Some days, it feels like I’m shouting this statement in a cavern, only to have the echo of disbelief crash back at me, louder and sharper than before.
I vividly remember the day I was asked to go and assess a company – in fact I still have my first reactions captured in my iPhone notes. My task was to in 24 hours lift the carpet to identify the termites eating away at the floorboards. This organization had an Engagement Score of 64% and heading south, a churn rate of 24%, a swivel door of managers and unsurprisingly you could drive a bus through the financial results versus target.
One team told me stories of all the processes and systems they used to have like they were a long lost island holiday amidst the current performance turmoil, another admitted that with hybrid working they didn’t know their manager, didn’t understand what made her tick – in fact they barely saw her, and one branch told me how, as a new team, they felt crushed — missing their target for two months and being berated for it, even after reconnecting with clients the business hadn’t seen in two years.
Look around people. We have leadership gurus podcasting and writing books, we drink organizational tonics on knowing our WHY, Universities pump out MBAs, there are enough management theories to wallpaper a room. We have metrics that have become omnipresent tick box exercises in organizations – Employee Engagement Scores, Net Promoter Scores, Risk Management Metrics, Pulse Surveys, Google Reviews, Glassdoor Reviews, 360 Degree Reviews. Yet
· 48% of the world’s workers are burnt out.
· 23% of people are actively engaged at work.
· 85% of employees are looking for a new job.
Enough is Enough.
IT IS NOT WORKING.
As a leader I have learned to be a strategist, a statistician, a coach, a storyteller, a soothsayer, a carer, an artist, a magician, a task master. Yes it’s complex, yes it’s hard.
But the Turks in the 1600s were right – A FISH ROTS FROM THE HEAD FIRST.
My best friend has always been my mirror – no not to check if I have spinach between my teeth – but to honestly say – “girl would I follow you?”
What’s your mirror?
