What kind of working model should our company use in the hybrid world of work?

Do you know the feeling? You're working on a tricky project, but somehow you're not really making any progress. Ideas don't want to bubble up, motivation falters. Until suddenly your colleague drops by, makes a few creative suggestions – and hey presto, you're back in the flow!

Moments like these show that collaboration is the key to success. Together we are more creative, more productive, more effective than alone. But what exactly should this cooperation look like? What models and methods are there for making optimal use of everyone's strengths? It's time for a deep dive into the topic of collaboration models!

Basic principles of successful collaboration

Before we take a closer look at different approaches, let's briefly consider the basics. Because whether agile, hierarchical or somewhere in between, there are a few fundamental factors that are important for any kind of teamwork:

1. Common goals: everyone pulls in the same direction and knows what they are working towards. Clearly defined milestones help to keep everyone on track.
   
2. Clear roles and responsibilities: Everyone knows their place in the team and what is expected of them. This helps to avoid duplication of work and frictional losses.
3. Open communication: The exchange is respectful, transparent and takes place on an equal footing. Conflicts are approached constructively, feedback is valued.
   
4. Trust and appreciation: Team members treat each other with respect and recognize each other's strengths. Mistakes are allowed and seen as an opportunity to learn.
5. Flexibility and a willingness to learn: The team is open to change and constantly adapts its way of working. Continuous learning is highly valued.
   

If these fundamentals are in place, collaboration can be a success across the board – regardless of the specific model. Speaking of which, let's take a look at the options!

Spoiled for choice: from agile to whatever

In theory, collaboration models can be roughly divided into two categories: traditional and agile approaches. In practice, however, the boundaries are often blurred and many teams combine elements from both worlds. But first things first.

Traditional, hierarchical working models

You probably know it from many companies: there is a clear hierarchy with department heads, project managers and executing employees. Everyone has a clearly defined area of responsibility, and communication often runs top-down. Goals and milestones are planned and worked through over the long term.

This classic model certainly has its strengths: it creates clear structures and responsibilities, and facilitates the coordination of larger teams. It can be exactly the right approach for routine, well-plannable tasks.

However, it also has weaknesses: it tends to be rigid and inflexible, and it is difficult to make adjustments to the process. Employees have little creative leeway, which can dampen motivation. And information and ideas can quickly get lost due to the many hierarchical levels.

Agile, flexible offices

For several years, agile methods such as Scrum, Kanban or Design Thinking have been causing a stir. Their basic idea: self-organized, interdisciplinary teams work in short cycles (sprints) on flexible, customer-oriented solutions. The focus is on transparency, personal responsibility and continuous improvement.

Specifically, this can look like this: the team organizes itself to a large extent, makes decisions by consensus. Progress and obstacles are discussed in regular meetings (daily stand-ups) and planning is adjusted as needed. The customer is involved early and often, and feedback is incorporated directly.

Agile approaches have many advantages: they increase flexibility and speed, promote innovation and creativity. Employees have more freedom, which increases satisfaction and productivity. And the tight scheduling ensures that everyone stays on track and problems quickly become visible.

But here, too, one size does not fit all. Agile is not a panacea and must be learned. It requires the right culture and infrastructure, otherwise chaos and frustration are likely to ensue. And for some tasks or industries, the approach is simply not suitable.

It's all about the right mix

As so often in life, the truth lies somewhere in between. Many companies today are doing well by combining different elements into an individual model. For example,

Let's say you work for a software company. The development of a new app is carried out according to Scrum, in an interdisciplinary, self-organized team. Marketing and sales are organized in a more traditional way, with clear responsibilities and long-term plans. In between, there are fixed interfaces and exchange formats, such as joint workshops or review meetings.

This kind of hybrid combines the strengths of both worlds: agility and structure, flexibility and stability, innovation and efficiency. This way, the collaboration can be optimally tailored to the respective needs and conditions.

Which model is right for you and your team? There is no general answer to this question. It depends on many factors – from the size of the company to the industry and the team structure and culture. That's why it's so important to think about it together: What are our goals and values? What are our strengths and challenges? And which approach will help us to make the best of both?

No matter what you decide, what matters in the end is that everyone involved enjoys working together and gets something out of it. Because only together can we achieve great things – with the right model as a strong foundation. Give it a try, stay curious and open. And above all: have fun with it!

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