Returning to work? Not so fast.

The “return to work” discussion has been heating up in our Cohort conversations lately. 

These conversations seem to be everywhere, and they were echoed in this recent Fortune article, which highlighted opinions and conflicts from CEOs around the country.

• “We still believe the office is the center of gravity for the company. The center of gravity for inspiration, for training, for learning, for collaboration,” said Patrice Louvet, CEO, Ralph Lauren.
  

• “We put our workers into three different categories. The first category, about 30%, will be fully virtual…And 20% will be essential, who work in security, heavy data analytics, who we found work better together. And then the rest of us—about 50%—will be hybrid…could be two to three days a week,” said Steve Collis, CEO AmerisourceBergen
  

• “The punch line for us is: I’m not sure what we’re going to do…We want to try to really experience all three again—full work from home, a hybrid environment, and fully back—and then make decisions about what the right outcome is for the company, for employees, and for customers,” said Darius Adamczyk, CEO, Honeywell.

Where do you fall?

Whether or not you (or your employees) have seen working from home as a luxury, a necessity, a pain-in-the-arse, or as something other people get to do (we’re looking at you trades and service providers), the return-to-work conversation is mute if you aren’t dialed into what makes a cohesive work culture in the first place.

As my team and I work with both Founder CEOs (in the Cohort) and their COOs/Chiefs of Staff (in our EYT program), we discovered a strong tension developing between the two.

Generally speaking, the business owners—who are largely visionary, big picture thinkers—saw all the benefits of having their teams under one roof:

• Efficient problem-solving and delegation

• Real-time, real-life idea, creativity, and collaboration

• Healthy and balanced workplace relationships

• Face-to-face accountability.

And, generally speaking, all of those business leadership support roles—largely integrators, implementers, directors—touted the newfound benefits of working from home. 

• Higher productivity due to fewer interruptions

• Improved autonomy, trust, and self-direction.

• A more structured, dependable workday 

• Easter, faster, more straightforward meetings.

While this may appear to be the “extroverts vs the introverts,” what the return-to-work discussions have really highlighted is the fact that no one really wants to return to work the exact way it was before. 

Visionary leaders, who have gotten a taste of what their Integrators can do when allowed to focus and take ownership of their own tasks, want to put those skills to greater use. They’re also a bit stir-crazy with ideas, having had to hold back for so long due to the limitations of technology and employee bandwidth.

Integrators, who came to quickly appreciate the boundaries of virtual work, fear that the structure, clarity, and productivity they currently enjoy won’t be sustainable in an in-office environment. When the natural limitations and bandwidth checks of the pandemic are removed, this “reality check” role now falls to them—and keeping the company—and the Founder—in the right lane is a full-time job on its own.

So what are businesses to do?

Sam, my Chief of Staff who knows this dynamic better than anyone, has 5 tips that will help bridge the gaps between visionaries and integrators, on-site teams and off-site teams, introverts and extroverts—whether you all come back to the office or not.

Here’s what she says.

1. First, set clear expectations.
   Nothing derails a leader, a team, or a train faster than forces pulling in different directions. Use the One Page Business Plan, make it highly visible, and get everyone on the same page. People want to know what success looks like—in their roles and for the company. Don’t make them guess.
   

2. Create a clear meeting rhythm.
   Every meeting should have a set purpose, agenda, desired outcomes, and, most importantly, time limits. Keep doing your one-on-one check-ins in-person—your teams will need them more than ever. Returning to the office assumes that there will be productivity loss due to healthy socialization—that’s okay!—just bake that catch-up time into the meeting agenda to respect everyone’s workload and conversation tolerance.
   

3. Build a clear accountability chart.
   Better than an org chart, an accountability chart denotes roles, areas of ownership, and expected results via key performance indicators (KPIs). This is just as much for Founders (stay in your lane!) as the employees (stay out of theirs!).
   

4. Clear, consistent communication.
   Sensing a “clear” theme here? Good—then I’m doing my job. Repetition and reiteration of expectations, themes, and core value are what create a cohesive, productive, and happy workforce. When in doubt, refer to #1.
   

5. Build a culture with clear intention.
   We all know the downsides of disengaged employees. Whether you physically return to work or create a sustainable hybrid model, make each stride forward one with intention. Every space on your OPBP, every meeting, and every experience should add to what you are ultimately trying to build—no matter where you and your teams build it from.

I’d love to know how you and your company are tackling the return-to-work challenge. Feel free to join the discussion on LinkedIn or shoot me an email (bwatkins@thelionspride.com). I always enjoy hearing from you!