Asynchronous hybrid work

- Ever had to schedule a meeting with more than a few people and you can't see their calendars? Sometimes, you can feel like you're spending way more time herding cats just trying to get a date and time that works for everyone than the actual amount of time you need for the meeting. When this happens, be open to consider what we'll call asynchronous hybrid options, 'cause there will be times when you just might have to settle with having most people attend live. What we do here is that we set up our meeting for people to participate at multiple times. Still plan the meeting and request everyone join live at the date and time you set, but then when someone declines or says they can't make it, have ready the ways they can still participate. The thing with this approach is it's going to highlight how well you're planning the actual session. So that means being real clear on your goal, 'cause then it makes it easy to be real clear why that person must participate even if they can't attend live. Now, if you've done your prep work, you know the role and the contributions those unavailable stakeholders need to make to achieve the business outcomes of the session. So then think, what actions do they need to take? You want to define these as explicitly as possible. The trick with communicating with anyone who won't participate live is to ensure you tell them what you need them to do, why this is needed and why them, where and how to provide their participation, and especially when to provide it by. But remember, we want it to be all about the team, never an individual, so you actually want to take the same approach with everyone. Everyone should feel an equal part of contributing towards the goal. So make sure your invite says just this: why each person is invited; what their expected participation is; and how they will participate. You can help demonstrate the behavior you expect by sharing what you plan to do. This can be helpful so that everyone knows you'll not only send outputs of your live session to everyone, but that you'll also be sending reminders to complete these action items by the due dates. You're just as vested as you need them to be to complete the outcomes. I've included some of my own communication examples in the course handouts for you to reference. Check these out now, as they're great meeting management of not only hybrid events, but really any engaging session, 'cause this is a really valuable way to respect the schedules and demands of your team while articulating the value they provide. Let your stakeholders know you understand that there are challenges to hybrid remote work, but emphasize that everyone is still a part of the team and has valuable contributions to the work that needs to be delivered. You actually are investing in their participation live in the next meeting. They'll see how hard you work to support them, and they will work hard to support you through their participation 'cause they will see how focused you are on enabling outcomes, and so they will look forward to being productive in the next hybrid meeting you facilitate because they know you are all about them.