3 Strategies for Leading Hybrid Meetings
Plus, Coming Up in April: Identifying Personalities at Work
Coming Up Next Month: Identifying Personalities at Work
Based on your input from our last feedback survey, many of you wanted more tips on identifying your coworkers’ personality types – and we’re delivering! Next month, instead of a focused challenge, we’re diving deep into all 16 personality types. You’ll learn how to recognize each type in your team, spot traits in yourself, and even figure out your boss’s personality type.
Stay tuned for this highly requested series coming in April! Be sure you’re subscribed to participate.
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3 Strategies for Leading Hybrid Meetings
If you followed along with our 5-Day Remote Leadership Challenge, then you’ve already tackled some major hurdles:
But there’s one challenge that you may still be wondering about – the complex dynamics of leading hybrid teams, where some members work in-office while others connect remotely.
One reader recently shared that they manage a team overseas in addition to a local team in the office. Sometimes, when half the team is in the office and half is distributed, it can feel like you’re operating in two different worlds. How can you ensure these teams work well together?
There are many factors at play, but managing the delicate balancing act required to run hybrid team meetings is key. Today, we’ll look at some practical strategies to help your entire team collaborate effectively, regardless of location.
The Hybrid Meeting Challenge
If you’ve ever led a hybrid team, then you’ve likely witnessed these common scenarios:
Remote participants can’t hear side conversations happening in the room
In-office folks forget to include remote team members in discussions
Remote participants struggle to interject or get a word in
Physical whiteboarding or materials aren’t visible to remote team members
In-room participants make decisions during “unofficial” meeting time
These dynamics create an unintentional power imbalance where in-person participants naturally dominate, while remote team members feel like second-class citizens. Let’s explore how to rebalance this equation and create meetings that harness the full potential of your entire team, regardless of where they’re physically located.
The Hybrid Meeting Solution
Strategy #1: Adopt a “Remote-First” Meeting Design
The foundation of successful hybrid meetings is a complete mindset shift. Instead of designing for the in-room experience and accommodating remote participants as an afterthought, flip your approach entirely.
What this looks like in practice:
Equal technological access – Ensure remote participants can see and hear everything happening in the room
Digital-primary collaboration – Use tools like Miro, Google Docs, or MURAL as your main workspace, not physical whiteboards
Intentional participation protocols – Create clear structures for turn-taking that prevent in-room participants from dominating
When a meeting truly works for your remote team members, it automatically works for everyone. The reverse is rarely true.
Try this: For your next important meeting, imagine everyone is remote, even those who will be in the office. How would you design it differently? Then implement those changes.
Strategy #2: Create Deliberate Inclusion Touchpoints
Passive inclusion (“everyone’s welcome to speak up!”) fails in hybrid environments. Instead, build active inclusion mechanisms into every phase of your meetings.
Before the meeting:
Assign a remote advocate – Designate an in-room person to specifically monitor the remote experience and ensure virtual voices are heard
Share materials 24+ hours in advance – Give everyone time to process information regardless of location
Pre-meeting input – Collect thoughts from remote team members before the meeting begins
During the meeting:
Start with remote voices – Begin discussions by calling on remote participants first
Regular engagement checks – Pause every 15-20 minutes to specifically invite remote input
Narrate physical activities – Verbalize what’s happening in the room (“Sam is nodding in agreement” or “There seems to be confusion about this point”)
After the meeting:
Digital follow-up space – Create a dedicated channel for the “hallway conversations” that naturally occur after in-person meetings
Equal access to next steps – Ensure action items and decisions are documented where everyone can access them equally
Inclusion doesn’t happen by accident in hybrid settings – it must be deliberately engineered.
Strategy #3: Implement the Meeting Equity Checklist System
Turn equity from an aspiration into a consistent practice by using a simple checklist approach. This transforms vague good intentions into concrete actions that build better hybrid experiences over time.
You can create your own checklist or use this template as a starting point:
Pre-Meeting Equity Checklist:
Agenda distributed to all participants 24+ hours in advance
Technology tested from both in-room and remote perspectives
Digital collaboration tools prepared and shared
Remote advocate role assigned to a specific in-room participant
Participation expectations clearly communicated
In-Meeting Equity Checklist:
Equal visibility (in-room participants on individual cameras if possible)
Audio quality verified with remote participants
Deliberate inclusion of remote voices at regular intervals
Chat monitored and incorporated into discussion
All visual information equally accessible to remote and in-person participants
Post-Meeting Equity Checklist:
Meeting notes shared immediately with all participants
Action items clearly assigned with equal visibility
Digital space created for continued discussion
Feedback collected on meeting experience from both in-person and remote participants
Learnings incorporated into next meeting design
Starting Small: Your Next Hybrid Meeting
Feeling a little overwhelmed right now? Don’t worry, transforming your hybrid meetings doesn’t require implementing every strategy at once. The key is to start small and build momentum through consistent improvements.
For your very next hybrid meeting, commit to just one meaningful change:
Begin by acknowledging the hybrid nature of the meeting and your commitment to making it work for everyone
Establish clear turn-taking norms that give remote voices equal airtime
Assign someone as the dedicated remote advocate
Check in with remote participants first when seeking input
End by asking: “How can we make our next hybrid meeting better for everyone?”
Small changes, consistently applied, will gradually reshape your team’s hybrid meeting culture until equitable participation becomes second nature. Remember that creating truly inclusive hybrid environments is a journey, not a destination. Each meeting is an opportunity to learn and refine your approach.
The leaders who will thrive in this new world of work aren’t necessarily those with the most impressive technology or the most elaborate meeting setups – they’re the ones who consistently demonstrate that every team member matters equally, regardless of where they happen to be sitting.
Be sure to follow along with the rest of our Remote Leadership series! Next, we’ll be diving into how Sentinels and Explorers experience remote work environments. You’ll discover how these personalities can leverage their natural strengths in virtual settings while developing strategies to overcome their remote work challenges. Stay tuned!