As an outcome of disruptive change on a pandemic scale, 19 million US workers have quit their jobs in 2021, forcing leaders to rethink the way they lead. According to McKinsey, employees are motivated to leave their jobs due to a lack of relational factors, including feeling valued by their manager and organization, and having a sense of belonging. In contrast, leaders continue to inaccurately focus on transactional motivations, such as compensation and career growth, as primary drivers of attrition. Solutions to the Great Resignation won’t be easily found by leaders who can’t, or won’t, see the underlying issues.
To have any hope of impacting the Great Resignation, or meeting any number of today’s complex challenges, leaders need to break their focus on the past and expand their thinking and ability to innovate. Many will need developmental support to achieve this expansion – a notable change that will not be quick or simple. Unfortunately, much of the traditional developmental support available to leaders today is also out of step with the realities and motivations of the current workforce.
Traditional leadership development, also known as horizontal development, is a method of adding new knowledge and skills which can lead to deeper expertise. Although important, horizontal methods of development don’t contend with a leader’s capacity to recognize today’s complex problems, nor envision innovative solutions to solve them. These developmental methods were shaped in a more static and predictable time. Horizontal development by itself often equips leaders for a workplace that no longer exists.
Adult development methods advance leaders through well-researched and established stages of development. With each sequential stage, the leader expands their thinking capability, range of perception, and ability to handle more challenging and complex problems. With these expansions come greater adaptability, increased creativity, enhanced collaboration, and heightened confidence. Additionally, a leader’s newfound capacity for complexity can allow them to think in more sophisticated ways, systemically, with a longer-term range of vision. These are the capabilities required to get results in today’s complex, dispersed, and uncertain workplace.
The delivery methods of horizontal and adult development appear quite similar – often they are introduced and delivered in a facilitated or programmatic environment. Both experiences utilize known methods of facilitation, such as coaching and online or in-person training. The difference in outcomes, however, is notable. In many instances, leaders find that advancing a developmental stage opens their awareness and broadens their impact to a degree they previously didn’t think possible. Often leaders will go so far as to describe it as transformational. These are the leadership attributes we need to reduce the effects of the Great Resignation and meet other complex challenges in today’s workplace.