Amidst the brave new world of mass remote working, teams are quickly evolving into the most important organisational unit, because it is teams that have the greatest ability to build trust, respond quickly and collaborate effectively. With the increasing uptake of agile working practices in Australia, it may become standard for teams to no longer be fixed.

Instead, they will form and re-form to respond to business needs. In such teams, the role of a leader may vary. Some teams will still have a designated leader. Most will have at least a “process leader”, even if on a rotational basis. Regardless of whether there is a designated leader or a process leader, the level of shared leadership will still be much greater than traditional teams. In remote working, the multi-leader model help provide more connection points. Having only one leader can create key person risk and has the potential to revert to a hierarchical model. However, this doesn’t mean a team-based approach is all upside. It creates more fluid organisations, but that decentralisation means communication, coordination and creating a one-company culture must be prioritised by senior management.

Here are three key tips for post-pandemic team leaders: Leaders must become highly effective communicators via digital platforms. Leaders need to abandon micro-management and embrace a value or outcome-driven approach to performance. Leaders need to be skilled at building psychological safety, helping teams to trust their intuition and propose new ideas without fear of criticism. Whether an organisation operates with designated leaders, or adopts a more fluid multi-leader model, building trust and shared responsibility within teams is vital to achieving success in a post pandemic world.