We’re undergoing a leadership revolution.
It was happening before, but the pandemic accelerated the transformation.
The companies that successfully make the transition to the new model?
They’ll win out in attracting talent and retaining good people.
Pre-Covid, employees were willing to tolerate a lot in the name of their jobs.
That has changed.
The pandemic led to people reflecting on their lives and how they were living them.
They came out more committed to their autonomy, to connecting deeper in relationships, to their health, to meaning and self-expression.
Wanting more living out of life.
Last April, 4 million Americans quit their jobs voluntarily — a 20-year record.
They were part of a growing number of people seeking better work. Rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. Seeking more flexibility, more meaning, and more happiness.
The issue for companies is that they’re not ready. Sure, there are pockets of people-centered leadership, places where people are committed to and exploring better ways of leading and engaging people.
But overall, we’re still mired in the industrial age when it comes to company management.
Then it was all about efficiency and speed. Manufacturing was broken down to parts and each person given a single piece to fulfill.
Thinking wasn’t an asset. And certainly not feeling. You were expected to leave your crap at home.
It was, in essence, about stripping people of their personalities to act as a cog in the machine.
Those themes of scientific management still run deep in companies today. In fact, so deep that they’re not even recognized as springing from a particular management theory. It’s just the way companies operate.
Now it’s a complete turnaround. From de-personalizing to personalizing the workplace.
The companies that will win out in this post-Covid era are those who ask bigger questions about what the workplace can be. Who are able to re-create work as a platform for employee self-expression and take employee well-being to a new level.
Those who activate people’s growth impulse and help people feel and be their best selves.
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