blog from steel case – Leadership by Design.
Hybrid work has become mainstream. This is he one of the greatest economic and cultural changes facing a leader today.
Most companies that choose hybrid work are trying to balance people’s desire for flexibility with the need to bring employees closer together and build a sense of community.
Hybrid work policies can struggle for companies as people move into offices that still look like ghost towns. Leaders play a key role, with critical his mass needed to build momentum. Leaders must enable access in ways previously unthinkable and set the tone for the adoption of hybrid work.
However, current offices can be a barrier for leaders who want to be accessible and hybrid role models. Traditionally, workplace design focused on the needs of leaders by creating executive spaces that set them apart from the rest of the company. It became a constraint on building transparency and made it difficult for leaders to connect with employees.
A radically different approach to the leadership space can be an important tool for building the kind of culture and promoting the kind of behavior that leaders want to see.
accessible. Easy to approach. functional.
One thing we know from research is that employees want leaders to be visible, accessible, and transparent about how their business is run. For many leaders, this requires new behaviors and practices, which can be difficult as the work needs to be done.
How can leaders balance the need to be more employee-friendly? How can they work together as a leadership team to quickly share information with each other and with larger companies? How do you do all this in a hybrid work environment when you need to interact with people in the office or remotely?
Space can shape new leadership behavior
Whatever your hybrid work strategy, reinvigorating and re-energizing people is perhaps the biggest challenge for leaders today. There has never been a better time for leaders to lead by example and demonstrate the culture and behavior they expect from their employees. This requires a new approach to the leadership space.
Cherie Johnson, Steelcase Global Design Director, said: “Traditional leadership spaces do not provide the transparency and accessibility that people want today.”
The design concept of creating vibrant neighborhood-like spaces is based on the belief that workplaces should be more inclusive and create the sense of community that people and businesses need to thrive. Neighborhoods are the tangible ways companies communicate their values and change their culture.
Read our recent blog with Steelcase on creating neighborhoods at work.
Leaders need adaptable, resilient spaces that flex to suit their needs. The more easily you can change it according to your needs, the more effective your space will be. Readers should be able to find the level of privacy they need. The ability to focus in the office has become even more important.
To create a leadership district, companies should include a variety of owned and shared spaces that meet the various needs of hybrid work. If you would like to know how we can help, please contact us!
steel case Research and Insights: New workplace research, insights and inspiration about jobs, workers and where work takes place: www.steelcase.com/research
