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The High Achievers Will Come to the Office

The High Achievers Will Come to the Office

Last updated on: May 6, 2025 at 11:50 am by Gleb Tsipursky

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The High Achievers Will Come to the Office 2025-05-06T11:50:32-04:00 Gleb Tsipursky

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High Achievers

As the global business landscape shifts and evolves, the concept of flexible work has become a focal point for many organizations. Jack Schutzbach, Vice President of Human Resources at Groupe SEB, offers a wealth of experience and insight into the challenges and benefits of flexible work schedules. With nearly three decades in HR, Schutzbach has navigated the terrain both before and after the pandemic. In a recent interview with me, he shared his thoughts on the current state and future of flexible work, emphasizing the importance of office presence for high achievers.

Embracing Flexible Work Schedules

Groupe SEB, like many companies, had to adapt quickly to remote work during the pandemic. “We had essential workers who needed to be on-site,” Schutzbach recalls, “but many others transitioned to remote work and remained so for nearly three years.” This extended period allowed employees to settle into new routines, often far from the office.

The advantages of remote work are clear: “A majority of our team members appreciated avoiding the notorious LA traffic,” Schutzbach notes. Remote work also provided flexibility, which many claimed boosted productivity. From a corporate perspective, the potential to reduce office space and associated costs was an attractive benefit.

The Challenges of Remote Work

Despite the advantages, Schutzbach points out significant challenges. Before the pandemic, remote work at Groupe SEB was limited to specialized roles with proven self-managers. The sudden shift to remote work for all employees exposed varying levels of productivity and self-management skills. “Some jobs are more transactional and easier to monitor remotely, while others require more direct oversight,” he explains.

One of the key challenges has been the unevenness in productivity. Schutzbach emphasizes that measuring performance should not rely on hours logged but on results. “We’ve all heard of employees using mouse jigglers to appear active. It’s not about monitoring screen time but ensuring trust and verifying outcomes.”

The return to office presents hurdles, especially for new hires who miss out on the informal interactions that foster camaraderie and understanding of company culture. “When you work with someone for a long time, disagreements are easier to resolve. Remote work makes it harder to build those relationships,” Schutzbach says.

To address these issues, Schutzbach advocates for regular touchpoints and goal-setting. Weekly or bi-weekly performance reviews help maintain alignment and accountability. “Performance discussions should happen throughout the year, not just during annual reviews,” he asserts. Setting smaller, achievable goals and providing ongoing support can bridge gaps and improve remote performance management.

The Importance of Office Presence

A critical point Schutzbach highlights is the need for physical office presence, especially for high achievers and new hires. “In-person interactions are crucial for brainstorming, mentorship, and building synergies,” he says. Schutzbach suggests a structured hybrid approach where the team agrees on specific in-office days to maximize collaboration and leadership visibility.

Schutzbach described the benefit of being visible to top leaders. “Visibility is key. The informal, ad hoc discussions in hallways or after meetings are invaluable,” he explains. By ensuring leadership presence in the office, high achievers are likely to follow, drawn by the benefits of being around dynamic leaders and the opportunities for growth and learning.

The flexibility of hybrid work naturally sorts employees by their priorities. High achievers who seek career progression are more likely to come into the office, while those prioritizing work-life balance might opt to stay remote more often. Schutzbach acknowledges exceptions, noting that some individuals excel remotely, but he believes most will gravitate towards in-person work to align with company goals and leadership.

The Future of Flexible Work

Looking ahead, Schutzbach believes flexible work is here to stay. “The genie is not going back in the bottle,” he says. Advances in technology have made remote and hybrid work more feasible, but effective leadership training is crucial. “We need to train leaders to manage remote teams without micromanaging. Trust but verify should be the approach.”

Groupe SEB plans to emphasize training and development in the coming year, focusing on equipping leaders to handle both on-site and remote team members effectively. “Training went away during the pandemic, but we’re bringing it back strong,” Schutzbach asserts.

Conclusion

Jack Schutzbach’s insights highlight the delicate balance required to manage flexible work environments successfully. While remote work offers significant benefits, the importance of in-person interactions for high achievers and new hires is indeed valuable. A well-structured hybrid approach, combined with effective performance management and leadership training, can harness the best of both worlds, as I stress to clients when I help them address frustrations with flexible work arrangements. As companies navigate this new landscape, the lessons from Groupe SEB provide a valuable blueprint for fostering productivity, collaboration, and growth in a flexible work environment.

Key Take-Away

Flexible work is here to stay, but in-person office presence remains crucial for high achievers and new hires. A hybrid model, effective performance management, and leadership training are key to success…>Click to tweet

Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio/pexels

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with hybrid work and Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Thought Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI for Innovative and Effective Content Creation. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.

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About Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

Known as the Disaster Avoidance Expert, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is on a mission to protect leaders from dangerous judgment errors known as cognitive biases, which devastate bottom lines and bring down high-flying careers. His expertise and passion is developing the most effective and profitable decision-making strategies, based on pragmatic business experience and cutting-edge behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience, to empower leaders to avoid business disasters and maximize their bottom lines. You can learn more here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/glebtsipursky/ The bestselling author of several books, Dr. Tsipursky is best known for his national bestseller on avoiding disasters and achieving success in business and other life areas, The Truth Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide. His next book, Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters, is forthcoming with Career Press in November 2019. It’s the first book to focus on cognitive biases in business leadership and reveal how leaders can overcome these dangerous judgment errors effectively. After that he’s publishing The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships with New Harbinger in April 2020, the first book to focus on cognitive biases in professional and personal relationships and illustrate how we can defeat these dangerous judgment errors in our relationships. See more information here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/author-page/ Dr. Tsipursky’s cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 400 articles he published and over 350 interviews he gave to popular venues that include Fast Company, CBS News, Time, Scientific American, Psychology Today, The Conversation, Business Insider, Government Executive, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Inc. Magazine, and many others, as you can see here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/media/ Dr. Tsipursky's expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, speaking, and training for businesses and nonprofits. He serves as the CEO of the boutique consulting, coaching, and training firm Disaster Avoidance Experts, which uses a proprietary methodology based on groundbreaking research to help leaders and organizations maximize their bottom lines by addressing potential threats, seizing unexpected opportunities, and resolving persistent personnel problems. His clients include Aflac, Balance Employment Assistance Provider, Edison Welding Institute, Fifth Third Bank, Honda, IBM, International Coaches Federation, Ohio Hospitals Association, National Association of Women Business Owners, Sentinel Real Estate, The Society for Human Resource Management, RealManage, The Columbus Foundation, Vistage, Wells Fargo, the World Wildlife Fund, and over a hundred others who achieve outstanding client results. You can learn more about that here: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/about Dr. Tsipursky also has a strong research and teaching background in behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience with over 15 years in academia, including 7 years as a professor at the Ohio State University and before that a Fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His dozens of peer-reviewed academic publications include journals such as Behavior and Social Issues, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, and International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy. His civic service includes over 4 years as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Intentional Insights, an educational nonprofit advocating for research-based decision-making in all life areas. He also co-founded the Pro-Truth Pledge, a civic project to promote truthfulness and integrity for individual professionals and leaders in the same way that the Better Business Bureau serves as a commitment for businesses. He serves on the Advisory Board of Canonical Debate Lab and Planet Purpose, and is on the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed journal Behavior and Social Issues. A highly in-demand international speaker, Dr. Tsipursky has over two decades of professional speaking experience across North America, Europe, and Australia. He gets top marks from audiences for his highly facilitative, interactive, and humor-filled speaking style and the way he thoroughly customizes speeches for diverse audiences. Meeting planners describe Dr. Tsipursky as "very relatable," as "a snap to work with," and as someone who "does everything that you would want a speaker to do." Drawing on best practices in adult learning, his programs address the wide spectrum of diverse learning styles, as attested by enthusiastic client testimonials and references. He regularly shares the stage with prominent leaders, for example recently speaking on a roundtable panel with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Elhadj As Sy, Chancellor of Austria Brigitte Bierlein, CEO of Penguin Random House Markus Dohle, and billionaire philanthropist and Chair of the Bertelsmann Management Company Liz Mohn. You can learn more about his speaking and see videos here: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/speaking/ Dr. Tsipursky earned his PhD in the History of Behavioral Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011, his M.A. at Harvard University in 2004, and his B.A. at New York University in 2002. He lives in and travels from Columbus, OH. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, hiking, and playing with his two cats, and most importantly, he makes sure to spend abundant quality time with his wife to avoid disasters in his personal life. Learn more about him at https://DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com/GlebTsipursky, contact him at Gleb[at]DisasterAvoidanceExperts[dot]com, follow him on Instagram @dr_gleb_tsipursky and Twitter @gleb_tsipursky. Most importantly, help yourself avoid disasters and maximize success, and get a free copy of the “Assessment on Dangerous Judgment Errors in the Workplace,” by signing up for his free Wise Decision Maker Course at https:// DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com/Subscribe You can read more about the author here.

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