Managing hybrid and distributed teams

During the training, participants will have the opportunity to explore selected team management concepts (for both on-site and hybrid teams) and prepare for delegating tasks and conducting employee conversations structured as a cycle.

During the training, we will cover topics on managing a team of employees, including insights gained from our proprietary games: Intuition, Gold Rush, and Walk the Plank.

Module 1

The training will begin with the icebreaker Intuition. Through this engaging experience, participants will get to know each other better. It will serve as a starting point for a discussion on the impact of psychological distance on work effectiveness, relationships, engagement, and team loyalty.
The dynamic training game Gold Rush will immerse participants in the world of the Wild West. They will confront their own effectiveness in defining and understanding goals, aligning strategies with prevailing conditions, planning communication, and appreciating the importance of engagement and empowerment for work efficiency and results.

Goals:

• Understanding the specifics of managing remote and hybrid teams
  Exploring the impact of psychological distance on work effectiveness, relationships, engagement, and team loyalty
• Raising awareness of the importance of clear communication of goals and expectations
  Understanding the difference between an instructive approach and delegating responsibility

Topics:

• The team-building game Intuition
• Psychological distance
• Benefits and challenges of hybrid teams
• Communication in a hybrid team
• Gold Rush training game
• Communicating goals and requirements
• Building a sense of responsibility and proactivity among employees
• Delegating and instructing

Module 2

In the second part of the session, we will focus on the conscious execution of a three-phase communication cycle, consisting of planning, monitoring, and summary conversations. Participants will undergo practical training in conducting these conversations and prepare to handle challenges that may arise during their implementation.
Through subsequent activities and exercises, participants will understand the difference between monitoring and controlling, learn to consciously choose the timing and frequency of monitoring, and explore managerial practices that enhance the completion and quality of assigned tasks. They will relate these practices to their own experiences and professional context.

Goals:

• Building readiness to share responsibility to enhance employee engagement
• Developing skills in conducting planning, monitoring, and goal-review conversations
• Enhancing the ability to respond effectively to challenges and difficult situations that arise during conversations with employees

Topics:

• Communication cycle: planning, monitoring, and review conversations
• Using appropriate questions
• Monitoring, accountability, and support
• Reviews and visualization of goal achievement
• Practical training in conducting conversations
• Preventing difficult situations

Module 3

On the second day of the workshop, participants will face the task of assembling a complex structure using only a schematic plan. However, simply completing the structure will not be enough – the team’s challenge will be to find a way to do it as quickly as possible while meeting the very high standards set at the start of the exercise.
Only full collaboration among all participants—based on complete engagement, effective communication, mutual support, and coordinated action—will enable the team to succeed in this challenging task. Time pressure and high standards will serve as a strong catalyst for developing teamwork skills, efficient coordination, shared responsibility, and mutual motivation.

Goals:

• Experiencing a situation where success depends on the effective use of communication and coordination skills within and between teams
• Developing strategies for optimizing resource use at the individual, team, and inter-team levels
• Building collaboration, engagement, loyalty, and a sense of personal agency within a task-oriented team

Topics:

• The trainig game Walk the Plank

• Communication and coordination within the team
• Optimization of activities at the individual, team, and overall value delivery process levels
• Best practices for engaging people

Module 4

The final part of the workshop will introduce participants to the concept of situational leadership. They will learn how employee development unfolds, how and why effectiveness and motivation change, and which stages employees go through along with the challenges that define each stage. This will help them understand why it is important for a leader to distinguish between “willing but unable” and “unwilling but able.” Participants will learn how to adapt their management style, communication approach, and personal behaviors to the employee’s development stage and the specific situation or task. This will enable them to select the right tools from a wide range of managerial instruments for employee management and development.

Goals:

• Understanding the characteristics and needs of employees at each stage of their development
• Learning the four styles of situational leadership
• Developing the ability to match leadership style to the development stage of the employee and the team

Topics:

• Employee development stages and needs
• Competencies and the “willing- able” matrix
• Situational leadership and the four styles
• Recognizing and applying styles appropriate to needs and situations
• A range of managerial tools for employee management and development