Behaviour Change in a Hybrid World with Paul Coates from FranklinCovey

Adam sits down with Paul Coates, Head of European Consultancy at FranklinCovey, to dig into one of the most pressing challenges facing businesses right now: behaviour change in a hybrid world. They cover why hybrid working still isn't "sorted," what genuinely great leadership looks like, why trust is the real currency in modern organisations, and how productivity is far more nuanced than just watching where people sit.

Guest: Paul Coates, FranklinCovey — Head of Consultancy across European direct operations, working primarily with senior executive teams in finance and the third sector.

Originally posted: https://www.intheoffice.io/vlog-episode-9

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Show Notes

Key topics covered:

Hybrid working: still not sorted

• Slack research: 73% of people want a hybrid model
• Yet 83% of CEOs remain uncertain about it (Gartner)
• 41% of HR leaders worry that hybrid work will damage culture
• The office has evolved into a space for human connection, not heads-down work and that's fine

What makes a great leader today

• Results matter, but so does how you achieve them
• Leadership is a stewardship, you're there to make your people better, not yourself
• The best leaders leave other leaders behind, as their legacy
• Ask yourself: do you want to be a great leader, or do you want your team to be led by one? (Victoria Roos Olsson, FranklinCovey)

The leadership development gap

• 83% of leaders have never had any formal leadership training
• 56% of organisations provide no leadership development at all
• The average age someone first becomes a leader: late 20s to early 30s
• The average age they receive their first leadership training: late 30s to early 40s, a decade too late
• First-level leaders carry the culture, drive results, and are closest to customers, yet they're often the least supported

Behaviour change and mindset

• Mindset drives behaviour, behaviour drives results, results reinforce mindset — it's a cycle, not a line
• Micromanagement is typically a symptom of one thing: a lack of trust
• Reading a book alone shifts behaviour in around 10–15% of people; reflection first makes the difference
• The FranklinCovey model: Reflect, Absorb, Practise, Apply

Trust as an economic driver

• Harvard Business Review published research (2017) on self-reported high-trust organisations showing:
  • 13% fewer long-term sick days
  • 74% reduction in reported stress
  • 106% more energy reported by employees
  • 40% less burnout
  • 29% higher life satisfaction (not just work satisfaction)
• Trust always affects two things: speed and cost — high trust = faster, cheaper; low trust = slower, more expensive
• Owl Labs research: 56% of employees would leave if told to return to the office five days a week

Productivity — the three decisions

• Forget presenteeism; real productivity comes down to three things:
  1. Decision management — what are you choosing to focus on?
  2. Attention management — are you actually focused on it?
  3. Energy management — do you have the capacity to do it?
• Notification badges trigger both FOMO and fear — a double hit that derails attention

Culture and consistency in a hybrid world

• Culture doesn't just happen, if you don't build it intentionally, you'll still get one, just not the one you want
• Hybrid is often a smokescreen for deeper cultural issues, particularly a lack of trust in managers to have nuanced conversations
• Three pillars of a consistent hybrid culture:
  1. Intentionally create a sense of belonging
  2. Strengthen and structure communication
  3. Balance accountability with flexibility: define the desired result first, then agree the flexibility that applies to it

The Covey quote that sums it all up

• "With people, slow is fast and fast is slow" — trying to be efficient with people almost always makes you ineffective; getting buy-in up front saves time downstream
• Mushroom management (keeping people in the dark and covering them in manure) works for fungi, not humans