Imagine, it’s Monday morning, half your team are dialling in from spare rooms and kitchen tables. A few are together in a meeting room, trying to balance faces on a screen with people in the room. Cameras off. Awkward silences. Small talk feels forced, and it’s harder to read the room than it used to be.
For many organisations, hybrid working is here to stay. And while flexibility can be brilliant for wellbeing and balance, sustaining connection and a strong, shared culture is one of the biggest challenges leaders face today.
In an office, so much happens in passing: spontaneous chats, shared coffee breaks, overheard snippets that make new joiners feel they’re in the loop. In a hybrid world, those moments don’t happen by accident, they need to be created on purpose.
Remember, connection and culture don’t live in a building. They live in your people, your conversations, and the way you show up for each other, wherever you work.
In this blog, we’ll look at why it’s so easy to lose that sense of ‘us’ in a hybrid setting, why the old visibility mindset can hold teams back, and how you can build a culture that keeps everyone connected, no matter where they’re working.
Why hybrid working makes connection tricky
When people aren’t physically together, you lose a lot of the ‘glue’ that makes connection feel effortless. Little moments like corridor chats or spontaneous brainstorms don’t happen naturally. Silos can quietly grow, and without care, people drift into working as individuals rather than a team.
It can be even tougher for new joiners: when you’re remote, it takes much longer to absorb ‘how things work around here’. Culture can feel abstract if it’s not visible in the everyday.
But strong cultures don’t live in office walls, they live in relationships, trust, and shared purpose. Hybrid working just makes it more obvious when those foundations are missing.
Challenging the visibility myth
Part of the struggle comes down to mindset, and the conditioning of what we’ve associated with “normal”. For decades, many leaders equated being seen with being productive. In the office, you could see who stayed late, who was at their desk early, who looked busy.
Hybrid working flips that on its head. When you can’t see people all day, you have to trust that work is happening, and for some leaders, that can feel uncomfortable.
But research consistently shows that people can be more productive and engaged when they feel trusted and supported to work flexibly. For example, the CIPD found in their Flexible Working Report 2022 that flexible working arrangements are linked to higher job satisfaction, better wellbeing, and improved productivity, because true performance isn’t about bums on seats, it’s about clarity, accountability, and trust.
When you shift from managing presence to managing outcomes, you open the door to better engagement and results. Flexibility is a two-way street: when people feel trusted, they’re far more likely to show up with energy, ownership, and commitment.
The cost of disconnection
When connection frays, culture suffers, and so does performance.
Disconnection doesn’t always show up in obvious ways at first. It might be a drop in energy during meetings. Or people slipping into silos because they don’t feel part of something bigger. Over time, it can mean people are less productive, misunderstandings increase, and engagement slowly erodes. People feel less tied to your purpose when they feel isolated.
A hybrid approach shouldn’t just be about where people work, it’s about how they work together. So how do you build a sense of ‘us’ when you’re not all in the same place?
Three ways to strengthen connection and culture
Building connection and culture in a hybrid world is an ongoing practice, not a box-tick exercise. Our programmes built to support leadership and leading in hybrid helps leadership teams put these habits into action: real, practical ways to stay connected, build trust, and keep your culture alive wherever your people work.
Here are three areas we focus on, and how you can start doing the same:
1. Be intentional about moments that matter
Think about the touchpoints that shape how people feel: onboarding, meetings, feedback conversations, celebrations. These moments need extra care when you’re hybrid.
Design them so everyone feels seen and heard, whether they’re in the office or on screen.
- Start meetings with a human check-in, not just a to-do list
- Make sure people joining remotely feel as involved as those in the room
- Use asynchronous tools thoughtfully, so people stay in the loop, wherever they are
Through Power Up, we help teams spot these ‘moments that matter’ and design them with purpose, so connection doesn’t fall through the cracks.
Leader reflection: Where do our day-to-day rituals build or break connection?
2. Create space for informal connection
Connection isn’t just about tasks, it’s about trust. And trust often builds in the small, informal moments.
Hybrid teams need opportunities to get to know each other as people, not just job titles.
- Try virtual coffees or buddy systems for new joiners
- Plan hybrid team days with a clear purpose, not just another meeting
- Recognise that one size won’t fit all, people connect in different ways
Our Podcast episode, Leading in a Hybrid World, sparks practical ideas for making this happen, from simple daily habits to bigger team moments that strengthen relationships.
Leader reflection: How are we making space for genuine human moments?
3. Embed culture in actions
Your culture is what people see, feel, and do every day, not what’s written on the walls.
In a hybrid setting, this means leaders must live the values they talk about. Are you open and approachable? Do you make time to listen, share wins, and acknowledge when things don’t go to plan?
Keep reinforcing shared purpose: remind people what you stand for, why it matters, and how they contribute.
Our Podcast episode, The Rise of the Human Centric Leader, is a great listen for helping leaders see how purpose and EQ shows up in everyday habits and decisions. We give you the tools to make sure your culture travels, and feels authentic whether you’re in a meeting room or on a screen.
Leader reflection: What do our daily actions say about our culture right now?
Final thoughts
Building a strong culture in a hybrid setting isn’t about adding more meetings or micromanaging people’s time. It’s about trust, clarity, and making space for connection, every day.
When your people feel connected, they show up for each other and for your business goals and aspirations.
Power Up gives teams the clarity, tools, and conversations they need to turn good intentions into daily actions, and that’s where real connection and culture thrive.
If you’d like to explore how Natural Direction could help your team build trust, connection, and a culture that sticks, get in touch, we’d love to help.
