Virtual vs. in-person leadership

When identifying future leaders, Jon Sexton looks for contagious energy.

“Whatever needs to be done, they embrace it with gusto,” says Sexton, senior vice president of culture and leadership development at $1 billion asset Vibrant Credit Union in Moline, Ill. “People have an opportunity to choose their mindset when they come to work. We all have ups and downs, but these folks tend to be the ones who provide contagious energy.”

At Vibrant, which has a strong in-person presence with frequent opportunities for interaction, those personality traits are easy to spot—and potential leaders often make their presence known through the day-to-day work environment.

Do these same leaders stand out in a hybrid or virtual workplace? How can employees showcase leadership traits over a computer screen?

“You get forgotten a little if you're not seen, especially in a larger organization where it’s easy to fall through the cracks,” Air Academy Credit Union Chief Financial Officer Brad Barnes says of the hurdles remote work can have on employee development and promotion. “I like to walk around and talk to people. I learned by being around people, being in meetings, and observing how people interact. With people being more remote, I've had to be more intentional about making time to have those conversations.”

Therefore, while some staff at the $915 million asset credit union in Colorado Springs, Colo., are 100% remote, none of the managers or executives are fully remote.

“We want to be here and lead people,” Barnes says. “We encourage managers to be in the office as much as possible. We want our leadership team to be around our executives, so we can help them grow and develop. Conversely, they can help their staff develop.”

Brian Fassett, director of learning and development at $2 billion asset Advantis Credit Union in Portland, Ore., believes a combination of in-person, eLearning and live online training sessions can be effective leadership development tools. The blend saves time, allows for introspection and connection, empowers people to learn at their own pace, and enables content to be updated quickly and accessed any time.

Is that enough?

“I talk to our leaders about the value and benefit of having developmental coaching conversations in person,” he says. “We’re a hybrid organization. It depends on the department and the function, but we see a good number of managers and leaders at Advantis who spend more time in the office even though they can work remotely. You can’t connect with people the same way on screen that you can in person, and it’s important that our leaders are setting the example.”