out their leaders and are designing their own ways of working,” he says.

[ Most employees feel managers out of touch with workplace needs, survey finds ]

“Managers used to live in a world dominated by football teams, by which I mean people were together in an office and collectively pulling in the same direction. What we’ve got now is more akin to an athletics team made up of individuals each doing their own thing in isolation. Hybrid has effectively seen off the era of the football team.

“In addition, there are more generations in the workplace than ever before, and each is struggling to understand the needs and wants of the other. Add in the whole hybrid working conundrum and it’s no wonder I feel tension in most of the workplaces I visit.”

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The younger managers going through the MBA programme are well past debating the merits of hybrid or remote work. They see these working patterns as the norm

The crux of the matter seems to be a gap between what younger and older managers consider to be the main issues. Older managers are primarily concerned about knowing where people are, co-ordinating hybrid schedules and monitoring productivity. By contrast, the younger generation (managers in their 30s and 40s) really don’t care where or how work gets done but care passionately about the impact of distributed working on organisational culture and its potential to create inequity in the workplace.

John McMackin, an associate professor in work, psychology and strategy at DCU’s business school is also the chairman of its executive MBA programme. He says the younger managers going through the MBA programme are well past debating the merits of hybrid or remote work. They see these working patterns as the norm and are more interested in what research and experiential data is available to inform and support the decisions they have to make in the new order.

[ ‘It feels like we failed somewhere, letting remote working get rolled back’: Employees on returning to the office ]

“I see a lot of teasing out of received models and philosophies of leadership because, if you think about it, the principles of management many grew up with, such as management by being physically present, are irrelevant now. The students want to know if their mental models of leadership are still fit for purpose,” McMackin says. “What I also see coming more to the fore are discussions around authenticity and integrity and how you communicate these values in a remote environment.

“There’s no doubt that some managers have found hybrid and remote working difficult, but I think we need to test the assumption that they are still in the majority,” he adds. “What I’m seeing is more people who are comfortable either way and, with many organisations choosing to be remote first, the old idea of everyone in the office all the time is gone anyway. That said, I am also aware of people who have changed job because their employer went remote and their preference is to be in an office environment with other people.”

What we’ve got as a result is a heavy emphasis on remote video interactions on one side and task focus on the other

Neil O’Brien says organisations are also grappling with the demands of a workforce that now has very clear ideas about what it wants. “What’s coming up time and again at selection and recruitment interviews is how you – the organisation – are going to fit your workload around me and my lifestyle. That’s a big shift in mindset to absorb,” he says.

“I am also seeing a high level of frustration among leaders who are being been dragged much more into the weeds of detail by hybrid and remote, leaving them less time to lead the business.

“Management is a technique. Leadership is about presence and attitude and it’s not easy to communicate these attributes in a digital environment. Where you might be able to do the leadership piece is when everyone is together for their designated office days. However, what seems to be happening in reality is that these office days have become very task oriented: people taking the opportunity of face-to-face opportunities to get stuff done and keep projects moving,” says O’Brien.

[ Managers struggling with challenges of hybrid and remote working ]

“What we’ve got as a result is a heavy emphasis on remote video interactions on one side and task focus on the other. What’s missing are the other elements that traditionally formed part of working life, such as building relationships, sharing collective energy and developing a genuine interest in the people you work with.”

John McMackin flags one other interesting aside to hybrid and remote working that is just beginning to become apparent. What are the new ways of working doing to traditional career pathways? Is loyalty to an organisation diminished if people have little physical contact with the mother ship, they frequently change jobs online and the main evidence that they’ve done so is that their old company laptop has been replaced by a new one?

“What happens to the traditional psychological contract between employer and employee in this context? Does it still exist or are we seeing jobs and careers being swapped for ‘gigs’?” asks McMackin.