Management Concepts For The New Normal

By Trindent Consulting Staff

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented test for the business world.  Very few organizations had contingency plans for situations like this, and most had to scramble to adjust to an entirely new way of running operations, often on just a few days’ notice.   New realities like having all staff work from home had never been imagined, much less planned for.  As companies raced to transition to this “new normal” plans had to be formulated – and course-corrected – in real-time by management. 

As unfortunate as current circumstances are, this is ultimately a test that will serve to demonstrate which companies are agile enough to adapt, which are not, and which will emerge stronger than ever.  One of the main determining factors of how companies will come out of the pandemic is how an organization’s management team led their staff.

The Digital Productivity Gap

The digital age changed how organizations and people interact with one another and today, it allows companies to continue functioning remotely through what has become a prolonged work-from-home mandate.   While remote work has its advantages, there are reasons why this option is allowed with caution under regular circumstances.  There are obvious pitfalls that companies were not equipped to face, the biggest one being a gap in the ability to remotely manage teams in an effective manner.

Trindent believes that “the most effective way for managers and business leaders to successfully bridge the gap between great strategy and effective performance” is with active management.  With entire organizations forced to work remotely, active management is more important than ever as leaders struggle to address the work-from-home productivity gap.

Effective Remote Management

Active management is the key to effectively overseeing a remote workforce.  Passive managers will leave their teams with insufficient guidance and oversight, increasing the risk of productivity gaps; and micromanaging a team remotely is simply unrealistic and untenable.

In our engagements, Trindent always includes active management training modules for organization leaders.  By using these modules, our clients have successfully increased and sustained productivity, with a good adoption rate and good response to an uptick in active management.  This was particularly true for clients who had remote staff.

Mitigating Risk

Now that remote work is the new normal, there are three threats that active leaders need to keep top of mind:

1. Communication will continue to be more challenging as the convenience of walking to each other’s desk is gone
2. Teamwork will increasingly feel like autonomous work as inter-colleague interaction shrinks
3. Recognition will diminish as there is less contact and work feels siloed.

If managers can successfully mitigate these risks, their teams will stay engaged and productive, and they will succeed in this new normal. 

The Trindent methodology on active management is built to be adaptable to challenges like the one we are now facing.  Organizations who can turn this challenge into an opportunity and improve how their leaders manage a remote workforce will be the ones that will get ahead.