Wanting the best, keeping the worst!
The Great Attrition
Dear Uplevelers,
Being the first Friday of the month, May’s Incite Your Month - your monthly dose of future-relevant ideas, book recommendations, thought-provoking articles, and actionable habit tips from our Curiosity Diet - is now available on YouTube.
But here’s a twist. We would be digging deep into each of the curated list in multiple newsletter editions this month. Let’s begin with the “Article of the Month”.
The McKinsey article titled "The Great Attrition: Wanting the best, keeping the worst" addresses a paradox many organizations face during periods of high employee turnover: while striving to attract and retain top talent, companies often inadvertently end up holding onto their least effective employees.
The Great Attrition and Talent Retention
Organizations are experiencing a wave of resignations, often referred to as "The Great Attrition." In their efforts to hire and keep the best people, many companies are left with a core of disengaged or underperforming employees, as high performers are more likely to leave for better opportunities.Negative Impact of Retaining Poor Performers
Research highlights that negative behaviors and underperformance have a disproportionately large impact on organizational morale and effectiveness. Negative interactions, for example, affect employee moods and productivity five times more than positive ones. Retaining poor performers can crowd out excellence, lower morale, and hinder the spread of positive behaviors and high standards.Strategies to Counteract the Trend
The article suggests several strategies for organizations to reverse this pattern and retain their best talent:Eliminate destructive behaviors: Address and remove negative influences and underperformance before focusing on spreading excellence.
Focus on fairness and empowerment: Employees are more loyal and productive when they feel treated fairly and empowered to make improvements.
Make the impact of negative actions vivid: Help employees connect present actions with long-term consequences, fostering accountability and ethical behavior.
Prioritize adequacy before excellence: Ensure basic standards are met and negative experiences are minimized before trying to exceed expectations.
Organizational Mindset and Culture
The article underscores that one-size-fits-all approaches do not work. Organizational culture and context matter: what works for one company may not suit another. Leaders must be attentive to the specific needs and pain points within their teams, and tailor their strategies accordingly.Spotlight on women:
The article highlights a striking statistic: women have borne a disproportionate share of the burden during the last couple of years, often doing three times the work expected. This is a crucial consideration for any forward-thinking talent strategy.
The core message is that while organizations may aspire to build teams of top performers, failing to address and remove underperformance and negative behaviors can undermine these efforts. To truly retain and nurture the best talent, companies must be proactive in rooting out the worst habits, mindsets, and performers, creating an environment where excellence can thrive.
Hybrid work is here to stay, but how do we thrive in this new environment? This month’s featured Smartcast is a conversation with Abhijit Bhaduri-author, consultant, and futurist-on the five forces shaping the hybrid workplace.
Key themes:
Boundaryless thinking: How to break free from traditional constraints in the workplace.
Empathy: The growing importance of emotional intelligence and understanding in distributed teams.
Working with non-human coworkers: Navigating the rise of automation and AI in collaborative environments.
The role of media: In a post-pandemic world, leaders must leverage audio and video content to influence and rally teams.
Organizational growth: Insights for startups, market shapers, and unicorns on building not just businesses, but strong, adaptive organizations.
Why listen?
The conversation is packed with practical advice and big-picture thinking-ideal for leaders, HR professionals, and anyone interested in the future of work.
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