Leadership Competencies in Remote and Hybrid Work Environments: A Narrative Review and Integrated Conceptual Framework
Ian Dolganov
Swiss International Institute Lausanne (SIIL)
Lausanne, Switzerland
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3619-18650
ABSTRACT
This study examines the leadership competencies required for effective management in remote and hybrid work environments in the post-pandemic period. It responds to the growing need to reconcile technological transformation with employee well-being, trust, flexibility, and organizational performance. Using a narrative literature review and conceptual synthesis, the article integrates recent academic studies and reports published primarily between 2020 and 2025. The analysis focuses on digital leadership, virtual team management, digital empathy, artificial intelligence literacy, organizational resilience, and results-oriented performance systems.
The review identifies three interrelated groups of competencies that shape leadership effectiveness in digitally mediated work settings. The first group comprises technological competencies, including digital literacy, AI fluency, strategic awareness of digital transformation, and the ethical use of data-driven tools. The second includes human-centered competencies such as digital empathy, emotional intelligence, transparent communication, participative leadership, and the creation of psychological safety. The third consists of organizational competencies, including change management, learning agility, strategic adaptability, resilience-building, and the coordinated use of OKR and KPI frameworks.
Based on these findings, the study proposes an integrated conceptual framework linking leadership competencies with employee trust, engagement, well-being, team cohesion, organizational resilience, and performance. It also highlights the relevance of balancing stability and agility in remote and hybrid work through clear goals, predictable communication, and supportive leadership practices. The article contributes to the literature by combining previously fragmented research streams into a unified perspective and offers practical recommendations for leadership development programs, especially in organizations and transition economies undergoing digital transformation. The proposed framework may support future empirical research and the design of more effective leadership practices in distributed teams
Downloads
References
Bravo-Duarte, F., Tordera, N., and Rodríguez, I. 2025a. Overcoming virtual distance: a systematic review of leadership competencies for managing performance in telework. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology 2:1499248. https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2024.1499248.
Bravo-Duarte, F., Tordera, N., and Rodríguez, I. 2025b. Wellbeing in telework: a systematic review of leadership competencies. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology 3:1576926. https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2025.1576926.
DeSanctis, G., and Poole, M. S. 1994. Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: Adaptive structuration theory. Organization Science 5 (2): 121–147. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.5.2.121.
Deloitte. 2025a. 2025 Deloitte Human Capital Trends: Insights from the Workday Perspective. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/alliances/workday/perspectives/deloitte-human-capital-trends.html (accessed February 14, 2026).
Deloitte. 2025b. Turning tensions into triumphs: Helping leaders transform uncertainty into opportunity. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/human-capital-trends/2025/thriving-in-midst-leadership-tension-uncertainty.html (accessed April 20, 2026).
Deloitte. 2025c. Human Capital Trends: Insights from the Workday Perspective. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/alliances/workday/perspectives/deloitte-human-capital-trends.htm (accessed April 20, 2026).
Deloitte. 2025d. Human Capital Trends: Turning tensions into triumphs. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/services/consulting/articles/human-capital-and-hr-trends-thought-leadership.html (accessed April 20, 2026).
Dilan Consulting Group. 2025. The Leadership Playbook: Six Essential Skills for 2025 and Beyond. Dilan Consulting. https://dilanconsulting.com/the-leadership-playbook-six-essential-skills-for-2025-and-beyond/ (accessed February 13, 2026).
Eurofound. 2025a. Frequency of working from home among those in teleworkable jobs, by EU Member State and gender, 2024 (%). https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/surveys-and-data/data-catalogue/frequency-working-home-among-those-teleworkable-jobs-eu-member-state-and-gender-2024 (accessed February 22, 2026).
Eurofound. 2025b. Opportunities for remote work decline despite workers’ preferences, new survey finds. Mynewsdesk. https://www.mynewsdesk.com/eurofound/pressreleases/opportunities-for-remote-work-decline-despite-workers-preferences-new-survey-finds-3364383 (accessed February 20, 2026).
Eurofound. 2025c. Work from home preferences, 2020–2024, EU (%). https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/surveys-and-data/data-catalogue/work-home-preferences-2020-2024-eu (accessed February 10, 2026).
Eurofound. 2026. Uneven picture of a changing Europe: Findings from Living and Working in the EU e-survey 2025. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2806/1494388.
European Training Foundation. 2024. ETF Survey on Jobs & Skills in the Western Balkans highlights the digital training gap. https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/news-and-events/news/etf-survey-jobs-skills-western-balkans-highlights-digital-training-gap (accessed May 29, 2026).
FranklinCovey. n.d. OKR vs KPI: How to Supercharge Your Objectives, Key Results, and Wildly Important Goals. https://www.franklincovey.com/blog/okr-vs-kpi/ (accessed February 25, 2026).
Gallup. 2025. The Remote Work Paradox: Higher Engagement, Lower Wellbeing. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/660236/remote-work-paradox-engaged-distressed.aspx (accessed April 20, 2026).
Great Transitions Strategies. 2025. The Remote Work Paradox: Why Your Most Engaged Employees May Still Be at Risk. Great Transitions Strategies. https://greattransitionsstrategies.com/the-remote-work-paradox-why-your-most-engaged-employees-may-still-be-at-risk/ (accessed February 15, 2026).
Henderson, J. 2025. Essential Leadership Competencies for 2025. EANE. https://www.eane.org/essential-leadership-competencies-for-2025/ (accessed February 17, 2026).
HR Future. n.d. OKRs Vs KPIs – Which To Use And When. https://www.hrfuture.net/workplace-culture/strategy/leadership/okrs-vs-kpis-which-to-use-and-when/ (accessed February 27, 2026).
Howick, J., S. Heneghan, J. Halpern, S. Carr, S. MacLeod, and R. Withnall. 2025a. Proposed Model of Empathic Leadership to Address Crises in Contemporary Management. BMJ Leader. https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2024-001203.
Howick, J., Halpern, J., Flyvbjerg, B., Bennett-Weston, A., and Leicester Empathic Leadership Group. 2025b. A novel approach to teaching empathic leadership using heuristics. SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=5532418.
Kurayan, K. A. 2025. Upravlenie udalennymi komandami: novaya oblast issledovaniy i ee perspektivy [Remote team management: a new area of research and its prospects]. Liderstvo i menedzhment 12 (5): 1121–1130. https://doi.org/10.18334/lim.12.5.123186.
López-Figueroa, J. C., S. Ochoa-Jiménez, M. O. Palafox-Soto, and D. Sujey Hernandez Munoz. 2025. Digital Leadership: A Systematic Literature Review. Administrative Sciences 15 (4): 129. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15040129.
Mishra, R. 2025. Remote Work Faces Challenges In 2025. Here’s How Leaders Can Respond. https://news.crunchbase.com/workplace/remote-work-challenges-responses-mishra-prezent/ (accessed February 25, 2026).
OECD. 2025. Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2025. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/bc0babf3-en.
Penn LPS Online. 2025. The rise of remote work: challenges and opportunities for businesses. Penn LPS Online. https://lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu/features/rise-remote-work-challenges-and-opportunities-businesses (accessed February 10, 2026).
Rachmad, Y. E. 2017. Digital Empathy Theory. Σπάρτη Διεθνής Έκδοση Βιβλίων. https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/9d8nq.
Tsekouropoulos, G., Vasileiou, A., Hoxha, G., Theocharis, D., Theodoridou, E., and Grigoriadis, T. 2025. Leadership 4.0: Navigating the challenges of the digital transformation in healthcare and beyond. Administrative Sciences 15 (6): 194. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15060194.
West, A., Kelly, G., Zucker, J., Siegel, K., Greco, L., Birshan, M., Doherty, R., and Lehmann, S. 2025. Achieving growth: Putting leadership mindsets and behaviors into action. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/achieving-growth-putting-leadership-mindsets-and-behaviors-into-action (accessed February 27, 2026).
World Economic Forum. 2025. The return-to-office paradox, and other trends in jobs and skills this month. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/08/return-to-office-flexibility-remote-work/ (accessed February 18, 2026).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
_(1).png){kind=small}
.svg_1.jpg){kind=small}
.png)
