Hybrid Work Environments Impact on Media Leadership

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This week we return to Amobee Out Loud with another excellent conversation, this time with guest Heather Richetto-Rumley, the Managing Partner and Certified Master Coach at Clearwater Performance Group. Together, we take a deep-dive on the topic leadership post-pandemic and the challenges of hybrid work environments, gender dynamics, and more.

Being Strategic About Team Gatherings in a Hybrid Work Model

Having worked with many executives, Heather is well versed on the challenges leaders are facing in a hybrid/remote work model as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, leaders saw that their employees have been empowered by their flexible work environments and productivity remained strong. However, some express concern over the missing elements of an entirely remote workforce: from the quick and casual problem-solving that can happen in an office hallway to the deeper relationships building that can happen when teams can spend quality time together in-person.

In this new hybrid work era, leaders are thinking more strategically about when to bring people together in-person versus meeting virtually. It’s crucial that leaders make their in-person gatherings with their teams intentional and different than what they might do virtually, says Heather, from sharing meals to meaningful team-building exercises that allow for deeper conversation. The goal with in-person gatherings should be improving team effectiveness, rather than efficiency.

How Can Leaders Effectively Approach Social Justice Issues?

We also discuss the challenge that leaders face in grappling with social justice issues. These topics used to be taboo in the workplace, but today, leaders and companies are expected to have a position and to demonstrate how they’re enacting change. We have a long way to go as a society on developing best practices, but Heather says there are things leaders can do to help pave a path forward: take ownership of what is within their power to change within their organization, partner closely with HR to better understand what employees need, commit to consistency in responding to social justice issues, and most important of all, demonstrate a personal willingness to learn and grow on these issues.

For more insight from Heather on the future of work and leadership development, listen to or watch the full episode. We encourage you to join the conversation via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and leave a review on your preferred podcast platform. Join us next week for another excellent conversation.