The Herman Trend Alert
February 16, 2022
Leadership for Today and Tomorrow
The Great Resignation has highlighted the need for effective leadership---unfortunately, in somewhat short supply. This Alert will detail what leaders must do to attract, engage, and retain the talent they need to stay in business and even optimize profit.
Some Important Background
Many employees are in pain. Besides the pain of having lost a loved one to COVID, many workers are expressing a mental anguish we have not seen before. Particularly for single employees who lived alone, the months (or perhaps more accurately, years) of isolation have taken their toll. People feel disconnected from their employers, from their communities, some even from their own lives. A number---with underlying conditions---may even be terrified of becoming infected with this dreaded disease that has claimed close to 6 million human beings worldwide and will probably take 1 million in the United States before it's through. In many cases, even their leisure activities were curtailed by the infection, if those activities included interacting with others. And although many of us are truly "sick" of COVID and want it to be over, COVID is likely not done with us. Into this landscape we need our leaders to show up in ways that many have never done before.
Who Leaders Need to Be
First and foremost, we need our leaders to be empathetic---to understand that many of their people are still in pain. We need them to listen with their eyes as well as their ears and to open their hearts. We need our leaders to be vigilant to their unconscious bias that will have them choosing folks who look and think like them because being around those similar folks is more comfortable, though their perspective---as well as the bottom line of their organizations---will suffer.
What Leaders Need to Do
We need our leaders to take action based on what their employees need. For example, either leaders need to provide onsite supervision for their offspring or a referral to an offsite (nearby) facility where employees may enjoy subsidized supervision for their offspring. We need them to put employee welfare first, even if it means that their bottom line will take a temporary hit.
How Leaders Need to Do It
The leaders who think of themselves as the ultimate authorities will not like what I am about to suggest. The very best ideas for saving money, cutting production time, and all of the other areas for improvement will come from your frontline employees. If you engage them in wanting to help you to get and be better at any aspect of the company, you will ask them for their best ideas, then implement them---and share the gains! There are many examples of how well this process works from the American Airlines program that saved the company billions (and gave away millions) to Ericsson's WINSHARE program that transformed the culture of a plant the company acquired in Virginia to the successful I-Power initiative that helped Boardroom, Inc. become one of the most profitable companies in the country. But these wins are not confined to the US, the GM of the Hilton Hotel in The Hague used the same tactic to engage his people to look for ways to constantly improve their service to guests and each other.
When Leaders Need to Take these Actions
The need is immediate. Taking action right away to begin to bond with employees will reap exponential rewards. On the flip side of this coin, not taking action could be fatal to the future of an organization. Why do I say this---and I am not overstating the situation, I promise. Right now, across the globe, literally millions of workers are saying "hasta la vista" to their employers every week. Monthly, about 4 million employees in the US are choosing to leave their jobs---many of which they held for long periods of time. Without good people, companies can simply not stay in business. We need good people to make our products and serve our customers. We need talented people to help us think about the future and position the company for competitive success. The machines are not coming fast enough to make up for the folks being lost to the Great Resignation. Please consider this Alert as your wake-up call if you need one. Leadership is not a spectator sport. The time to act is now!
Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: Creating a Restaurant Culture that Works
Chef Jay Huang of Lucky Robot in Austin, Texas has created a culture that will be a role model for restaurants now and for years to come. Tune in next week to find out how he creates a unique dining experience with amazing food and outstanding service.
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