A New Remote Work Trend Is Actually Proving Something You Wouldn't Expect

I was reading an article yesterday about a worry that Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has when it comes to Remote Work.

He says, "the cultural or social contract that holds people together... is unquestionably weaker..." when it comes to Remote Work.

Further he said, "That worries me in terms of willingness of corporate America to make cuts in the workforce."

"There is no sense of 'That is Jane who has worked down the hall from me for years. I will go the extra distance to try to keep Jane here."

Essentially, the fear is that Remote Work will encourage Corporate Leaders to do more Layoffs.

Since there isn't a connection, they won't feel guilty or a need to try to keep individuals.

All in the name of a bottom-line.

Now, reasoning like this is being used to say that employees should seek to be in the office.

There is also a large call to the office, with the claims that being out of office will lead to less opportunities for growth.

There is a mixture of threats and genuine beliefs that being out of the office will lead to less visibility, less training opportunities, and less ability to move up in an organization.

However, these trends do not actually reveal problems with Remote Work itself.

Rather, this is showing an extremely huge problem with current Leaders.

What we are seeing is a complete and utter incompetency of our current Leaders.

A Leader's role is to do what is best for their Teams and for the Organization as a whole.

We are in a day and age where technology can literally connect people from across the world!

Are these Leaders saying that an organization should be shackled to only the talent that is within a limited geolocation of where they decide to put an office?

Yes, they are limiting their talent pool by saying this.

That isn't what is best for an Organization - Leaders should be looking to get the best talent in the world.

This isn't a problem with Remote Work.

This is a problem with Leaders refusing to actually look at the potential that exists in the world.

Are Leaders saying that they are refusing to teach their teams what is necessary, and refuse to make sure that their teams have the necessary knowledge to succeed?

That is exactly what they are saying.

Unless you are coming to the office, these Leaders are refusing to prepare Employees for Success.

That isn't a problem with Remote Work.

It is a problem with Leaders refusing to Adapt to the Future.

It is a problem with showing bias and refusing to prepare their teams for Success.

These are things that should be a minimum baseline of determining a Leader's Success.

If a Leader refuses to prepare their team well, are they actually Leading?

A "Leader" that refuses to prepare their teams for Success shouldn't be Leading.

Are Leaders saying that they are refusing to actually Learn about the Human Beings that work for them?

It isn't difficult to set up meetings and learn who people are, find out what they care about, and discover why they are working at an organization.

This isn't a problem with Remote Work.

This is a problem with Leaders being Lazy and refusing to get to know their Team.

How can you successfully Lead a Team if you don't know them?

How can you learn people's Strengths and Weaknesses if you don't know them?

How can you Motivate people if you don't know what they care about?

How can you provide Solutions to your Team if you don't know what the real Struggles are that they face daily?

The Reality is you can't.

If you refuse to do these then you are Failing as a Leader.

Are Leaders saying that they are so HORRIBLY out of touch with the Results that MATTER to the bottom-line of an Organization, that they are willing to base who to keep at an organization on whether they are in or out of office REGARDLESS of the Quality of the Individuals?

That is exactly what these Leaders are saying.

They have no concept of what Results should look like on their Teams.

If they knew what actually lead to Results, then the data would be able to show them who is doing the work and who isn't REGARDLESS of where they do the work.

This isn't a problem with Remote Work.

This is a problem with Leaders who don't know what to be tracking that will create the Success the Organization needs.

When you don't know what to track, you start looking at Vanity Metrics like "How often is someone in office" instead of REAL RESULTS.

No.

The Trends we are seeing are not revealing anything about Remote Work at all.

All these Trends that we are seeing around "Remote Work" are only showing ONE thing.

Leadership Incompetence.

Good Leaders would ask these types of questions:

• "Why would we limit our Talent Pool to a small geographical location when we could get the best Talent in the WORLD?"
• "How do we make sure ALL of our Employees have the Training and Tools to Succeed NO MATTER where they are?"
• "What Results should we be tracking that allow me to know our team is succeeding, who is doing the best, who may need more training, AND shows that our Organization is on track to Success?"
• "How can I get to know my Team better so that I can put them in positions where they can best use their Strengths?"

All of these questions can be answered regardless of where people are working.

All of these questions will create a better workforce.

All of these questions help Leaders make the right decisions.

If you are thinking about firing people because -

• You don't know who they are
• You haven't given them the training they need
• You don't know what results they are getting when they aren't in the office

All it proves is that you're not Leading.

None of the reasoning that I am seeing for Returning to the Office shows me any hint that there is a problem with Remote Work.

In fact, both from Statistics and from looking at the Psychophysiology of Leadership, everything says that Remote Work is the smartest move an organization could make given our current workplace.

Everything that I have seen against Remote Work are Excuses from Leaders about their Incompetence.

Leaders need to join the Future instead of hiding behind poor Excuses.