How To Create An Inclusive Culture That Thrives In The Hybrid Workplace

“Today, successful entrepreneurial leaders need intentional strategies to build diverse teams and foster genuine connections. Flexibility must strengthen company culture, not isolate team members.”

By Rhett Power, featuring David Smailes

For Forbes

In the last two years, the challenge of building and maintaining a strong company culture has exploded. It’s not just about office events anymore; forget the breakroom chatter. Culture is now a complex product of intentional digital communication and empathetic leadership.

The shift to hybrid offers entrepreneurs a chance to expand their talent pool and skyrocket innovation. However, it also creates the critical risk of employee isolation. Particularly, leaving some teams and individuals completely out of the loop. As executive coach David Smailes of CxO Coaching notes, this dynamic can quickly erode trust, especially when proximity to leadership begins to outweigh the quality of information.

“I still remember sitting in an executive meeting when someone said, ‘Kate and John agreed...’” Smailes recounts. “It was clear they had the CEO’s ear, and suddenly I wondered what decisions were being made without my input. That’s when trust started to slip, which is all too common in hybrid organizations.”

In hybrid settings, especially, communication gaps are instantly filled with fear or negative ideas. “The brain starts to hallucinate when left in the dark,” Smailes explains. “And the same thing happens in companies. When employees are left guessing, they imagine their own version of reality.” This human response, he says, is why leaders must be proactive about storytelling and transparency before the teams write their own.

Today, successful entrepreneurial leaders need intentional strategies to build diverse teams and foster genuine connections. Flexibility must strengthen company culture, not isolate team members. This means shifting your mindset to focus on how work is done, not where. The ultimate goal is to prioritize intentional communication and ensure every single team member feels seen, heard, and valued.

3 Ways Entrepreneurial Leaders Design a Connected Hybrid Culture

When executed deliberately, Smailes explains that the hybrid model forces leaders to codify their strategy, their culture, and their expectations. This process unlocks both the diversity that comes from an expanded talent pool and the inclusion that comes from consistent communication.

Here are three nonnegotiable strategies entrepreneurial leaders must use to make this shift effectively:

1. Shift from ambiguity to radical clarity

A critical error entrepreneurs make is assuming the old office culture will simply transfer to the hybrid environment. As Smailes puts it: “As companies scale, ambiguity scales even faster. Motion gets mistaken for movement, which then leads to chaos and complaining.” In the traditional office, Smailes explains, this lack of clarity is often masked because those physically closest to leadership get informal information, which ultimately creates a culture that favors the few.

A well-designed hybrid structure combats this. “Without the luxury of relying on hallway conversations, leaders must make invisible conversations visible,” Smailes asserts. “Share not just what was decided, but how and why, and gather input when necessary.” This level of communication makes clarity a shared, accessible resource for everyone, establishing the very foundation of inclusion.

2. Prioritize empathy through the inquiry to advocacy model

Empathy is the key to both people engagement and profit. In a dispersed workforce, leading with empathy is a critical business competency. According to Smailes, leaders frequently fall into communication traps by providing too much direction (advocacy) without first seeking understanding (inquiry), which leads to resistance and inaction.

A simple framework to address this challenge is known as the Inquiry to Advocacy Quadrant, which Smailes teaches regularly in his work with founders and executives. The model teaches leaders to effectively blend two core skills:

• Inquiry: Curiosity, asking thoughtful questions, listening, and drawing out perspectives.

• Advocacy: Direction, sharing your viewpoint, making recommendations, and setting next steps.

For true collaboration and buy-in, both elements must be high. Smailes coaches leaders to spend more time in inquiry than they think they should, and to paraphrase what they heard before moving to action. This small habit proves understanding and is the most practical way to build emotional intelligence while still driving the conversation forward.

3. Define and measure digital body language

“Disengagement doesn’t start with a loud complaint; it starts with silence,” Smailes says. “In a hybrid world, the early warnings are glaring digital signals: a camera that’s always off, a voice that never speaks up, or a commitment that quietly slips.” This pattern is supported by research: balanced team participation is a strong predictor of innovation.

Smailes teaches leaders to define what engagement looks like in observable, consistent ways. “When the standards are clear, it’s easy to see who is truly dialed in,” he says. This is what MIT Sloan calls a team’s “digital body language.” As Smailes explains it:

• Cameras On: The baseline for presence.

• Active Contribution: Asking questions and sharing perspectives.

• Bias for Action: Following through on commitments.

The best leaders learn to spot growing silence, according to Smailes. This is especially vital for family-run businesses, whose deep-rooted traditions often clash with a shift to hybrid work, tempting owners to cling to the outdated belief that success only comes from direct involvement.

As entrepreneurial leaders navigate the challenges of scaling in a hybrid world, the strength of their culture will be their greatest competitive advantage. Drawing on strategies outlined by Smailes — from building clarity and trust to defining digital engagement — founders and executives can design a connected, resilient, and inclusive team that’s equipped for long-term success.

Read the original article on Forbes.