Managing a team is one thing. Managing a team spread across multiple offices, construction sites, and different time zones presents an entirely different challenge.
For leaders in hybrid workplaces, the question is no longer how to manage employees remotely. The main question becomes: How can we create a team that feels connected, even when they rarely share the same physical workspace?
We spoke with Hutt Rubio, SVP of Build at NewGround, to discuss the realities of leading a geographically dispersed team and what it takes to maintain communication, accountability, and curate a sense of belonging.
I. Create Consistency Through Communication
For Hutt, building unity across locations has been a learning process. One important lesson has been understanding the value of consistent communication.
His leadership team meets twice a month to discuss departmental priorities, identify challenges, and talk through opportunities for improvement. Rather than introducing too many changes at once, the team identifies a few top priorities to address each quarter.
This approach creates a consistent rhythm to problem-solving and gives employees a clearer understanding of where the department is headed.
Regular one-on-one meetings provide another opportunity for employees to ask questions, share concerns, and stay connected to leadership.
For hybrid and geographically dispersed teams, consistency does not mean communicating constantly. It means creating dependable opportunities for employees to know what is happening, what matters most, and where to go for support.
II. Turn Collaboration into Action
When employees are spread across job sites and offices, collaboration requires more intention.
A standing meeting is only valuable when something comes from it. For Hutt’s team, leadership discussions end in action items that can be addressed and evaluated throughout the quarter.
This creates accountability without requiring everyone to work in the same location.
This also reinforces an important principle of hybrid leadership: employees need to see their impact. They strive to understand how their individual responsibilities contribute to the larger team’s success, and this is one small way to bring that full circle.
Effective hybrid team communication should answer three questions:
What needs to happen?
Who is responsible?
When will progress be reviewed?
III. Building Connection Beyond the Work
It’s possible to communicate with employees every day without creating a genuine sense of connection.
Company culture develops through relationships and everyday interactions that help people understand one another beyond their job titles.
For leaders of dispersed teams, this means making room for conversations that aren’t always about deadlines or processes.
Getting to know employees personally and maintaining regular contact can help prevent remote team members from feeling disconnected from the organization. This can look like one-on-one meetings with team members or even group virtual happy hours. These interactions do not need to be elaborate.
Small intentional touchpoints like this can help make or break how employees feel about showing up every day.
IV. Treat Leadership as an Ongoing Practice
There is no single formula for managing a successful hybrid team.
Hutt acknowledges, finding the right approach takes time and a willingness to adjust. What works for one team may not work for another. Knowing the individuals on your team and how they work well together matters.
The most effective leaders establish consistent expectations while remaining open to feedback and change. For Hutt, he invites these types of conversations often, asking employees to write their own concerns, issues, and general feedback anonymously.
Ultimately, a connected hybrid team isn’t defined by how often its members are physically together. It’s defined by whether employees feel informed, supported and included in the work they share.
Distance can change how teams communicate, but it doesn’t have to change how they work together.