Introduction

Launching a startup from scratch ten years ago was an exercise in risky business. But starting a brand new company and attempting to scale it during the unsure times we live in can turn into a modern day trial by fire. 

As the transition towards the hybrid work environment becomes normalized, we’re learning more about what it takes for a distributed team to be successful.

The hybrid work environment is becoming standard for knowledge workers, and managers across all industries must remain flexible and open to developing the way they engage with and support their distributed teams.

Bias in hybrid work environments is real. Here’s how to ensure your team is equitable, no matter where your employees are based.

In this post, I will explain how teams entering hybrid work can rebuild and redefine how they work together. By the end of this post/guide, you will have learned:

Over at Regroup, we sat down with Ian Stuart, Director of Learning and Development at Coursera, to uncover the lessons he's learned about developing and supporting teams amidst the complexity of remote work. Previous to his 4-year tenure building the Learning & Development function at Coursera, Ian was at Google for over 13 years doing team/organization effectiveness consulting and leadership development. Hopefully his insights help you find new ways to empower teams & help them get unstuck. 

Google’s multi-year research project studying team effectiveness, Project Aristotle, revealed that the number one element of successful teams is Psychological Safety. Psychological safety is the shared feeling that it’s safe to speak up, admit a mistake, ask for help, or challenge the status quo. When a team with shared goals is working in an environment with uncertainty, these qualities enable them to discuss difficult topics, hear feedback, explore new ideas, and learn from failure. Psychological safety is the foundation of trust and teaming behaviors. Without it, we are each just posturing for approval.

I walked away from a dream job. Each year, 2 million people apply to work at Google. My spouse always told me, “you’ll never leave, they give you free pancakes.” Yes, the pancakes there are amazing, but what made it really hard to leave were the amazing people, the incredible opportunity to make a difference in the world, and the golden handcuffs. So, why did I do it? And, how?