Why and How We Must Rethink Leadership and Management Development
Manager effectiveness is a key enabler of successful organizations. It can help to preserve and improve the culture, as well as keep productivity and engagement at the best levels. But many struggle to adapt to the modern world of work.
The world of work has changed drastically, and managers’ mindsets and skillsets have not always kept pace. Nor are they suitable for a digitally connected, distributed hybrid workforce.
Sensory deprivation?
I often explain face-to-face management as a very sensory experience. Managers can see and hear (and, if they get close enough, perhaps even smell) what their team is doing. But in a remote or hybrid environment, there is a sensory loss. This brings with it all the emotions and uncertainties that often accompany such loss. Much like with a sensory loss, though, adapting one’s practices, unlearning and relearning skills can be a way through such uncertainty, and managers who are used to face-to-face management must do precisely that.
My research suggests that newer managers who have become so since the COVID-19 pandemic often feel more comfortable than those who were managers prior to that pandemic. For the newer managers, the challenge may be simpler—learning about remote and hybrid management is all they have ever known. It is management to them, with nothing to unlearn. But the rest may be struggling.
“If we are serious about making the new world of work work,
then the key people to develop will be managers.”
Organizational challenges
Managers may find it hard to reconcile the organizational view about onsite vs. remote working with the needs and preferences of their teams. Many managers have no personal preference about how often employees come on-site but feel they have to follow company policy regardless. So they could be struggling because of the inherent conflict here, and not knowing how to move forward effectively.
Managers must ensure that if they must get their hybrid employees to come on-site, there is a purpose to it. An on-site employee experience must connect employees, ensuring such connections are intentional and not random. Managers should also remind employees of ways to keep connections going digitally between on-site time.
They must be given the proper support and the right level of empowerment to make this work. Managers could struggle with understanding this role, seeing themselves as the primary arbiters of team and ultimately organizational culture. Many managers are accustomed to being the hub around which onsite work revolves – letting go of this will be tricky for many. Equally, they are used to being the funnel or filter for communications between employees and other parts of the organization and their team. This, too, has changed with asynchronous working and in a digitally connected organization.
Managers may not fully grasp what asynchronous working offers their team, but they need to do so to make distributed work better. Holding out for meetings seems unnecessary when group chats and other collaborative methods could get the team to the same place without physically needing to be in the same place. Are managers comfortable promoting and encouraging this style of working, with the technology that goes with it?
This is a mindset shift. From the team’s work only (or best) being done when onsite to distributed work that uses technology and asynchronous working to ensure work is done where and when it is best to do so. From only using sensory data to using wider forms of data and evidence.
Using data better
A remote or hybrid worker generates many more data points than an on-site worker. The main difference is that these are often digital rather than sensory data. Managers must be conscious of, look for, and use these data. Do your managers know what to look for and how to use them?
Every digital interaction between an employee and the organization generates potential data to examine, but few of these will be within the HR or L&D systems that we may think would be the first port of call for data about employees. Instead, they are spread across communications channels, interactions between employees, emails and messages, operational systems, and lots of other places in addition to the expected systems.
Developing leaders and managers
Those in management roles need to raise their game around what may previously have been termed “soft skills”, but which must now be regarded as essential managerial skills for success. I am not sure the label “soft skills” gives sufficient importance to these skills, but it is a well-understood label nonetheless.
Managers who have been good at on-site, face-to-face, management might not automatically be good at managing in the new, different, world of work. The skillset and mindset requirements are different.
Those in management positions in a hybrid working organization could be fine without support. They could adapt on their own and thrive. They could be lucky and have the right skillset and mindset to be effective hybrid managers. But what if they aren’t fine, can’t adapt or thrive, and aren’t lucky enough to have the right skillset and mindset? Is this something that any organization wants to leave to chance? If we are serious about making the new world of work work, then the key people to develop will be managers, who could make or break the overall approach. I recommend rebooting leadership and management development. Managers need a reset.
“Those in management roles need to raise their game
around what may previously have been termed soft skills.”
New skills needed
As various developments, including AI and hybrid working, disrupt the way work is done, teams will need to abandon rigid, fixed roles and skillsets and become more dynamic in learning new tasks and roles. Because of this, leaders may need to strongly encourage and facilitate the learning of new skills, ensure that the team develops complementary skillsets, and allow for replanning, rethinking, and re-engineering of work. Standing still isn’t an option, and leaders must work collaboratively with employees to upskill and reassure them.
AI will augment existing human roles and reshape many jobs and functions. Leaders must embrace AI as a tool to examine efficiency, explore innovation, and aid decision-making, and they will need help and support to do this effectively and consistently. We need to provide this help and ensure that the human aspects of organizational culture are not sacrificed on the altar of technology.
The new leadership ask
Leaders must model adaptability and a willingness to experiment with new tools, processes, and team structures. The employee experience can be enhanced by new technologies, but only if these are introduced in the most appropriate way.
Leaders must focus on building trust and connection, particularly in remote or hybrid teams. This means having individualized relationships with each of their employees, that take account of their needs for flexibility, their wellbeing, and give each person a voice within the team.
Leaders must champion learning, and ensure that their teams have access to digital learning tools, micro-learning content, and have protected time for their own personal development.
Leaders must find time to continuously scan trends, learn, and adapt in order to stay relevant – as mentioned, standing still is not an option. So, we must replan, and reprioritize, their development.
About The Author
Gary Cookson is a father of four, husband to one, and a successful business owner in his spare time. A recognized expert on the world of work and workplace performance, with a proven track record of leading and directing HR, Organizational Development (OD), and Learning & Development (L&D) functions. Renowned for authenticity, honesty, and a people-first approach, backed by extensive expertise across a broad range of skills. A trailblazer in designing and delivering impactful online and virtual training programs and an inspiring and engaging keynote speaker on leadership and HR topics. Recognized in HR Most Influential listings. Published author of HR for Hybrid Working (2022) and Making Hybrid Working Work (2025), both by Kogan Page.
Other Articles by Gary Cookson You May Enjoy Reading: