Wes Griffith, Senior Director, Coinbase
In the evolving narrative of the modern workplace, remote work has undeniably etched its staying power in some way. However, the debate continues. For example, my current staff is highly remote first but is iterating on hosted options. Additionally, in a recent interview, I saw Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht stating that the U.S. is lagging behind the rest of the world in returning to offices.
Looking back on my journey from early career as an Individual Contributor (IC), to leadership roles, and now leading a team with diverse tenure at a far-first company, I have seen firsthand the difference in professional development and team dynamics the workplace environment has to offer key role in.
Early Career Development: The Value of Proximity
As an early career IC, the informal experience gleaned from relationships with colleagues and the formal knowledge gained through proximity to my managers were invaluable. In my experience, there were clear benefits to spontaneous collaboration and guidance in the same environment, and at the time I couldn’t imagine thriving without it. This sentiment is supported by recent insights from leaders surveyed, who responded that “time on the job is a somewhat or very important factor in getting promotions or raises.” While remote work can improve work-life balance and productivity, but it can also stifle cross-functional collaboration and team camaraderie, which can be critical inputs in early career development.
‘While remote work can improve work-life balance and productivity, it can also stifle cross-functional collaboration and team camaraderie, which can be critical inputs for early career development.‘ 
Recognizing these nuances, my current company is a strong advocate of remote work and recently decided to offer summer interns and early career software engineers the ability to work together. This measure highlights a shared understanding of the importance of proximity during the formative stages of a career, facilitating easier access to mentoring, peer learning, and informal absorption of organizational culture—elements that I found critical early on.
Leadership Close-Up: The Benefits of Proximity
Leading a team comprised primarily of early-career individuals brings this perspective full circle. Being up close allows me to observe their informal work habits and makes my guidance more accessible to them. This setup has not only benefited myself greatly as a Development Manager, but it has also enhanced our ability to build a cohesive team culture. In my personal experience, leading a mostly early-career team from a distance can make it more difficult for me as a leader to provide useful feedback and build a team culture that impacts team outcomes.
Leading Experienced Teams: Balancing Proximity and Perspective
Transitioning to leading a larger, more experienced team, I think the dynamics will change. While the value of informal interactions remains, the strategic perspective required of senior leaders/executives often extends beyond the confines of the immediate workplace. Senior leaders and executives are tasked with absorbing broader market and industry trends and translating those insights into actionable strategies for their teams. Here, assuming leaders effectively bridge communication gaps with their teams, remote working can provide the flexibility and bandwidth to more thoroughly explore these external influences.
Conclusion: A hybrid future shaped by resilience and inclusion?
Work environments are not one-size-fits-all. As a leader, acknowledging organizational maturity gaps and the needs of your team at different career stages is important to taking the right approach. Data shows that employees are increasingly leaning toward flexible work arrangements (87% of employees will work remotely, according to a McKinsey study), with a large portion of the workforce using remote or hybrid models. However, as we as leaders navigate this space and make decisions, our organizations rely on those decisions to 1) advance the careers of all employees, 2) reduce the risk of employee isolation, and 3) become a competitive pool of potential candidates powerful employer.
