On 20 March, our IPAA ACT Future Leaders Summit explored hybrid and remote team leadership through a keynote, panel discussion, and a masterclass.

Here are some of the key points from the event:

💡Know yourself
💡If you’re a carer, you do carry more responsibility after work – be mindful of that
💡Building rapport means building a psychologically safe environment – people need to feel comfortable to have difficult conversations
💡Role model when you take leave and empower others to do the same
💡Create a culture that allows for better integration of our complex lives
💡Reflect on what it means to deliver an outcome as a public servant – as a leader with a team, includes reporting the basis of your decision
💡As a leader, it’s your job to not lose sight of what your responsibilities are as a public servant looking towards the future
💡Be a keen record keeper, so you don’t repeat conversations with communities when it’s not necessary

➕Advantages of flexible work: less commuting, work/life balance, increased autonomy and job satisfaction, benefits to cohorts of employees, eg. people with disabilities, carers, reduced job attrition
💡Those WFH or hybrid are more productive or just as productive
➖Challenges: Work/family conflict, longer hours, isolation, burnout, sickness presenteeism, psychological distress
💡Research shows that return to work mandates have led to: increased resentment and decreased loyalty, increased talent loss, turnover for women three times as high as that for men, it takes longer to fill vacancies, potential negative impact on women, carers and people with disabilities, implications for office spaces
💡Rather than looking at where work is done, focus on how it is done
💡Recent research: Teams work on the same tasks regardless of location
💡Workplaces are becoming more sociable – people want collaborative offices
💡As long as deliverables are met, managers don’t tend to care where people work, but ways of measuring performance haven’t been changed
💡Managers said they need training around having difficult conversations virtually.

Video – revisit the recording of the keynote and panel whenever it suits you.

Powerpoint – Access the PowerPoint for the keynote.

Transcript – Read the transcript of the keynote or panel discussion.