Gene Douglas in NYC, on the ‘Great Resignation’
Written by Working Voices • 14 November, 2024
Leadership Article
Future skills are set to transform leadership more quickly than expected. In my August 2021 article Next Steps in Communication & Leadership Training, I looked at the ‘caring personally’ aspect of leadership. Since then, the natural development of future skills has been speeded up by what some are calling ‘The Great Resignation’. There is new urgency in questions such as ‘what practical steps can I take to become a more caring leader and create a more caring work environment?’
That question has been amplified in the US recently by analysis of the Great Resignation, the post-lockdown period of more than 4+ million employees racing for the door, or leaving the US job race altogether, in search of better work or a better life.
Publications and media outlets have guessed at reasons why, such as “lazy” Americans who received “free government money” during the pandemic not wanting to return to the grind; remote employees wanting to avoid the commute and stay closer to family; millennials and their Gen-Z colleagues leaving for more meaningful work or to start their own businesses.
One reason many of the 4+ million ‘Great Resigners’ (and 50+% of current job holders seeking better ones) have frequently offered for their great re-consideration is ‘the workplace’.
Whether it’s workplace politics, toxic environments, lack of opportunities, the need to be home to care for family, or a sense that one’s work has no meaning or positive impact, employees are asking for more of the workplace and workplace leadership. And they’re willing to walk away from paying gigs to seek more rewarding careers. This creates a challenge for employers and leaders expected to rise to the occasion by adapting to these new needs, while staying focused on the bottom line. It also takes us back to our initial question about the practical steps that could or should be taken on the journey to becoming a more caring leader.
The first step to achieving these goals is recognizing that caring and bottom-line results aren’t mutually exclusive. Researchers like Mary Fontaine, Ruth Jacobs, and David McClellan have proven that social skills and safe work environments lead to better results, whether it’s in the C-Suite (where ‘intangibles’ like emotional intelligence trump technical skills, especially amongst high-performing peers) or on team-based projects, where fundamentals like psychological safety, and clarity of mission and values, can make significant, bottom-line differences.
In short: a more emotionally rich environment enhances, not impedes, the business of business.
The best way to care for your people is to know your people, another leadership must that can maximize a caring environment while also netting bottom-line results. In her book Radical Candor, author Kim Scott tells the story of a manager, Russ, who was about to lose a high-performing direct report, Sarah, to another opportunity. Because Russ had got to know Sarah, he was able to meaningfully engage with her around the topic of leaving. Russ asked about Sarah’s ultimate goals of running her own business. Then, the two began working together to better prepare Sarah for entrepreneurship, including assistance with career planning and management training.
Russ was able to retain Sarah for a few years longer than expected, while also doing what former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, advises all leaders and mentors to do: “Mentors should care enough to say, ‘I want [my mentees] to soar – not just soar under my wing.’”
One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is equating personal temperament with leadership strategy. This mindset suggests that leadership ability is more a function of gut feelings, as opposed to a set of strategic choices guided by experience. It’s true that some leaders have a more caring style, while some have a more analytical or hard-charging style, to name but a few stylistic differences.
However, strategic leaders know that being fluent in multiple styles doesn’t change who they are, it simply changes how they approach a situation or individual, based on the need at hand. They see that strategic flexibility offers options, while leading by temperament narrows those options. They recognize, to utilize analogy, that one spice isn’t right for every dish, that one golf club isn’t right for every shot.
Working Voices offers courses like The Inspirational Leader (a.k.a The Leader as Coach) that offer practical approaches that can help leaders expand their emotional repertory and strategic vocabulary. One such approach is Daniel Goleman’s Six Leadership Styles.
Goleman’s six styles are:
Coercive (“Do as I Say”)
Coaching (“Try This”)
Authoritative (“Follow This Vision”)
Affiliative (“People Come First”)
Pace-Setting (“Expecting Excellence & Self Direction”)
Democratic (“Share Your Ideas”)
Leaders hoping to create a more caring environment would be wise to know these styles, as well as knowing when and how to combine them, or switch between them.
Simon Sinek’s book The Infinite Game reminds us that leaders have three fundamental responsibilities: (1) Protect people; (2) Generate profits; (3) Advance a purpose. These three responsibilities exist in a sort of business ecosystem, each dependent on the other.
Sinek’s text, written before the pandemic, first reminds us of the essential need to ‘protect our people’. One reason cited for the Great Resignation, particularly among office workers, is FOTO, Fear of the Office. “Will the workplace be safe again? Will I get sick? Will co-workers give me a bug that I’ll unknowingly bring home?”
Protecting your people doesn’t just mean taking (and communicating) workplace safety measures. It also means paying your people enough to live, helping them stay healthy or manage illness, and freeing them from on-the-job bullying and exclusion.
One universal cause of the Great Resignation – cited by sources ranging from Fox Business to The New York Times [paywall] – is a feeling among workers that their labor is devoid of purpose, with no tangible impact. That’s why Sinek encourages leaders to provide purpose or, like the story of Russ and Sarah, to know your people well enough to tap into their why, or their sense of purpose.
These practical leadership approaches may mean the difference between an employee staying or leaving. They may also have a more positive impact on a caring climate and workplace attractiveness than more costly, complicated, options.
—-
Gene Douglas is a Working Voices Trainer based in NYC. He’s been teaching communication and performance since 1999.
More on future skills:
What are the future skills that make sense of hybrid working – Dan Parry
3-step strategy for leaders tackling new mindsets at work – Dan Parry
Executive Presence Training
Leading with Impact and Presence
Get our latest insights by subscribing to our newsletter. Each week you'll receive updates helping you to understand and respond to the challenges facing your organisation. We won't share your details with anyone and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Learn to tackle the day-to-day challenges faced by women in the workplace with confidence, control and conviction.
This fast-paced interactive talk delivered by our motivational keynote speakers provides insight on how women can communicate with more impact and how they can develop within a leadership role by enhancing their personal presence. Our women’s speakers aim to help you build the confidence to be included in meetings, and raise your visibility as an authentic and influential leader. This talk can be tailored to your business and any specific requirements you might have.
The founder and CEO of Working Voices, Nick Smallman has been at the top of his profession for 25 years. Advising global blue-chip clients on engagement, productivity, and retention, he counsels leaders on increasing revenue via simple cultural adjustments.
Overseeing the successful expansion of Working Voices across the UK, the US, Asia, and the Middle East, Nick supports the leadership and communication capabilities of clients in a wide range of sectors. In particular, he has advised companies such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Sony, Nomura, M&S, and Blackrock for more than 15 years.
Developing his reputation for thought leadership, in recent years Nick has been leading work on The Sustainable Human, the subject of his forthcoming book. A concept unique to Working Voices, The Sustainable Human offers a package of solutions focusing on leadership enablement, future skills, and cultural harmony.
Working closely with HR specialist Mercer, Nick has developed solutions to four key modern workplace challenges:
“I’m excited to share the conclusions of three years of research that, if implemented, can make an immediate practical difference to leaders and their organisations.”
All articles by Nick Smallman
Our motivating keynote speakers will help you to gain an understanding of how you present yourself to others and how they identify with you. You’ll also gain an understanding of how influence and the development of a personal brand can enhance your impact. In this enthusing talk our expert business speakers will explore the practicalities and techniques involved in developing a suitable personal brand and creating a strong personal impact.
Networking skills are important for achieving success in business. This talk delivered by our engaging keynote speakers will provide you with an insight into good networking etiquette. Our business speakers will focus on understanding the importance of networking, how to plan and prep before an event. You’ll learn some good tips for reading group body language and some essential icebreakers to get you started.
Parents all over the world are becoming increasingly worried about the effect of screen use on their children’s mental health. In addition to a lack of understanding as to what they are looking at there is the deeper issue of how online behaviour is shaping the way that children think and form relationships. We unpack the neuroscience behind the addictive nature of screen time and offer a blueprint to help parents coach their children towards a more fruitful relationship with the internet.
The internet is lauded as a giant leap for communication and a vehicle for mass connection in a busy world. What is also becoming clear is the opportunity for bad actors to manipulate important social, cultural and political conversations through the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation. We lay bare the methods that are used to inject confusion and grievance into the conversation and how we as consumers are not naturally wired to combat this. We will offer a framework to help protect you from fake news, distraction and getting sucked in to destructive communication
70% of people will experience a genuine fear of being exposed as not good enough, of being a fraud in their working lives; this talk will help you combat such feelings and deliver practical guidance that will help you feel confident and comfortable when taking on the next big challenge.
In a world dominated by showmen, charismatics and influencers it is becoming more and more difficult to find leaders that are intellectually credible as well as influential. The ability to think critically is being downgraded while the ability to attract attention is lauded. It is possible to do both and we will show how strong mental models can underpin a long-term leadership persona.
The self-help industry is an ever expanding and hugely popular vehicle for personal development. Humans have an innate desire to improve themselves and raise their status – what’s not to love? However, some of the ideas and tropes used in many of the self-help products available rely on flawed thinking to be successful. We explore 6 major themes, deconstruct their effectiveness and relevance in the modern world and provide an alternatives that are more effective.
“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Jeff Bezos (Founder and Chairman of Amazon) that’s why it matters so much. It’s all about creating the right external impression, ensuring it is authentic and makes you stand out from the crowd. This inspirational talk by our expert keynote speakers will explore the methods, techniques and practises of developing an authentic personal brand that gets you noticed.
Presenting can be a daunting ordeal at the best of times but this highly interactive and fast paced talk will help build your confidence and improve your delivery with any audience. Our keynote speaker will take you through how best to prepare for your big moment, along with helping you look and sound the part as well.
TED Talks can be both informative and inspiring, but how do the best speakers deliver their message with such impact? In this talk, one of our inspiring keynote speakers will walk you through the TED method and help you deliver your very own idea with confidence and precision.
Emotional intelligence is about the ability to identify, assess and manage the emotions of yourself, of others and of groups. Having a high EQ will improve your ability to maintain good working relationships and communicate successfully. This highly interactive talk will give you a practical insight into how emotional intelligence works. Our expert keynote speakers will give you a concise overview of the emotional intelligence know-how and stratagems you need to interact commendably with clients and colleagues.
Making a good impression and having a strong personal presence is an important part of being successful in business and in life. Personal impact is about having presence and charisma. In this engaging talk our motivational keynote speakers will explore what both of these actually mean, what they look like and feel like. We will look at the practicalities of each and punctuate both topics with brief exercises to help you to become more aware of the way you interact with others. This is an exciting and interactive talk which our expert business speakers deliver in an inspirational style.
Successful people are super communicators – they think clearly and are expert at interacting with others. They understand themselves, other people and know that superior relationships are the cornerstone to a fulfilling life These characteristics are learned attributes. Now you can master these skills and behaviours and work towards becoming a super communicator yourself.
Improving your influencing skills is important in helping you to build better rapport and have positive relationships with your clients and colleagues. This fast-paced talk delivered by our expert business speakers helps you to explore and develop your existing influencing skills. Our inspiring keynote speakers will focus on maintaining mental and linguistic flexibility when interpreting and presenting information helping you to become an effective influential leader. Our keynote speakers can adapt this talk to your business needs and requirements if requested.
Our sentiments and feelings towards people are created by our own experiences but we’re not always aware of how those sentiments affect the way we act towards people and make decisions about them. Our engaging keynote speakers will bring to light your unconscious bias in this thought provoking talk: how it works, the affect this has on decision making and most importantly, what you can do about it; making sure you are the inclusive leader you wish to be.