Which Hat Will You Choose?

If you’re a people leader at a company with office space, you’re going to need a new hat.

And the hat you choose matters.

Yes, it seems Return-to-Office policies will be put in place by year-end for 90% of companies that have offices. Source

And this means you’re about to be stuck in the middle of the company policy and your employees’ preferences.

On the surface, it may feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place – you either enforce the policy or you don’t. As a leader, you know that it's your job to support the policy.

But I’m going to suggest that you resist the urge to put on a sales hat and cheerlead the team back. Trying to persuade someone that coming into the office will be better than WFH isn’t going to cut it.

Instead, put on a mediator hat.

This means:

• Ask open-ended questions to dig deeper

• Listen actively for underlying needs

• Paraphrase to confirm understanding

• Reframe” “How can we work within the policy and enable you to X at the same time?”

• Brainstorm solutions

• Agree on a path forward

Remember, this is not about where people work. This conflict is about autonomy.

As a mediator, you can work with your team to enable more autonomy in ways that are meaningful to them - and follow the policy at the same time.

Melissa Janis builds management capabilities to create a workplace that's better for your employees and better for your bottom line.