Why Proximity No Longer Builds Trust

Remote ≠ Disconnected. When I first started leading across time zones, I thought distance would be the biggest challenge. Different calendars.  Different rhythms. Different cultures. But I’ve learned it isn’t distance that weakens trust. It’s silence. It’s unclear expectations. It’s waiting for answers that never come. What actually keeps a remote team close isn’t proximity - it’s rituals. The Monday check-in where everyone knows their priorities. The habit of writing things down so no one is guessing. Even the little traditions, like sharing weekend stories before diving into work. Clarity builds trust. Rituals keep it alive. And when those are in place, distance doesn’t feel like distance anymore. What’s one small ritual your team relies on?

The moment you know if your remote hire was a mistake Two days into hiring my first remote executive assistant, I leaned back in my chair and thought, "This could be the biggest mistake of the year." But by day three, that doubt had completely vanished. Here's what I've learned about building trust with someone you've never met: The signs of failure show up fast. The late starts. The vague updates. The excuses that start stacking like dominos. You know the feeling - that sinking realization that you'll be back to square one next week. Yet when it works, something beautiful happens. Trust doesn't require proximity. It requires consistency. The best remote hires are the ones who understand the profound simplicity of this equation: Presence + Reliability = Trust I don't give bank access on day one. I give them just enough rope to prove themselves, but not enough to hang either of us. Small tasks. Clear expectations. Quick wins. The relationship deepens layer by layer, like sediment forming solid ground. What struck me most? Remote loyalty looks different than office loyalty. It's not built on lunch conversations or watercooler moments. It's built on mutual usefulness - where both parties make each other's work more effortless. With executive assistants especially, year one is investment. By year two, they've become the invisible force that makes everything else possible. They know what you need before you ask. They protect your time like it's their own. They become essential. The irony? Some of my deepest professional relationships are with people I've never shared a coffee with. Distance doesn't dilute trust. Poor hiring does. → What's been your experience building trust across continents? I'd love to hear your stories below. #RemoteWork #Leadership #Trust #ExecutiveAssistant

Out of sight, out of mind? Ever notice how you naturally chat more with the colleague who sits near you and barely speak to the one three rows away? That’s not just you. Back in the 70s, MIT researcher Thomas Allen studied this exact thing. He found that communication between colleagues drops off dramatically the further apart they sit. Proximity drives connection. It became known as the Allen Curve. But that was then. These days, half the team could be working from home, someone’s dialling in from Spain, and we’re all bouncing between Slack and Teams. We can message anyone, anywhere. So, does the Allen Curve still apply? Or has technology flattened it? The tools are smarter- but humans haven’t changed much. On paper, distance shouldn’t matter anymore. I can “pop in” to your DMs like I used to pop by your desk. Digital tools have made us more connected than ever. But research tells a different story. A study of 60,000 Microsoft employees during the pandemic found that remote working led to more siloed communication. People stuck to their immediate circles and reached out less across teams. We weren’t mingling like we used to -physically or digitally. And it’s not just about scheduled meetings. It’s the undervalued stuff: bumping into someone in the kitchen, overhearing a conversation, chucking out an idea at lunch. That’s where creativity and collaboration often start. When you’re remote, that doesn’t happen unless you make it happen. And let’s be honest, nobody lingers on Teams. You click “Leave Meeting” and poof, you're gone. No casual chat, no “got a sec?” moments. It’s a bit... sterile. So, is the Allen Curve still relevant? Yes – but not in the same way. The idea that closeness breeds connection still holds. But the kind of closeness that matters now isn’t just physical, it’s relational. Do we check in regularly? Create space for informal chats? Feel safe to message without an agenda? That’s the new proximity. Some teams are cracking it with virtual “watercooler” chats, random coffees, and regular in-person meetups. They’re being intentional about connection because it doesn’t happen by accident anymore. Others assume the tech will do the job for them. It won’t. Hybrid isn’t the problem. In fact, it offers the best of both worlds. But only if we’re smart about how we use it. If your team’s a mix of office and remote, you’ve got to work harder to keep people included. And it definitely means ditching the idea that a casual connection doesn’t matter. Because the Allen Curve was never just about floorplans. It was about human behaviour. And while the tech has changed, we haven’t. In short… The Allen Curve isn’t dead…it’s just evolved. Distance still affects who we talk to and how often. The difference now is we’ve got more tools, and more responsibility, to bridge that gap Proximity still matters. If you want creativity, connection and strong teams...don’t leave it to chance. #leadership #proxmity #ex  

If your leadership depends on proximity, it’s not leadership — it’s control. Many leaders are addicted to being seen. They confuse visibility with value. They think showing up in the office is enough. But proximity doesn’t create performance. It creates dependency. Hybrid & remote work exposes what in-office culture often hid: - A lack of clarity. - A lack of trust. - A lack of real leadership. If your influence disappears when you’re not in the room, you were never being followed, you were being watched. True leadership in a hybrid world requires more: - Clear direction - Intentional communication - Equal experience for remote and in-office Proximity is easy. Presence is developed. Influence is earned. If your team only follows when you're near, You’re not leading You’re babysitting proximity. Hybrid isn’t the problem. It’s the test. If your leadership can’t scale without proximity, it won’t survive.

Trust no longer depends on proximity—it depends on purpose. Our 2024 State of Workplace Connection Report revealed a striking insight: 78% of employees say they’ve built trusting relationships through digital communication. Think about that for a moment. The tools we once viewed as purely functional (email, Slack, Teams) are now the backbone of connection. They’re not just about task management; they’re about trust-building, fostering belonging, and enabling collaboration across time zones and geographies. So, what does this mean for your HR tech stack? → It’s not just about tools; it’s about experience. Are your platforms fostering connection, or are they simply delivering information? → Purpose drives usage. Employees thrive when digital tools reflect a culture of empathy and engagement, not just efficiency. → Tech must meet the moment. Platforms need to be flexible and intuitive enough to create meaningful, trust-building interactions in the flow of work. This shift challenges us to rethink our digital strategies: ➕Are we using these tools intentionally to build relationships? Or are we just checking boxes? The future of trust is digital, but it will always be deeply human in nature 🙂 How does your HR tech stack build trust and connection? #WorkplaceConnection #EmployeeExperience #HRTech

FROM PROXIMITY TO INTENTIONALITY Every business book will tell you to “listen to your customers”. Ok, it’s sound advice. No argument there. And what about “listen to your employees”? How come that advice isn’t given more often? Doing things because “it’s how we’ve always done it” is a great way for an organization to be on the fast track toward no longer being relevant and sustainable. And yet I see so many organizations apply this style of thinking to the way their people work. Once the threat of the pandemic passed, companies went back to expecting team members to come back to the office because “it’s how we’ve always done it.” It’s a short-sighted decision because: a) it assumes the way we’ve always done things is optimal b) it ignores the possibility that the new ways of working are “good enough” or could even be “better” than the old methods Doing things the way we’ve always done them is easy. Doing the hard work to understand how to embrace and implement new methods takes hard work. But it’s hard work every organization should be doing. Because this new way of working is here to stay. So how can we, as organizations, embrace the new way of working and continue being the relevant and sustainable organizations we strive to be? We have to move from proximity to intentionality. We have to stop assuming our people have to be physically close by to develop and do their best work. We have to start applying intentionality to the ways we develop our people in a new virtual work environment. Intentional development should include things like: Exposure to different businesses and roles Scheduled personal connection (investing time 1 on 1 to build relationships) A tailored development plan for an individual rather than a standard plan for the whole organization Start by defining what the end goal is for developing your people. What are you trying to accomplish? And start working backward from there. The future of the workplace is no longer about proximity, it’s about intentionality.