The Proximity-Proof Leader
For companies struggling to make hybrid work effective, facing challenges with inconsistent manager capability, team cohesion, and equitable performance management.
The Problem: The Accidental Inequity of Hybrid Work
Your hybrid model was designed for flexibility, but it may be accidentally creating a two-tiered system. When managers aren't equipped to lead distributed teams, proximity bias takes over. Employees in the office get more informal feedback, better opportunities, and higher visibility, while remote employees feel disconnected, overlooked, and disengaged. This isn't just unfair—it's a direct threat to team performance, cohesion, and your ability to retain top remote talent.
The Solution: A Playbook for Fair, Effective Leadership
The Hybrid Leader's Playbook™ is a targeted program designed to transform your managers into masters of modern, hybrid leadership. We provide the specific skills and tools needed to lead with clarity, fairness, and impact, regardless of where team members are located.
This program goes beyond theory. Participants will learn to leverage AI to audit their own communications for proximity bias and use data-driven insights to make fairer, more objective leadership decisions that build trust and engagement across their hybrid team.
Our program includes three core modules:
The Proximity-Proof Leader™ Workshop
This tactical, high-impact session equips managers to identify and overcome the key biases of hybrid work. They learn practical strategies for running inclusive meetings, providing equitable feedback, and creating equal opportunities for development.
Data-Driven Talent Management
We teach leaders how to replace bias with objective data. Using CliftonStrengths, managers learn to evaluate and deploy talent based on proven strengths, not physical presence, ensuring the right people are on the right projects.
The Team Communication Charter
In a facilitated session, we guide each team to build their own "rules of engagement"—a clear, co-created charter that defines how they will communicate, collaborate, and hold each other accountable in a hybrid environment.
Our Philosophy
We believe the future of leadership development is not about choosing between human connection and technological power, but about blending the best of both. At Build Your Bench, we leverage Google's Gemini and Notebook LM as powerful 'thought partners' within our coaching engagements. This unique approach enables leaders to simulate challenging conversations, analyze their communication for inclusivity, and gain data-driven insights—all within the confidential, expert-guided framework of our programs. We use AI to enhance understanding, not replace intuition, ensuring your leaders develop the future-ready skills they need to succeed.
How We Use AI as a 'Thought Partner'
Our approach is not about replacing human connection; it's about enhancing it. We use AI to create a powerful, private learning environment for each leader, enabling them to:
Accelerate Skill Practice: Leaders use AI simulations to practice high-stakes conversations—like giving difficult feedback or navigating team conflict—in a safe, private environment. They receive instant, unbiased feedback to refine their approach before ever stepping into the real meeting.
Deepen Self-Awareness: AI tools help leaders analyze their own communication patterns for inclusivity, clarity, and impact. This data-driven reflection helps uncover blind spots and build the self-awareness that is the bedrock of great leadership.
Ground Learning in Your Reality: Using NotebookLM, we create a private knowledge base from our proprietary program materials (S.A.F.E.T.Y. Accelerator™, Proximity-Proof Leader™). This allows your leaders to get expert, context-specific advice that is always aligned with our core frameworks, 24/7.
What you’ll get
-
✺
The Half-Day Proximity-Proof Leader™ Workshop for your management team.
-
✺
CliftonStrengths Assessments for all participating team members and a comprehensive team strengths grid.
-
✺
A facilitated "Team Charter" Session resulting in a co-created document that establishes clear rules of engagement for your hybrid team.
-
✺
A Hybrid Leader's Toolkit, including checklists for inclusive meetings, guides for equitable feedback, and templates for 1:1 check-ins.
-
✺
A Follow-up Accountability Session to ensure the new practices are being implemented effectively.
-
✺
Optional Add-on: Access to an AI coaching platform for 24/7 on-demand virtual coaching practice and skill reinforcement.
The Measurable Value of Getting Hybrid Right
-
Reduced Turnover in Remote Employees
Research from Gartner shows that when employees have flexibility over where they work, their intent to stay with an organization increases. If they perceive inequity, that benefit vanishes. By actively training managers to combat proximity bias, organizations can slash attrition rates among their high-performing remote workforce, saving significant replacement costs.
-
Improved Project Velocity & Team Performance
A study from Stanford on a hybrid workforce found that well-managed hybrid arrangements can be more productive than fully in-office models. The key is effective management. Our program directly addresses the communication breakdowns and role ambiguity that slow projects down, leading to faster completion rates and higher quality work.
-
Higher Engagement Scores for All
Engagement is driven by feeling seen, valued, and connected. According to Gallup, the manager is responsible for 70% of the variance in team engagement. By equipping your managers with the skills to connect with and develop every team member equally, our program directly boosts engagement scores across your entire hybrid or remote team.
Ready to Solve Your Leadership Challenge?
The path forward starts with a conversation. Let's schedule a brief, no-obligation call to diagnose your needs and determine the most effective path to building a stronger bench of leaders.