From ‘Tolerations’ And Feeling ‘Stuck’ To Vision And Taking Action
A recent article from Korn Ferry ("Sitting, Not Quitting") notes that the number of people leaving positions in the private sector has gone back to pre-pandemic levels, and “Experts say managers will be tasked with doing a better job of motivating their employees, often with fewer resources. But that’s a challenge in an age of greatly reduced quitting, because some firms may not be able to quickly assess who is unengaged, unproductive, or both.”
Where to start? How do leaders and managers begin to quickly assess who is unengaged, unproductive or both?
I suggest we zoom out a moment before assessing.
The last three years have been extraordinary. This summer (the summer of 2023) feels like it might be the first summer of relative "normality" since 2019. Many of us have experienced significant loss, disorientation and a reprioritization of our lives these past three years. What if, instead of dusting off the pre-pandemic performance review process, every single manager had a different kind of conversation with each of their direct reports? A human conversation about what’s working at work, what’s not and dreams and hopes for the future. As we continue to navigate our way through the most disruptive decade of our lifetimes, it is time to take a pause after the tumult and upheaval of the past three years and take stock.
A few weeks ago, I facilitated a leadership workshop with a group of over 100 women leaders and I posed the following questions:
1. What is not working in your work right now? What are you tolerating?
2. What do you want to create?
3. What baby step could you take today toward that vision?
4. Finish this sentence: “If I had limitless courage, I would...”
Using an online whiteboard, the leaders noted their responses together. Here is a sample of the responses:
1. What is not working in your work right now? What are you tolerating?
Not being a team focused on a common goal
White supremacy/white fragility
Stagnancy
Poor feedback, lots of criticism
Expecting different results by doing the same things
2. What do you want to create?
Fearless equity across all systems
Authenticity in the next phase of my life
Space to reimagine our work
A culture of belonging where all people feel like they are enough
Passionate, excited leaders
3. What baby step could you take today toward that vision?
Just do that one next thing. You don’t know where that will lead
Stop checking email every second
Model the leadership qualities I want to see in others
Focus on the positive!
Just try. Apply. Put yourself out there. Don’t fear rejection
4. Finish this sentence: “If I had limitless courage, I would...”
Speak up and not listen to the voice of self-doubt
Reach out and find other women who have come before me to guide me
Pursue my true passion
Call out racism and bias in the moment when I see it
Make the changes I know need to be made
The responses to question one highlighted the pain and frustration in the room; the answers to question two brought clarity and inspiration regarding what might be possible; the answers to question three rendered the vision tangible and doable; and the answers to question four were galvanizing, inspiring and resolute.
Many of us work in organizations and institutions that were built in the 20th century and in some cases, the 19th century. There is no playbook on how to move forward in the 21st, but we do have tools. We have our humanity; our ability to envision a better way of doing things, our ability to hold steady and move forward amid uncertainty and challenge, and our innate wiring to connect, support and do more when we are working with others. I witnessed it in that conference room that day with those 100+ women and I began to wonder what might be possible if every single leader and manager were to ask their team members these questions—and to take action on the answers.
I encourage you to try it. Ask each of these questions in a conversation with your team members.
Before you do, answer them for yourself.
Note your responses and take action.