The Leadership Lesson Hybrid Work Is Forcing Everyone to Learn

There’s a line you hear in many leadership conversations: “People don’t leave companies, they leave managers.”

However, in a hybrid company, this can happen a little differently. People turn away from managers who are unable to read them. The instincts that work in an office don’t always translate well across a dozen screens and different time zones, and many good managers may not notice until it’s too late.

When I started building BriteCo, I assumed that the hard part of running a distributed team would be the logistics. However, the real challenge was relearning how to connect with people. It’s emotional work, and the screen wallpapers and silent button etiquette we tend to pin down barely scratch the surface. Most of us have never trained for this type hybrid working leadership really looking for.

The hallway moved, so I had to move with it

One of the most underrated things about an office is its hallway. Someone walks by your door with a half-formed question, you talk for 20 minutes, and a problem you’ve both been circling for a week is suddenly resolved. We’ve experienced this at BriteCo more times than I can count.

However, this type of spontaneous interaction it just doesn’t happen naturally when it’s half the team in the distance. So we stopped waiting for it to happen naturally and started producing it. We maintain several Slack channels dedicated only to unfinished ideas with no set agenda. We also schedule virtual coffee breaks on the calendar unrelated to any project. Our days in the office are now reserved for messy, collaborative work, with focused work taking place wherever a person focuses best.

These practices give creative energy somewhere on earth, even if they don’t completely recreate the corridor.

Most of my suggestions don’t survive a screen

It’s really hard to read a room on video. The signals I relied on—the change in attitude or the uneven vibe when an idea goes wrong—are often silent or absent from a call.

To address this issue, I have become more direct. I ask people how they’re really doing, then stay quiet and wait for the real answer instead of the default “good, busy” response. I also ask what irritated them this week. I used to treat these questions as optional, but they serve a valuable purpose. For a manager who can’t rely on physical presence, they help you gather the information the corridor was giving you for free.

I run a jewelry insurance company, so I spend my days thinking about objects that hold great emotional weight for the people who own them. An engagement ring is never just a ring. This sensitivity to what something means to a person should extend within the team; otherwise, it’s just a talking point in a brand presentation.

The trust does the work that the office used to do

For a long time, many managers relied on a lazy shortcut: if I can see you at your desk, you must be working. The reality is that some people I DO coast when no one is looking. However, many others do their own thing best work at home no movement, fewer distractions and a closed door. The table visibility never told you which employee was which, so you never found out.

Trust-based leadership replaces that shortcut, but requires more of you on a psychological and professional level. You need to know each person on your team well enough to understand what conditions allow them to do their best work. The warning signs also need to be caught earlier, because the casual observations that used to reveal them are gone. It also means having difficult conversations sooner, before problems have time to fester.

At BriteCo, culture is intentionally created, not inherited. We hold off-site and all-hands rallies, and we remain rooted in Evanston, where our relationship with Northwestern University has helped build a strong pipeline of talent that keeps us connected to our hometown. We have priority clear and frequent communication even across our online channels, so that our remote workers never feel disconnected or isolated from their colleagues who come to our offices. Our local roots and hybrid model work together, enabling us to deliver flexible work to our team.

Managers who succeed in this new hybrid work environment are those who can understand how someone is doing through a screen and build trust without having to see them in person. The best software and strictest office return policies won’t get you there; it’s a skill that takes practice and a framework we’re always working to improve. Over time, I’ve found that getting better at reading people I can’t see has made me more attuned to those sitting across from me.

There’s a line you hear in many leadership conversations: “People don’t leave companies, they leave managers.”

However, in a hybrid company, this can happen a little differently. People turn away from managers who are unable to read them. The instincts that work in an office don’t always translate well across a dozen screens and different time zones, and many good managers may not notice until it’s too late.

When I started building BriteCo, I assumed that the hard part of running a distributed team would be the logistics. However, the real challenge was relearning how to connect with people. It’s emotional work, and the screen wallpapers and silent button etiquette we tend to pin down barely scratch the surface. Most of us have never trained for this type hybrid working leadership really looking for.