High performing teams deserve high performing leadership
I’ve been writing about the looming global shortage of talent for some time. Reality seems to be biting a little harder now that the reopening of international borders is looming.
According to the global head of consulting firm Kearney, the global shortage of professionals has become the main constraint on growth at the major consulting firms.
This view seems to be supported by a June 2021 survey by recruitment firm ManpowerGroup, which found the shortage of “global talent” was at a 15-year high, with employers in Australia, Britain and Japan having the most difficulty filling positions.
The pandemic has fast-tracked change across the workplace and the workforce. This generational transformation of the workforce is a huge opportunity for global consulting firms to help leaders navigate the change required to pre-pandemic business models.
However, the global shortage of professionals means consulting firms are competing with one another as well as public and private sector employers for workforce transformation experts.
In the frantic desire to fill vacant skilled roles, I fear that business leaders in the large global consulting firms may be losing sight of the pivotal role which high performing leadership plays in attracting, retaining and incentivising talent.
Losing key talent, or not being able to attract the right talent to their business in a very competitive global talent market, will result in some very unhappy clients. In this environment I suspect leadership will become one of the most important differentiators for global employers in the post-COVID recovery period.
But what has this got to do with the global movement of talent and the global mobility industry? Quite simply, I believe that one of the key differentiators to a business successfully attracting and retaining talent to their organisation will be the quality of their leaders.
It’s important to differentiate leadership qualities from workplace and workforce trends. The changing nature of how work is performed – whether it be increased use of technology, hybrid work arrangements or collaborative workplace designs – have little or nothing to do with leadership and will likely play a minor role in attracting and retaining talent. These items will become “workplace hygiene” rather than key decision drivers for talent.
MANAGING TALENT DISRUPTION BY USING SOME SIMPLE LEADERSHIP TRAITS
As we enter a new phase of the pandemic, the next big challenge is hiring and retaining talent. Recruitment and retention are trickier than ever, and job candidates are calling the shots. Competition for talent is fierce, and everything’s changing - fast.
After 25 years in executive leadership roles, I’ve learned a lot about leadership – what works well and what doesn’t work so well. Here’s four of the most important lessons I’ve learned during my leadership career.
Lesson 1: Your team see you as more important to their career, not the organisation
Throughout my career with global consulting firms, I think I’ve heard every leadership theory possible. Everyting from the power of inclusive leadership, to building resilient teams and becoming a human-centred leader - I’ve heard it all during my career.
I accept that leaders are expected to be representative of their organisational culture and values, but talent can see through inauthentic leaders. I would recommend that leaders build their organisational identity around their authentic self.
This can sometimes prove to be a little tricky, and almost always requires a leader to go off the organisational script on occasions. The rewards however are that your team will move mountains for you because they can better relate to you rather than the organisation.
Lesson 2: Your job title is more operational than inspirational
We’ve all worked with leaders who seem to place greatest value on their job title or role. This is particularly the case in consulting firms, where the power of hierarchy is sometimes all pervading.
The reality is that your team place little or no value on a job title, other than as an organisational framework – for example certain tasks or decisions being held at designated levels within the organisation. Job title does not guarantee respect or loyalty.
I accept that levels within an organisation hold important functional responsibilities for the team. What is infinitely more important however to your team are the leadership behaviours you bring to the office – virtually or in-person – every day.
Lesson 3: Take the time to invest in designing roles around your talent
There has been a lot of hype recently around businesses adopting policies to accommodate more flexible working hours. Like many workplace reforms over the past 12 months, this change has been fast-tracked because of the disruption to the workforce wreaked by COVID-19.
In reality, skilled talent makes decisions on where, and with whom they work based on a range of factors beyond flexible hours. Perhaps the most important factor in the new war for talent lies in how well business leaders can design roles which align with the post-COVID workplace and workforce.
I know from first-hand experience that the highest level of engagement and satisfaction from talent I worked with in consulting firms was because that talent was given the opportunity to work on complex and interesting issues for clients and help those clients navigate their global workforce future.
Effective leaders will look for opportunities to remove low value-added work, including meetings without a purpose, and introduce strategies to personalise work built around the unique skills of team members.
In a creative and supportive environment talent has the opportunity to grow professionally, which in my experience is rewarded by low talent turnover and higher productivity.
Lesson 4: Recruit for the future – not just to fill a vacancy
In spite of our best efforts, talent makes the decision to change jobs from time to time. Employees consider changing jobs for many reasons including increased opportunity, salary, and working conditions.
Employee turnover provides leaders with an opportunity to recruit talent better suited for the future of the business, and one that complements the skills mix of the existing team.
Too often the instinct of leaders is to fill a role (or level) which has been vacated rather than using the opportunity to reflect on how the changing team mix (both level and qualities) can best meet the future strategic direction of the business.
If current employees are replaced by future employees with upgraded skills, or talents aligned with the strategic direction of the business, then talent migration becomes a positive inflection point.