The Great Resignation is taking its toll on leaders who are experiencing talent shortages. In some instances, the talent they do have are under performing. It appears as if mediocre performance maybe the new standard?

This Week’s Edition

When I was an attorney, I wanted to exceed expectations. In my annual review, I dreaded the possibility of “meets expectations,” a mark of average performance in a highly competitive environment. How times have changed. Leaders are bonusing team members who are meeting expectations. Here’s why.

Clarify Your Thinking

While many of my clients are experiencing supply chain issues, a different type of supply chain issue is emerging – the flow of consistent reliable talent. In many instances, there just isn’t enough to do the work that’s been sold.

The problem is two-fold: recruiting the right talent and low engagement among current employees. Some employees are just not showing up for work. Others are coming to work two hours late every day. When confronted, some actually say, “it’s not like you can afford to fire me.”

This leaves leaders perplexed. “Robin, is this the new world order? I don’t know if I can lead this business under these types of conditions. I long for the days when ‘meets expectations’ was merely the average.”

Old Thinking: “I doubt I can motivate and engage this type of employee.”

New Thinking: “Certainly there are those who want to work and be engaged. I wonder what other leaders are doing. I’ve got to support my best employees while adding new employees who are also engaged.”

Thoughts Lead to Actions

Unreliable employees seem to be holding leaders hostage in the current employee market. Talent is hard to find. Employers feel stuck, like they have to put up with a lot of poor performance and disengagement just to keep a warm body on the team.

This type of leadership posture is not effective. Here are some ideas recently taken from strategic discussions with CEOs who are in the arena:

1.   Fire an underperforming top ranked employee. They need to go, and their termination will remind everyone that no one is indispensable.

2.   Bonus employees who are meeting your expectations.

3.   Invest in those who are team players. Institute a training and development effort to pour into them for their future and yours.

4.   Encourage your leaders to have individual conversations with employees to discover their needs and strength the employee-leader relationship.

Here is the rest of the story for these leaders who have implemented these ideas.

·      The CEO who fired his employee realized he was six months late in doing so. The rest of the team was wondering when he might take action.

·      The CEO who paid out bonuses received endearing feedback from his team who felt seen and respected for the load they were carrying.

·      The organization’s new training program was over-subscribed by team members clamoring to develop their skills and invest in the company.

·      The leader who engaged one-on-one conversations created a more emotionally connected team which resulted in higher retention.

Boost Your Performance

To engage employees in a Zoom-fatigued environment overrun with attrition, leaders have to dig deep for a leadership approach that does not rely solely on compensation. They must connect with their team. This week’s video showcases several examples of humble leaders who are only just realizing the influence they have on their team.

What’s Your Opinion?

What are your ideas to engage your team to improve their engagement and performance? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com.

Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!

Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist

If this was helpful, feel free to share it with another leader who needs to defeat doubt and complete their confidence.

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What is “The Confident Leader”?

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.