Hi Reader, I wrote out a passionate LinkedIn post about a recent Fortune article covering the new Gallup data on the "Great Detachment," and LinkedIn has eaten it ... twice ... so maybe third time's a charm (and at least here I have autosave). The full article is on Fortune (but behind a paywall) here; and was syndicated via MSN here if you can stand all the ads. 51% of employees are “watching or actively searching for a new job” according to a new Gallup survey.Think that’s bad? Another statistic in the article caught my eye: Managers actually have the highest levels of “looking to leave” sentiment. 55% of managers are looking to leave their current roles, compared to 41% of leaders, and 51% of individual contributors. We all know the role that managers play in employee retention (or attrition) -- so a majority of managers being disengaged is a huge red flag that something is wrong out there. “[T]wo of the biggest reasons for the dip in engagement was an increase in employees feeling disconnected from their work’s mission and reports of unclear expectations.” (citing Ben Wigert, Ph.D, MBA). “Of those who left their jobs within this past year, 42% said their manager or company could have done something to stop them from quitting. ‘Managers simply are not showing-up for their employees,’” (citing Corey Tatel, Ph.D.). When I read data like this over, and over, and over, it makes me wish I had a bigger megaphone. This level of disengagement and suffering does not need to persist (and frankly, the impact to human health and wellbeing is unacceptable). Management skills can be learned.Organizations have numerous options for developing the talent and competency of fundamental management mechanics: these are skills that can be learned, not innate characteristics that some "good managers" are born with and "bad managers" aren't. Managers and leaders can learn, practice, and build skills with self-awareness, emotional regulation, and intellectual humility that directly improve managers' effectiveness with their reports. Ben Arendt's book, "How to Suck Less As a Manager" is literally sitting in front of me on my desk, and it is a fast, fun, impactful read that touches on ten ways managers "suck" and provides useful coaching for how to suck less. (Ben is also my guest for my next Thinkydoers episode ... so you'll hear more from him in the next couple of weeks). "Almost half (45%) of those surveyed said that they did not have a “constructive conversation” with their bosses about their satisfaction or future in their job up to three months before they left." Improving those fundamental management skills -- self-awareness, emotional regulation, intellectual humility -- also has an indirect benefit of increasing manager confidence and capability with constructive conflict conversations. Yes, managers are busy. And, disengaged managers also may dodge performance conversations with their reports because they don't have the energy or stomach for a conversation that may involve conflict. OKRs close the gap on "how does my work matter?"Well implemented OKRs play a role here as well: with individual goals aligned to organizational OKRs, managers and their reports have regular performance conversations because the focus is on what progress and results are being achieved on a weekly and monthly basis, not only when formal evaluation conversations take place. Not to mention, No-BS OKRs are literally designed to close the engagement dips mentioned in the Gallup data: done well, OKRs help people understand how their work connects to the organization's mission, purpose, and strategy. and help provide everyone in the organization clearer expectations. And, OKRs can also be created by individuals and then aligned with their leaders to help individuals create their own clear expectations -- no matter how chaotic the environment or how foggy the organizational strategy. These shifts may challenge the status quo and require managers and leaders to get comfortable with productive conflict. I'm the first one to say: I started my leadership career as a conflict avoider, and an accommodator -- I had to build and nurture my skills for engaging productively with conflict. Those learnings were hard earned -- and they are absolutely reproduceable (even at scale). High performance hinges on clear direction, clear expectations, and a curious and learning-focused culture. These things are simple, not easy. And the organizations that embrace learning new approaches to managing well not only insulate themselves from employee disengagement: they're building their organizational readiness for future generations of workers among whom these trends are even more amplified. Climbing off my soapbox for a couple quick informs:
Now: go have a high-performance Friday and a wonderful weekend! |
I help changemaker leaders, teams, and other Thinkydoers understand their strengths, increase their quantifiable impact, and become fulfilled in their careers (without masking or mind-reading). My "how?" Accessible, efficient approaches to strategy creation, alignment, and operationalizing for goal achievement, with a special focus on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The approaches I coach and teach today build on well-honed expertise leading adult learning, instructional design, marketing, creative strategy and strategic operations at some of the world’s largest enterprises, and in public sector and political roles. In my individual coaching work via Thinkydoers, I help people who are "wired differently" (or otherwise "not from Leadership Central Casting") build authentic, rewarding careers as the leaders of change our world needs today. When not working with Red Currant Collective, my "other life" is in professional motorcycle racing. 🏍️
Hi Reader, THANK YOU for clicking through to the Reader Survey! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts -- the feedback I'm getting is so fascinating to me that after I wrap it up next week I'll share a few highlights. I don't know about you, but this week after Labor Day here in the US always flies by like a blink. And when I get back to work on this upcoming Monday, I get my last hurrah on 2024 as we move into the Q3/Q4 learning review and reset. Typically we do our learning review...
Hi Reader, Whoo boy friends it's been a whirlwind over here so buckle up and let's dive in. 👉 I'd love your answer on this LinkedIn poll: What is the biggest barrier that slows progress toward achieving your strategy? 👉 Need a metric to base a strategy achievement leading indicator key result on? I've got you! v2 of our Strategy Achievement Score quiz is now live. If you finish the quiz and share your email at the end, you'll get an actual numerical score that you can use as a KPI or as the...
Hi Reader, I looked at the calendar last week and realized: August 15th -- the date I open my books to corporate clients in preparation for annual reset season -- is literally right around the corner. So before I re-open to large orgs, I want to get ✨as many smaller clients as possible✨ on the books – so am running a Summer Sale to help make that possible! Today's drop is the big new news: I am super excited to share my Get Started With No-BS OKRs course with you... for only $49 (a $50...