By Kevin Eikenberry

The Great Resignation. It seems to be the topic everyone is talking about. Maybe you have been impacted by it, or maybe you haven’t been.  Either way, there are three reasons you should be thinking about it as a leader.

The Truth in the Trend

Record numbers of people have quite their jobs in the last few months. The data is real. If you have experience people leaving your team, do you know why they left?

Too many leaders (and organizations) assume people left for more money. While money is often one of the causes, it isn’t the only, and for many people, not the prevailing one. If you are losing people now, make sure you are understanding their real reasons. If your organization is doing formal exit interviews, listen to the data. If that isn’t happening formally, do you own listening.  

And listen to others you know outside of your organization, too. If you know people who are changing jobs, ask them why. You will be glad to have their perspectives.  

The Lessons For Those Who Haven’t Left

If you have lost people during this Great Resignation, you feel the pain. If you haven’t, you might be ignoring it. Please don’t do that. What you learn about why people are moving gives you clues about what you need to be doing for those on your team. After all, just because they haven’t left yet, doesn’t mean they won’t.

You might also consider stay interviews (whether formal or otherwise) to get a pulse on how people are doing, what they are needing and wanting in their work – and how well you are doing in providing it.

Personal Learning

In this short post, I have been encouraging you to understand the causes of people leaving. The personal side of the Great Resignation is the Great Reflection. I encourage you to do what so many others have done:

  • Think about what you are looking for from your work
  • Identify your passions and how you can employ them professionally
  • Consider the culture you want to work in and promote

Doing this work for yourself will hep you determine your future, yes, but even if you love your work and position, doing this work personally will help you identify with, empathize with, and provide greater value to those you work with and lead.

Times of upheaval and change are always opportunities to learn.  I hope this short article helps you learn some lessons from tis time of talent upheaval and change.

If you want to learn more about what The Great Resignation is and isn’t and how to use this trend to improve our team and results, join us for the complimentary webinar Secrets for Turning the Great Resignation into the Great Revival on February 9th.  This will be offered twice – 9 am ET and 3 pm ET.  Get the details and register here

 

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Kevin Eikenberry is a recognized world expert on leadership development and learning and is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group. He has spent over 30 years helping organizations across North America, and leaders from around the world, on leadership, learning, teams and teamwork, communication and more.

Twice he has been named by Inc.com as one of the Top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the World and 100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next Conference. The American Management Association named him a “Leaders to Watch” and he has been twice named as one of the World's Top 30 Leadership Professionals by Global Gurus. Top Sales World has named him a Top Sales & Marketing Influencer several times, and his blog has been named on many “best of” lists. LeadersHum has named him one of the 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2023.

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