Hybrid work environments are not the only consideration we face. We also face hybrid cloud storage issues. I led an Organizational Change Management initiative for a client who set up a hybrid cloud storage system. While some of the storage physically sat with the client. Other storage sat hundreds of miles away. All of the information stored could be accessed at the push of a button despite the location of that information.

The pandemic has shifted the IT focus toward remote worker support. We’ve experienced an increase in digital conferencing usage. 76% of respondents to the Nutanix survey reported thinking more strategically about IT while 46% have invested more in hybrid cloud use. What does this mean for leadership? Information is more accessible than ever. Whether you are in the company office or your home office, you can get the information required to move the needle on business. It also means that leading large numbers of people in a global company truly means that employees could be virtually anywhere in the world and still accomplish whatever is necessary.

This also means that the speed at which we function is a reminder of how deliberate and thoughtful we want to be when communicating, in order to minimize glitches and missed deadlines for projects to get completed. Other measures that are becoming commonplace and effective in the corporate space include mindfulness training, meditation, and more focus on the mind, body, and soul of leadership. The holistic approach to leading teams is growing.

Instead of in-person classes, training companies have moved to online teaching platforms. Yoga classes are conducted on Zoom. Even ice-skating lessons have been taught online. While the online space can be a viable substitute for learning, this can lead to less effective learning environments, and much can be lost in translation. An example of how easily we stumble with messaging is the social experiment of sharing a statement and outcome with one person.  More often than not, after passing the statement around a circle of people, the statement becomes distorted.

Listen carefully to people as they often share something along the lines of, “She is taking that over there so everyone knows where it is.” It is most likely a smart idea to ask the following questions.

• She who?
• Taking what over where?
• Who is everyone?
• What is “it?”

In a recent Gallup survey, only 7% of workers in the United States agree that communication is accurate. That suggests a staggering number of workers fall into the category of the miscommunication pothole. That is a gap that makes me wonder just how often we think we understand when that is not the case, or that we are positive we are understood when nothing could be further from accurate.

Many of us are in such a hurry that we fail to provide detailed information that clearly speaks to what we are communicating at any given time. These are the moments when I enlist a tool called, Powerful Questions. These are questions that we tend not to consider and that when used effectively, get to the heart of what is being communicated and not being communicated.

Covid-19 has made a major impact on the world’s economy. While some companies embraced a hybrid environment before the pandemic, others were forced to adapt quickly to maintain the health and life of their employees, while still achieving the work goals of the organization. What has become a necessity to get by may now become the new way we work. Instead of making the daily commute to a centralized location, “going to the office” is now a place in our homes where we accomplish our business objectives.

Hybrid environments are not a new concept for some. Fields such as Organizational Change Management, Technical Writing, Consulting, and many others have embraced a hybrid environment for years. Our reaction to the pandemic has allowed us to explore the possibilities of the virtual world and how we function in this new environment.

2020 brought a lot of changes in both our personal and professional lives. For you, this might’ve been transitioning from the office to a work-from-home environment. Whether you are an employee or in a management role, this might have been a major change in the way you work. Setting up technology, a quiet work environment, and figuring out how to log into Zoom meetings is the easy part.

Dealing with isolation, productivity, and adjusting communication styles presents a whole new set of opportunities. An effective manager focuses on keeping their team on the same page while boosting morale and meeting corporate goals.