Leading a Hybrid Team: Why You Need "Intentional" Communication
By Shawn Hamilton, M.S., DBA(c) Shawn Hamilton is a leading sales leadership advisor and doctoral researcher at the University of Houston, specializing in Sales Leadership.
Leading a Hybrid Team: Why You Need "Intentional" Communication
In the "before" times, sales management was a physical act. We managed by "walking around."
We overheard a bad discovery call and pulled the rep aside for a quick coaching session. We felt the energy in a sales pod and knew if the team was motivated or struggling. We corrected bad habits, celebrated small wins, and absorbed team culture through pure osmosis.
In a hybrid or remote world, that entire management model is gone.
For many leaders, this has led to a crisis of confidence. They feel disconnected, out of the loop, and their only tool for oversight is the CRM or a flurry of "just checking in" Slack messages.
The solution is not to force everyone back to the office or to double down on surveillance. The solution is to evolve from passive, ambient leadership to active, intentional communication.
The Fallacy of the Open Virtual Door
The "management by walking around" model was effective because it was passive. A leader could both coach and be coached by the environment. In a remote setup, there is no environment. There is only a series of scheduled rectangles on a screen.
This is where leaders fail. They try to replicate the old model by declaring a "virtual open door policy," but this is still passive. A rep who is struggling silently at home is far less likely to "walk through" that virtual door than a rep who could be "spotted" by a leader on the sales floor.
This passive approach leads to:
Skill Gaps: Bad habits on calls go uncorrected, as "game tape" isn't reviewed.
Cultural Gaps: Reps feel like gig workers, disconnected from the "Human-Centric" team you're trying to build.
Performance Gaps: Underperformers can hide their lack of skill or will, and A-Players become bored and disconnected.
"Intentional Communication": A Framework
The "Intentional" leader accepts that casual, spontaneous coaching moments are a luxury of the past. They must now be manufactured with purpose.
Research on hybrid team performance (such as benchmarks from industry groups like Salesmanagement.org) shows a clear correlation between team success and the regularity and structure of leader communication.
From "Status Updates" to "Skill Updates": Most remote 1:1s decay into pipeline reviews. An "intentional" 1:1 is split into two distinct, scheduled parts:
The 20-Min Tactical: "What's the forecast? Where are you stuck on your deals?" (The "Outcome" - Week 4).
The 20-Min Human/Skill: "Let's review that one call from Tuesday. What are you working on for your own development? How is your energy?" (The "Behavioral" and "Human" ). You must schedule the second half, or it will never happen.
From "Ambient Culture" to "Purposeful Ritual": You can't "overhear" your culture. You must build it.
Bad: A forced "virtual happy hour" with no agenda.
Good: A 15-minute, all-hands "Daily Huddle" (Mon/Wed/Fri) where 3 reps share one win and one roadblock. It's fast, purposeful, and creates shared learning.
From "Ad-Hoc" to "Structured": Stop using Slack/Teams for random "Are you there?" check-ins. This creates anxiety for the rep. Be intentional. "Do you have 10 minutes at 2 PM for a quick audio-only call to discuss the X account?" This respects their time, gives them context, and signals you are a professional, organized leader.
In an office, your presence was your management tool. In a hybrid world, your calendar is your most powerful management tool. Be intentional with it.
References
Note: This article is based on foundational principles of remote team management and communication. Its framework is supported by industry benchmark data (from organizations such as Salesmanagement.org) which consistently links hybrid sales team performance to the frequency and quality of structured, intentional manager-rep interactions, as opposed to purely ad-hoc communication.
