Leadership Investment – the Key to Retention

Intuitively, we know it would have been tough. Transitioning into a new leadership role just before the pandemic would have been difficult for even the most seasoned leader. But in our focus on basic survival, new leaders weren’t given the necessary tools in what was arguably (??) the highest level of change and uncertainty of the last 25 years in business. According to the study referenced in the article, there was a 21% drop in leadership skills training from pre-pandemic to 2021. Based on 17,000 surveys, there was clearly less support for new leaders (i.e., less feedback, training, and assessment) compared to peers who previously transitioned into leadership roles. It shouldn’t be a surprise that 11% declared they are more likely to leave their roles within the next year. Concerned? We need to be, especially if it causes us to take action.
 
Building the “hybrid workplace” creates new opportunities to invest in a strong leadership bench. As the article suggests, we can’t lose sight of the leaders that were the backbone of our organizations the last 18 months during the pandemic. They stepped into unfamiliar roles overnight and kept their organizations afloat. Now it’s time to provide personalized training, coaching, and feedback to promote their success going forward. We can’t risk burnout resulting in attrition and other performance issues rising from frustrated and disengaged leaders. These leaders have proven that they are invaluable by succeeding in the most difficult of situations and — now that we have better line-of-sight to the future — we owe it to them to invest in their development as we construct the #futureofwork. By investing in these leaders now, we’ll retain valuable talent and our teams will have the continuity they need in this very important transition period. We already expected a lot from our leadership teams; let’s equip them for success. The tips in the article are fundamental and only require our commitment and focus. Communication; Clarity; Feedback and Coaching. When you’re aware of something and you commit to it, you’re more than halfway there, and our teams… are worth it.

Article:    5 Powerful Ways to Support Leaders Who’ve Been Hammered by the Pandemic