10 New Books for Leading in a Hybrid Work Environment Here are 10 excellent books designed to help readers lead, communicate and perform well in a hybrid workplace.
By John Rampton
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Last year, leaders were forced to develop new skills to manage their teams remotely. With email anxiety and Zoom fatigue at an all-time high, how do we lead, communicate and engage both in the office and on a screen? As we continue to recover from the pandemic, everyone needs to continue to adapt, evolve, and learn the latest strategies and best practices to support their virtual and hybrid teams.
Here are 10 excellent books designed to help readers lead, communicate and perform well in a hybrid workplace:
1. Digital Body Language by Erica Dhawan
Digital Body Language is the roadmap we need to rekindle our professional relationships, trust and collaboration moving forward. From decoding punctuation, emojis and response times to defining new laws to connect from afar, this book is the Crucial Conversations for the digital age.
Dhawan, a leading expert on collaboration, helps leaders build trust and innovation through clear digital body language and learn the new signals that have replaced physical body language.
2. How To Thrive In The Virtual Workplace by Robert Glazer
This book offers a blueprint for more successful remote work, including in the hybrid workplace. Glazer shares the perspectives from remote employees, managers, and other executives. He teaches leaders how to avoid burnout, how to lead a virtual team of remote employees, and how to build a gold standard organization in the virtual working world.
3. Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere by Tsedal Neeley
The pandemic caused a rapid and significant growth in the reliance remote workplaces and entirely virtual teams. Leaders struggled with knowing which tools to use along with how to motivate their team. Remote Work Revolution is a necessity for working through the challenges that leaders and managers encounter. Neeley includes distinctive actionable steps and interactive tools to not only keep employees engaged but provides advice that helps leaders discover how to use remote work beneficially.
4. Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair by Kim Scott
Just Work shows how we can all work more effectively based on everyone's individuality. Scott reveals an honest truth: many organizations and companies are underutilizing many of their team members while promoting employees beyond their abilities. Just Work is the missing element on creating better collaboration and respect in the hybrid workplace.
5. Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams by David Burkus
Contrary to what one might expect, research shows that team members are not only more productive but also more engaged when they are able to work from anywhere. In return, leaders are in need of the skills to lead from anywhere. Leading from Anywhere is the go-to-guide for leaders of hybrid teams, taking on challenges, and seeing the first signs of burnout. Burkus provides all you will need to prosper as a leader of hybrid workplaces.
6. Remote: Office No Longer Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Fried and Heinemeir Hansson are co-founders of Basecamp, one of the first and most well-known remote companies in the world. Though nearly eight years old, Remote is still a definitive playbook to help you keep your team collaborating and excelling while working virtually, including in a hybrid workplace.
7. Reimagining Collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and the Post-COVID Future of Work by Phil Simon
A crucial part to success leading a hybrid organization is to harness the right software tools. In Reimagining Collaboration, Simon proposes that while virtual tools such as Slack, Microsoft Team and Zoom make remote work easier, we are not using these tools to their maximum effectiveness. Learn how to help your team get better results from remote work software and enhance your collaboration.
8. Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions by Tiffany Jana and Michael Baran
As companies look to make their workplaces more diverse, equitable and inclusive, leaders must know the nuances of preventing exclusion and harm specifically in a partially, or fully, remote workplace.
Communication is tricky in a virtual setting. All employees must know how to participate in the virtual community in such a way that makes all members feel included and comfortable in their remote office. Jana and Baran offer specific pointers in Subtle Acts of Exclusion to help you and your team create a more welcoming space for all employees.
9. Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra
One of the challenges remote leaders and employees face is a confidence-hit. Without seeing friendly faces around the office or getting consistent, positive feedback in-person, it can be difficult for us to know we are doing well. In this book, not only does Ibarra help restore this lost confidence for employees who miss in-person affirmations, but she also offers guidance on how to deliver more positive feedback, and create a happier, more motivated remote team.
10. The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel
Eikenberry and Turmel are co-founders of the Remote Leadership Institute, and they offer actionable tips specifically to help leaders motivate their teams and hold employees accountable.
Organizations, regardless of whether they are in-person, remote or hybrid, are only as effective as their leadership. The Long Distance Leader is a book that offers expert knowledge to upgrade your leadership for an increasingly remote world.
Conclusion
As the working world evolves at an accelerating pace, it's more important than ever to make the time to stay on top of your professional development. These books will help you adapt to the hybrid workplace.
