Dear colleagues and friends,

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt in the last 2 years, is that we can’t predict the future. Our world is now defined by its volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (commonly known as VUCA world), generating new and growing challenges for leaders. 

The pandemic has exposed pre-existing weaknesses in systems within private and public organisations. When those systems are subjected to stressors from a crisis, those weaknesses will rise to the surface, igniting major change.

Therefore, our first 2022 newsletter focuses on critical changes that are redefining leadership according to recent global surveys by Korn Ferry, MIT Sloan, LinkedIn, and Gallup:
 

Organisational leaders are struggling to make sense of the factors driving the mass exodus that began in 2021, known as the great resignation, and are looking for ways to hold on to valued employees, which is expected to worsen in 2022. In response, companies have been increasing starting salaries, offering more long-term incentives and benefits, and paying sign-on bonuses. Further research shed light on better solutions to retain talent, as we’ll read in point 2 below.

A new study of 500 large, mainly for-profit companies employing 25% of the private sector in the US analysed the top predictors of attrition during the great resignation. It showed that a toxic corporate culture is 10.4 times more likely to contribute to attrition than remuneration. The leading elements found to contribute to toxic cultures and needing immediate attention were:

• Failure to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• Employees feeling disrespected; and
• Unethical behaviour

To equip all employees (not just top talent) with the competencies needed to create and maintain a positive, diverse, inclusive, ethical, adaptive, and collaborative corporate culture, companies will need to invest significantly more in learning & development programs.

Wellbeing is the ability to feel good, function well and flourish. Happier employees are generally healthier, more engaged (and hence are unlikely to leave) and maintain better work relationships. Workplace wellbeing is good for business, and good for people.

There are several work conditions and settings that impact employees’ experiences of stress. They could be either risk factors (e.g., micromanagement, workplace conflict) or protective factors (e.g., job crafting, psychological safety).

Over the last decade, Australian employees have begun reporting more mental health symptoms. To this end, the government set up the National Workplace Initiative in 2020 to create a nationally consistent approach to mentally healthy workplaces.

Leading a hybrid team requires adaptability to change and an openness to experimentation. When members of your hybrid workforce see leaders recalibrate, adapt, and embrace the future with a flexible and collaborative mindset, they will also do the same. To achieve such changes in mindset, which can be challenging, leaders are engaging leadership and team coaches who can help them identify and overcome roadblocks to change.

Employees want flexibility in when, where, and how they work. Flexibility is the key, and many companies are offering job shares, different shifts, compressed workweeks, and other forms of flexible scheduling to ensure onsite employees can also shape work around their personal lives.

The demand for organisations to act on environmental, social and governance (ESG), and sustainability issues will grow more intense in 2022 as leaders everywhere wake up to the realisation that science and technology alone will not get them where they need to be.

The pandemic, climate, and inequality challenges of the past 2 years are unprecedented. But by building on decades of stakeholder theory, and utilising emerging governance and ESG tools, corporate leaders can provide solutions to these challenges.

If these leadership trends seem daunting, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We have helped countless leaders and their teams adapt to a relentless VUCA world. We can help you make sense of it and be your thinking partner in finding the solutions that work best for you and your team. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our new article on emotional intelligence and leadership.