Finding My Flow In The Hybrid World | By Prash Raval

Hybrid ways of working have changed the game, and leaders everywhere are doing their best to work out the new rules. 

In a world where we now spend much of our working time at home, our colleagues can appear to us more as pixelated rectangles on a laptop screen than real companions. Building human connection with our teammates - one of the most foundational aspects of strong leadership - has become so much more complex. I’ve come to believe that leadership styles have to be adapted to continue to inspire, influence and empower people in the hybrid world. 

That being said, adapting my own leadership style for the new normal has been both a non-linear and largely subconscious process. So this month, it was fascinating to compare two leadership assessments of me, one pre-pandemic (2018) and the other post- (2023). The assessments both use Jyre’s Strengths Framework, and incorporate self- and peer-reviews. As it turns out, I’ve changed a fair bit. Of course, not all of this can be attributed to the shift to hybrid working, but the nature of the changes makes me think it played a meaningful part.

The Jyre Strengths Framework is comprised of 34 Strengths across Flow and Grounded character, and Task and People intelligences. These Strengths map into 9 Leader Types.

In 2018, I almost exclusively exhibited 'Grounded' leadership traits. Grounded strengths relate to stability, focus, dependability and integrity - providing the foundations of judgement and drive that underpin sustained performance. Nowadays, I fire up far more in the inverse area of 'Flow' leadership. Flow strengths relate to movement, change, energy and innovation - being open to new ideas, and having the courage and creativity to pursue what’s new. 

Why? Pre-pandemic, as an Operations Manager at a big tech company, I could lean a lot more on established best-practice and put my effort into perfecting its application. Then Covid ripped up the playbooks overnight. We had to start afresh, get creative and stay agile to adapt to the new reality. One Flow Leader type in the Jyre model that I have closer fit to now is the 'Entrepreneurial' type - I get a kick out of spotting opportunities as they arise and seizing them, bringing value that others might miss. 

There were also certain aspects of Grounded leadership that started to hinder me in the new hybrid world, particularly related to the 'Professional' Leader type. With less defined work-life boundaries working from home, my strengths of ownership and appetite for impact actually led to over-working and burnout. I now work harder to manage the dark side of these characteristics. I also use my Professional skew to my advantage - to manage expectations more effectively with my team, setting an example of work-life balance.

My Professional skew also started impacting my ability to build and sustain strong relationships with my teammates in the new world. Pre-pandemic, I would heavily self-regulate in business contexts to ensure maximum efficiency and quality of output. This self-regulation meant that I relied on informal channels to forge the crucial human connection needed with peers - at lunch, at the pub after work, etc. 

But these opportunities are much fewer and further between in the hybrid world, and my work bonds started to suffer. So I’ve loosened up a bit, and have a less fixed distinction between ‘work me’ and ‘real me’. I allow myself to feel, and speak more about those feelings, while working. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my 'Charismatic' Leader type has fired up as a result!

Leaders can no longer rely on their old habits to inspire and align people - they need to thoughtfully adapt their leadership styles for the new world. You’ve probably already adapted yours more than you think. To continue your development journey, you could make a list of your strengths, and then think through how any of them might play out unhelpfully in a hybrid world. If you need help listing your strengths, I’d highly recommend a 2-week Jyre free trial. Once you have your list, think about how you could mitigate the unhelpful aspects by utilising those or other strengths in the list.

Prash Raval is a Multiverse Project Management alum based in Oxfordshire, UK. Here’s more about him:

“After an unhappy start to my career as an investment banker in London, I now find myself working a 4-day week as Head of Customer Ops at Jyre, living in the countryside and continually crafting healthier work-life habits. I love to write - to discover myself and to inspire others to do the same, with the hope we can each tap into our greatest potential to make the world a bit better. I currently host the ‘Work, Life, No Balance’ podcast, where I seek to help people find work-life balance in today’s always-connected world.”