Thrive with a Hybrid Workplace: Step-by-Step Guidance From the Experts
Felice B. Ekelman and Julie B.Kantor
Rowman & Littlefield (March 2023)

How and why workers with multiple talents are most likely to thrive in a hybrid workplace culture

In 1970, in Future Shock, Alvin Toffler made this prediction: “The illiterate of the 21st century,” Toffler wrote, “will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” Whatever their size and nature may be, all organizations need to establish and then strengthen a workplace culture within which hybrid workers are most likely to thrive. That is, as Toffler suggests, workers who are not only willing but eager to “learn, unlearn and relearn.” That is, to develop the talents needed to answer the most difficult questions, to solve the most serious problems, to avoid or overcome what James O’Toole (in Leading Change, 1995) so aptly characterizes as “the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom.”

In their recently published book, Felice Ekelman and Julie Kantor help to prepare leaders to guide their companies in a business world that is today more volatile, more uncertain, more complex, and more ambiguous than at any prior time that I can recall. They provide in their book an abundance of invaluable information, insights, and counsel that can help these leaders to respond effectively to the challenges that are certain to emerge, with or without prior indication.

More specifically, they help their reader to “understand flexible work options, and how to assess which options are best for [their] organization;  develop a thoughtful approach to hybrid work that is consistent with [their] organization’s core values;  identify how to best lead in hybrid work environments with the tools and competence to success; and identify  pitfalls that ay hinder success in implementing hybrid work protocols from both an individual and an enterprise point of view.”

These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the scope of Ekelman and Kantor’s coverage:

o The Real Hybrid: The Split-Shift Approach (Pages 6-8)
o Flexible work policies (27-28)
o Talent Segmentation (30-33)
o The 7 Cs of Leadership (47-130)
o Connections: Interpersonal “glue” (69-70 and 90-93)

o Communication (79-80)
o Collaboration (89-109)
o Compassion (111-119)
o Coaching (121-129)
o Boosting Productivity (133-140)

o Onboarding (144-147)
o Retention (149-151)
o Burnout (158-161)
o Supporting DEI and Addressing Proximity Bias (175-181)
o Appendix: Training for the New Workplace (205-208)

With commendable concision and precision, they identify all of the most important WHATs and then focus on HOW to do what must be done, and by doing it effectively, to obtain and then sustain a competitive advantage. It is no coincidence that companies annually ranked among those most highly regarded and best to work for are also annually ranked among those that are most profitable and have the greatest cap value in their industry segment. All of them have what Ekelman and Kantor would describe as a “hybrid workplace,” in ways and to the extent most appropriate for them

Here are two concluding suggestions: Highlight key passages, and, keep a lined notebook near at hand while reading Thrive with a Hybrid Workplace in which you record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines) and page references as well as your responses to questions or issues suggested by the material. These two simple tactics will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of key material later.