It's foolhardy to think, after so many months of flailing through figuring out virtual meetings, that the transition to hybrid will be smooth. No matter how much investment is made in hardware, software, room design, and training, the evolution to a whole new way of meeting is bound to come with some significant speed bumps.
“My concern is people are going to hate it and just give up on it quickly because it's going to be painful,” suggests Lisette Sutherland of Collaboration Superpowers. “Unless you have the right things in place, it's just not going to work very well.” At least, not from the start.
But what are the right things? Unfortunately, the answer may be a moving target. There isn't only one version of a hybrid meeting, and there isn't only one way to make a hybrid meeting work. Techniques will be tried and adjusted over time. However, we can steal plays from the playbooks of those who have already found success in their hybrid meeting methodology and approach. By the end of this chapter, you will have many more strategies/tools for being a leader of hybrid meetings that work.
In this chapter, we will explore:
In academia, there's a teaching methodology that's called a “flipped classroom” (Trach 2020). This blended learning style involves students interacting with new material as homework, say by watching a videotaped lecture on the subject prior to coming to class. Then, the actual classroom time is reserved for discussion of that material and application of it.
The corporate world is beginning to adopt a “flipped classroom” model of its own, with a heavier reliance upon pre‐work completed before the meeting. It's one proven strategy to cut down on the number of meetings clogging up the calendar. In this new model, instead of thinking of the meeting as a starting point, it is considered to be either the middle or the end of the journey. The time in the meeting is focused on discussion, rather than on simply sharing information that could easily have been transmitted in an asynchronous way.
It's a solution to a problem that Lisette has seen in her work with clients. “I think people are getting a little bit lazy because we are just setting aside time to talk about something next week, but none of us have done any of the prep work. It's just ‘2 o'clock on Tuesday next week, let's talk about client X.’”
Pre‐work can take many forms. If you plan to discuss the results of a recent report, send it out in advance for attendees to review before the meeting, but do hold people accountable. A pre‐read has no value if no one reads it. Lisette suggests hiding “Easter eggs” in the document to identify who has done the work and who has not:
For instance, I'll say, “I need you to read through this document. If you've read it, sign your name at the bottom so that I know you've read it.” Before the meeting even starts, I can go through and see, aha, Joe didn't read it. I can then reach out to Joe before the meeting and say, “Hey, I really need you to read this.” (Of course, this Joe would ALWAYS do his pre‐work.)
Pre‐work can also mean soliciting opinions prior to the actual session to save time in the actual meeting. A typical practice in any meeting is to have participants weigh in on a topic in a round‐robin sort of way. However, consider this alternative: ask everyone to type a three‐to‐five‐sentence update to be shared before the meeting. Then the meeting itself can be reserved for discussion and collaboration.
For brainstorming sessions, asking participants to do some deep thinking on their own in advance also can lead to a more productive meeting. Rather than just coming to the meeting cold, they've actually devoted some time to pondering the topic at hand, resulting in a more fruitful discussion right from the beginning. Maybe they can even refer to notes they've taken prior to the session that can accelerate the decision‐making process and fast‐forward to the meaningful exchange of ideas. If you listen to the science, the best group brainstorming sessions happen after individuals spend time doing their own brainstorming, generating more creative and innovative ideas than those who didn't begin with pre‐work (Paulus and Kenworthy 2019).
How much preparation is required of the leader and the attendees is dictated by the kind of meeting to be held. An operational‐type meeting, like a weekly stand‐up where you are simply going over sales numbers, might require less work in advance, but it does require a clear agenda and the expression of a desired outcome. If it's a strategic meeting, that's when prep work is nonnegotiable, according to Summit Leadership Partners’ Dan Hawkins: “There has to be more up‐front work planning the agenda, planning the topic, having information disseminated to all key people.” That meeting time is precious, so arming people with information and an opportunity to come mentally prepared will help you make the most of it.
The biggest challenge for any hybrid meeting leader is to move the virtual attendees from their default position of passive observer. Up until the widespread adoption of videoconferencing tools, people were conditioned to simply watch screens, not engage through them. When those who are remote log into a meeting, they still may want to adopt that role or do what we alluded to before: “sort of” attend the meeting. Sure, their cameras might be on, but their brains are off … or at least off the topics being discussed in the meeting. Even when the camera is on, the seduction of multitasking is ever‐present and threatens the effectiveness of the session.
How do you compel people to switch from passive observer to active participant? The following are some specific strategies to employ.
Participation doesn't just happen by accident in a hybrid setting. Usually, it's the result of a level of intentionality that infuses the meeting before it even takes place. Leaders need to inspire input from both the “Zoomies” and “Roomies” – those joining virtually and those joining in‐person – and it begins with optimizing the meeting invite as an engagement management tool.
Don't just send a calendar invite with a link to the video collaboration platform of choice. Best‐in‐class hybrid organizations use the invitation to convey pertinent information for better preparation by attendees. For example, in the title or subject line, identify what kind of meeting is being planned and declare the purpose of the meeting. Some organizations use an “H” for hybrid, an “I” for in person, and a “V” for a fully virtual meeting. That way, attendees know what to expect when they show up – either on the screen or in the physical room.
In an invitation for a hybrid meeting, let all attendees know what tools will be used. Prepare them to participate by notifying them that you'll be using polls, breakout rooms, and/or chat. If a new tool is being introduced – say, a digital whiteboard that hasn't been used before – send along a link to a video or text tutorial. It removes one barrier to entry and allows everyone in attendance to be able to use it right out of the gate.
Of course, we would encourage you to also express within the invitation the desire that those who are remote turn their cameras on for all the reasons we've already mentioned. Articulating this in the meeting invite underscores its importance and your expectations. Doing so also has the potential to further enhance the communication environment.
Speaking up in a virtual meeting can be intimidating, particularly when the group is larger, or one is new to a group. In a hybrid meeting, the fear of speaking up is often compounded when some people are physically in the room and you are not. That's why it's important for meeting leaders to include and value chat as a mechanism for participation. From the beginning, establish that adding comments, questions, and reactions in the chat is a welcome way to provide input.
The use of chat can also augment the verbal discussion while avoiding the challenges of talking over each other. For example, say someone is speaking and offers a really innovative idea that another attendee wants to build upon or even simply endorse. Rather than waiting for a turn to speak, that colleague can add an immediate comment in chat. Socioemotional behavior such as agreements and affirmations are essential for building cohesion and trust, but they are difficult to interject in the flow of a hybrid meeting for remote participants (Lehmann‐Willenbrock and Allen 2014). However, this dual‐medium collaboration, verbal and chat, can result in a more fluid and inclusive experience beyond one person speaking at a time. Chiming in on chat is efficient and often makes it easier for someone to insert their opinion in a timely fashion without interrupting the flow of the idea being shared.
Chat can also be used to clarify or supplement something that was said previously. Let's say an attendee forgot to add a really key point when asked to argue for or against an initiative. Rather than try to flag down the facilitator to regain the floor, that person can put the additional commentary in chat. Joe likes to do this by inserting some of his favorite scientific articles to back up his argument in the chat. But take note, attendees: sometimes that can come across as a bit snarky. So, tactful chat use is important to keep in mind.
But all of that valuable input will be for naught if no one looks at it and then brings it into the verbal discussion. That's why it is incumbent on the meeting leader to actually attend to that string of text and incorporate it into the conversation. This is no easy task, though. The additional cognitive burden of keeping track of the chat discussion and facilitating the verbal one can be a bit too much for many a meeting leader. That's why we advocate assigning the role of “chat monitor” when possible, delegating the responsibility to someone who can help you weave the written participation into the overall dialogue. In Chapter 9, we'll talk more about the chat monitor and other potential roles to fill in a hybrid meeting.
As a meeting leader, you set the tone and establish the ground rules for everyone, and one way to signal to your team that everyone's voice is equally valued is ensuring that those who are remote speak first. This policy of immediately giving voice to those who are not in the physical room is common practice at organizations that recognize the potential disadvantage experienced by virtual attendees. No matter how well equipped both the meeting room and the home office are to enable hybrid meetings, those who are not within the confines of the conference room can have less “presence” than those who are physically present.
We recommend meeting leaders level the playing field by offering those who are joining virtually the opportunity to speak first. At Envato, the policy has paid dividends, according to Jay Hyett:
If we were doing a workshop, for example, we would throw a question to the remote people first and get their input before anyone in the physical room. When you ask a question, you may ask it to the people on the screen, knowing that they don't necessarily have to have an answer. But you always want to make sure that they feel included the entire time.
As the pandemic wore on, savvy managers started recognizing the sterilization of their virtual meetings and began to introduce ways to restore humanity to meetings. In a face‐to‐face meeting, there was natural social lubrication that would happen organically – those moments of informal chitchat that occur as people are settling in around the conference room table. Meeting scientists call this “pre‐meeting talk” and although it can include all sorts of topics, the most effective is actually just plain old small talk (e.g. How was your weekend? Did you see the game last night?) (Allen, Lehmann‐Willenbrock, and Landowski 2014).
When organizations first went fully virtual, there was a certain abruptness to the start of a meeting that resulted in a loss of that nonbusiness, conversational catching up. While cutting out that chitchat might have seemed like a timesaver at first, there's plenty of research indicating how important that chitchat is for better business outcomes, as well as for fostering team cohesion (Allen, Lehmann‐Willenbrock, and Landowski 2014). For these reasons among others, the icebreaker became a common practice for virtual meetings.
In a hybrid situation, icebreakers also have value, and not just for establishing rapport among teammates. Icebreakers also provide voice opportunities early on in the meeting that can prime the pump for greater participation throughout. Research shows that people who speak up once are more likely to speak up many times over. If you go around the meeting room and ask all attendees to speak, whether they are remote or in‐person, you can encourage a “speak‐up” culture that will hopefully last for the duration of the session. For the introverts in the room, icebreakers can be a way to literally “break the ice” and enable them to have the courage to share their ideas more openly (Lee, Diefendorff, Kim, and Bian 2014).
This does not mean you need to consult a list of icebreaker ideas before every meeting, nor does it mean that the topic has to be non‐business‐related. Lisette Sutherland of Collaboration Superpowers suggests, “The name connotates playfulness, so you're always thinking like, ‘Take a picture of your shoes and show what's on your feet,’ or ‘What's your favorite drink?’ But it can also be, ‘What are you hoping to get out of this meeting today?’” By changing it up, you can determine what fits the meeting climate for that moment – do you want to prepare the group to discuss serious matters of business or offer an opportunity for everyone to be silly together? If it's the latter, do know there's good evidence that workplace fun leads employees to be more willing to help each other out, so it's a win‐win (Yang and Wang 2020).
Another way to pull out participation from all attendees is setting the expectation that you may not wait for someone to speak up or comment in chat. Let your attendees know that you plan to cold‐call, but with good intention. Explain that your motivation is not to put anyone on the spot, but rather you hope to ensure that everyone has had an opportunity to weigh in regardless of how they are joining the meeting. This “remotes speak first” orientation sends a strong signal: everyone's voice is valued and, as a leader, you recognize that those joining virtually may need an extra boost of “presence awareness.”
This extra attention, though, may create some anxiety for remote attendees who may be fearful of being called on. You can help them feel safe by giving them a clear out. Here's Lisette again: “One of the things I do at the top of a workshop is I establish that I'm going to call on people. I tell them you can say pass. You don't have to tell me why. I'll just move on to the next person.”
No matter what videoconferencing technology you are using, or the number of cameras or microphones you have placed within the meeting room, those who are joining virtually may still miss important body language cues that are easier to read in person. The meeting leader can help fill in those gaps by being almost overly communicative for the benefit of those who are remote.
“When you are facilitating, do play‐by‐play/color commentary,” says Matt Abrahams, a lecturer in organizational behavior at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He emphasizes the importance of providing additional context for those joining virtually. “Comment on the nonverbal behavior of the people in the room because some people who are remote might not be able to see that. You could say, ‘Joe, I see you leaning in … do you have something that you want to say?’ You want to paint the picture for those who are remote.”
If you listen to podcasts, you may have heard versions of this. For example, let's say a guest gives a sarcastic response to a question. The host might offer context to listeners by saying something like, “If you saw how hard they are rolling their eyes, you'd wonder if they were getting dizzy.” The visual conjured up by the podcaster helps to bring listeners into the room, creating a more immersive experience. The same can happen for meetings, if the meeting leader engages in, practices, and develops this skill.
Anyone who has attended a meeting in person knows what typically happens after a meeting officially adjourns. Often a meeting after the meeting begins. When people are both remote and in‐person, that becomes a real problem and a source of isolation. Once the meeting is ended on the video collaboration platform, the virtual attendees are completely left out of those conversations among the in‐person attendees, and even if no discussions occur, those who are remote still might feel like they are happening out of their earshot.
The best way to ward off any backchannel discussions is to ensure that you as the leader wait to shut down the virtual meeting link until everyone has left the physical room. You remove the shadow of doubt and let the remote attendees know that they aren't missing any further discussion that might have taken place outside of the official agenda.
Keeping a link open beyond the official adjournment of the meeting also allows for something that occurs naturally after in‐person meetings. While the majority of attendees might leave the room, one or two people might want to linger to ask an additional question or get clarification on a comment made during the meeting. Sometimes those questions are directed toward the meeting leader, and sometimes they're for another attendee. Keeping the virtual environment open facilitates these conversations, which can reduce the need for a follow‐up phone call or check‐in meeting on the already busy calendar. This is particularly important when a meeting goes poorly. One bad meeting creates more bad meetings, but one way to mitigate that is allowing for a natural debrief that can occur between individuals as the majority of the group starts to leave the room (Allen, Rogelberg, and Scott 2006).
Keeping track of all of the strategies mentioned might be a bit cumbersome, so we've included this checklist for quick reference and reflection. While it is designed for meeting leaders, attendees can also use this list to assess how many strategies their meeting leader employed. Consider your last hybrid meeting, and answer the following questions.
| Ask yourself the following questions: | Yes or No |
|---|---|
| 1.Did you assign pre‐work to make the meeting more productive? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 2.Did you leverage the meeting invite to set expectations? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 3.Did you establish the use of chat as a valuable way of participating? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 4.Did you attend to the chat and incorporate written comments into the verbal discussion? 5.Did you let those who are remote speak first? |
[ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 6.Did you use icebreakers? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 7.Did you cold‐call with good intention and establish it as a norm? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 8.Did you provide commentary on the nonverbals of the in‐person attendees to give context for the remote attendees who may not be able to see them? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| 9.Did you wait to close the virtual meeting link until everyone in person had left the room? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| TOTAL YES | ___________ |
How did you or your meeting leader do? Please know that successful hybrid meetings don't have to incorporate all of these techniques; however, if you are dissatisfied with how your meetings have been going so far and you did not check all of the boxes, there's an opportunity to improve that's highlighted for you. Try the strategies that haven't been implemented and see if they can help improve your meeting outcomes.
Leading a hybrid meeting can be challenging, but with a better understanding of the dynamics at play and some specific techniques to apply, it is possible to lead them well. If all of the techniques mentioned are being used and you still haven't found success, the problem might not be what you aren't doing but rather what you are. In Chapter 7, we will move from the “dos” to the “don'ts” when leading a hybrid meeting.