HYBRID MEETINGS: WHY LEADERS NEED TO LOG IN FROM THE OTHER SIDE
If you're leading a hybrid organization, here's my strongest recommendation: join at least one of your team meetings as a remote participant. Better yet, make it a regular practice.
Unless you've actually tuned in from the other side of the screen, you have no idea how much chaos might be coming through that live feed, or how invisible your remote team members have become.
What one executive discovered in 60 seconds
I once watched a company president experience this for the first time during an all-org meeting. Within a minute, his face told the whole story:
The sound was patchy and inconsistent. Side conversations in the room came through crystal-clear, often drowning out the actual speaker. (You all!! The chit-chat some of these mics pick up! 😬 Be careful out there!) And remote participants couldn't get a word in, even though their faces loomed large on the screen like they were on a jumbotron at a basketball game.
This was at a company that had invested heavily in sound design and cameras that automatically tracked whoever was speaking. The technology worked well enough for smaller groups, but no one in leadership had actually tested it at scale for the larger meetings.
What changed
At the next company-wide hybrid meeting, I noticed the difference immediately. The room layout had been reconfigured. Tape markers on the floor guided speakers to positions where the sound channeled clearly. And participation became much more balanced, with planned moments where remote attendees were explicitly invited to contribute.
All because one leader experienced what the remote half of the organization had been experiencing all along.
The principle
Hybrid meetings are only as strong as the experience of the least advantaged participant. If your remote team members are struggling to hear, see, or speak up, your meeting isn't hybrid, it's just an in-person meeting with witnesses.
Testing it yourself gives you the map you need to create the inclusive culture you're hoping to build.
How to do this well
Here are some practical ways to experience your meetings from the remote perspective:
1. Join unannounced from home Don't tell anyone you're doing it. Join a regular team meeting as a remote participant and just observe. Can you hear clearly? Can you see the materials being shared? Can you tell who's speaking? Take notes on what's broken.
2. Try to participate Don't just lurk, try to jump into the conversation. Raise your virtual hand. Attempt to interject. See how long it takes before someone notices you're trying to speak. Notice if people talk over you or if there's a lag that makes natural conversation impossible.
3. Attend a high-stakes meeting remotely Join an all-hands, a board presentation, or a big planning session from your laptop. The stakes matter. You'll notice different things when the content is important and you can't afford to miss key information.
4. Ask your remote team for a debrief After you've done this a few times, talk to your consistently remote employees. Ask them: "What am I still missing?" Their answers will be telling.
5. Make it a leadership ritual Encourage your entire leadership team to do this quarterly. Compare notes. What patterns emerge? Where are the systemic breakdowns? What quick fixes would make the biggest difference?
6. Act on what you learn This only works if you actually change something. Rearrange the room. Set ground rules for in-person participants. Build in explicit moments for remote voices. Upgrade the equipment. Train facilitators. Whatever you discover, fix it.
The bottom line
You can't design an equitable hybrid experience from only one side of the screen. Log in remotely. Feel the frustration. Then use your power to make it better.
Your remote team members will notice. And they'll remember.