Beyond Boundaries: Cultivating Social Capital in Hybrid Work Environments
Many organizational leaders are still struggling to adapt to remote work in the post-pandemic world. While some have implemented hybrid policies, others have completely abandoned such arrangements. The challenges of maintaining workplace relationships amidst stress, isolation, and remote work have been highlighted in a Fortune article titled "Rebuilding social capital is the next great leadership imperative," published in March 2022. This article emphasizes the need for deliberate efforts to strengthen employee networks.
One leader who successfully navigated the challenges of remote work is Davis Smith, Former CEO of Cotopaxi. Despite initial reservations, Smith not only embraced remote work but also leveraged it to his company's advantage. Reflecting on the changes, Smith acknowledged the necessity of adapting to a new working model and rebuilding the company culture from scratch to fit the remote environment.
“I’ve asked myself many times: At what point does this catch up to us? Because so many people are new and maybe they don’t understand the culture as deeply. But our culture has changed and all those rituals and traditions, we had to wipe them clean and start over and we’ve created new [ones] that work for this new environment.”
Social capital is a crucial aspect of workplace dynamics, defined as the positive outcomes resulting from human interaction. It can manifest in various forms, including favors, information exchange, innovative ideas, and future opportunities, and is deeply rooted in the connections within social networks among individuals.
As leadership and team coaches, we firmly believe that social capital is not limited by location. In fact, remote work can provide unique opportunities to strengthen it. But leaders must be intentional. While building social capital with remote workers may pose challenges, it is certainly achievable with the right approach. We assist teams in cultivating all three dimensions of social capital regardless of their physical location:
We focus on fostering "bonding" social capital by facilitating team connection and cohesion.
We address power dynamics to cultivate "linking" social capital, encouraging leaders to actively engage with team members across hierarchies.
We guide teams in building "bridging" social capital by fostering relationships with stakeholders from different functional areas.
Reach out to us to learn more about how we can help your team thrive in any work environment.