Lead Like You Give A Sh*t!
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Of course, you already do, or you wouldn’t be reading this. But I want to mention two bodies of research that were released in the last few weeks that would suggest we aren’t very good at recognising or dealing with some of the challenges our people are facing.
Infinite Potential released their “The State of Workplace Burnout 2024” a global report that tells us that seven in ten managers say their teams’ wellbeing is the same or better compared to twelve months ago. But half of employees said their wellbeing is worse in that same period. A huge disconnect!
The sense is that managers are far more likely to be burned out themselves and therefore don’t have time to address it. But the main reason may well be that they aren’t trained to look for burnout in their people and aren’t trained in what to do about it anyway.
Of course, this raises an issue around looking for the signs and symptoms. If a manager does see it, then the issue is already entrenched, and we are not preventing the workplace mental health challenges in burnout.
Which means we are not being compliant with the new legislation around psychosocial hazards.
Looking for the symptoms is like slamming the gate after the horse has bolted. Early intervention is like looking for the horses most likely to bolt. Prevention tells us that happy horses don’t bolt.
The other body of recent research from Gallup speaks to the value in having critical, caring conversations with teams. This research tells us that:
More than 40% of people who (voluntarily) left their job said their leaving was preventable.
Three out of four of those surveyed said they never had a conversation with their boss.
Only one in three discussed their future in the business.
One in five talked about how to be more effective in their role,
Less than one in five were asked what it would take for them to stay.
HALF of those who left never spoke with a leader about any of these topics.
We can see that having critical, caring conversations cost us NOTHING financially. In fact, regular feedback and discussions are so important they could be considered a profit centre given the positive growth value they offer to the business.
The ROI of this training is at least 4:1 and is an absolute necessity. Compared to the cost of staff turnover and attrition it is a fraction. We know that the cost of losing a manager/leader is about 200% of their salary. Technical roles cost about 80% of their annual salary to bring in a replacement.
Managers need to be having a meaningful conversation with everyone in their team weekly. To lead like their people matter. These conversations in lifting engagement in their teams costs NOTHING, beyond the investment in training your leaders in how to have meaningful, compassionate conversations, learning about what to look for to PREVENT issues in their teams and ensuring everyone feels noticed, needed, and nurtured.
I help leaders work better with their teams. I would love to have a conversation with you around how I can help your leaders lead like their people MATTER. If you want to share this information with someone who needs to hear it, please do.
So let’s start the conversation about conversations. Click here to find some time with me for an obligation-free exploration of your needs and challenges and how I can help
#leadliketheymatter #leadlikeyougiveashit #peoplefirstperformancefollows #mattering