In a workplace shaped by hybrid expectations and digital fatigue, leadership isn’t just being tested — it’s being redefined.
At the Digital Leadership Webinar 2025, Kevin Kan, Executive Leadership Coach and founder of Breakout Consulting Asia, delivered a timely and actionable session on leading remote and hybrid teams.
With over 30 years of international corporate experience, Kan’s message was clear: while the tools for flexible work are now well established, most teams are still struggling — and the missing piece isn’t tech. It’s leadership.
Highlights
The Hidden Friction of Flexibility
Despite growing pressure for employees to return to physical offices, Kan emphasized what many leaders already recognize: remote and hybrid work models are not temporary experiments. They’re permanent, structural shifts — and they require structural responses.
But flexibility alone doesn’t drive performance. According to a November 2024 Gallup poll referenced in his session, only 37% of fully remote employees and 33% of hybrid employees report feeling engaged. That leaves nearly two-thirds of the workforce disengaged — even in the most flexible environments.
“Communication is the foundation,” said Kan. “Without it, engagement disappears. And in distributed teams, disengagement becomes invisible until it’s too late.”
Communication Isn’t a Channel — It’s a Culture
For Kan, remote and hybrid success starts with communication — but not just more meetings. Leaders must prioritize clarity, transparency, and consistency.
With teams often spread across time zones, departments, and locations, assumptions become risky. Clear expectations around working hours, response times, in-office schedules, and information-sharing norms are critical. Communication needs to feel fair, inclusive, and equitable.
“Don’t just assume everything is fine because people show up to calls. Schedule one-on-ones. Check in. Listen.”
Kan also challenged leaders to reflect on infrastructure. Does your office space actually support the number of people expected to return three days a week? Are meeting rhythms favoring only those physically present? These practical realities can impact morale just as much as policy.
When Tech Works, Culture Can Too
The second pillar of Kan’s framework focused on technology enablement — not just access, but effectiveness.
From collaborative platforms like Google Drive or Microsoft Teams to instant messaging tools and file-sharing systems, distributed teams rely on tech to bridge the gaps. But Kan cautioned: tools are only as good as their reliability, accessibility, and security.
“Don’t just give people tools. Educate them on how to use them well — and safely.”
The Leadership Gap: Trust
Kan devoted the heart of his session to the third — and most vital — ingredient: trust.
“Trust is the currency of remote work,” he said. “Without it, everything else breaks down.”
Building trust requires leaders to let go of micromanagement and focus on outcomes. For Gen Z and younger talent, especially, autonomy, career development, and psychological safety are non-negotiable.
Kan advocates for a leadership style that supports growth through coaching, not control. That means recognizing individual strengths, creating space for feedback, and empowering employees to lead within their roles.
“A team isn’t just a group of people who work together. It’s a group of people who trust each other.”
The Rise of Team Coaching
A highlight of Kan’s session was his focus on team coaching — a newer but fast-growing approach to leadership development that centers on how a team functions as a whole.
Rather than focusing solely on individual performance, team coaching looks at how group dynamics, communication preferences, and working styles affect outcomes.
Kan shared how assessments and structured coaching can lead teams to co-create charters — mutual agreements on how they’ll communicate, collaborate, and handle conflict.
By establishing psychological safety and shared ownership, these charters strengthen alignment and accountability — both of which are often missing in hybrid setups.
“Understanding how your team thinks is the first step to designing how your team works.”
Final Thoughts: What Teams Actually Need from Their Leaders
Kan closed the session with a reminder that technology and policy will always evolve — but leadership principles must be deliberate and people-centered.
In an environment where flexibility is treated as a benefit, not a burden, leaders have a responsibility to turn remote and hybrid teams into connected, high-performing cultures.
That starts not with software or schedules — but with trust, clarity, and the courage to lead differently.
“You’re either working together — or you’re not working together.”
Highlights
Read the Chinese article here.
