Play The Long Game

I have a question for you.

What would you do if the issues you are facing stayed with you for a year, two years, or longer than that??

This is the question asked by David B. Peterson in one of our coaching classes, and it made my head spin hard for the next few weeks.?

With the Deja Vu of Covid returning and postponing the Return To Office date, it might be a good idea for us to start thinking in a longer-term than just a quarter out.?

As a leader, what would you do if COVID stays with us for the next two years or longer??Would your business strategy, operations, or the way you design how employees work change?

I don't know about you, but my priorities have changed.?

Talents are now playing the long game.? Your employees have pivoted their plans and priorities. They prioritized life - the balance of health, well-being, family, safety, and work. According to LinkedIn 2022 Global Talent Trends, work-life balance is the priority that job seekers are looking for, followed by compensation and benefits.??

Talents know that eventually, they will want a new job that is more meaningful with flexible arrangements, a great team, outstanding leaders, and generous benefits. So they take time to reflect, quit, and change careers.

The quitting trend and scarcity of talent will not stop here. Research and talent trends are consistent across the board.? McKinsey, Korn Ferry, and Economists confirmed that quitting will continue in 2022.

It's not that talents are playing hard to get... Maybe some of them do, but it's because the work conditions, family responsibilities, and workload that didn't seem to slow down caused them to start playing the long game to regain their own sanity.?

What would you do if the pandemic, the great resignation, and no returning to work were with us FOREVER??

Leaders just need to take different roads.

Pivoting your plan or changing a strategic priority doesn't mean you are giving up on your goals. It means you are taking different roads and vehicles to the destination. It's not a straight road. If you think about it, there's no such thing as a straight path to reach the top of the mountain.?

You might need a combination of a helicopter, local roads, and a long hike to get to the top. When the road is closed, you have to set a new strategy and new route to be able to navigate the way forward. The same thing applies to business strategy.?

The talent landscape has changed. Leaders have to adjust the way they lead and inspire the team accordingly to retain the people to execute the strategy.?

Talent wants flexibility rather than a nice bean bag in the office. Providing flexibility doesn't mean giving up business results. We just need to give up bunches of bean bags.

Organizations still have the same vision and mission. Leaders can still live their values and mission. We just need to change how we operate.

We are just human beings.

If it's hard to imagine what the long game looks like for your organization and team, you can try to approach it from a humanity standpoint.

I stole this approach from my dentist. He said… if you were my daughter, I would have you put on a crown now and possibly 1 more in 6 months.?

Imagine that your parents or your kids are working for you. How much empathy will you have towards them? Would you treat them differently than your current employees? Would you provide your parent employee with flex hours??

Would you provide your kid employee with career development opportunities like you were supporting them in playing sports or after-school activities?

Organizations that have been focusing on employee well-being and care for their employees were able to retain their talent all through difficult times. And it's only logical why they stay.

McKinsey built a fun pop quiz to help you turn attrition into attraction. This might help wake up your sense of human being and view your people strategy a little differently.

With all the facts, numbers, and research, it seems that playing the long game is inevitable for leaders and organizations. Talents have led the way and shown us that "They Could Do Better." Now it's time for leaders to step up and speed up so you can move the organization forward.