How CEOs Can Leverage the Great Resignation to Redefine Impact and Create a Purpose-Driven Culture

Since April 2021, we have seen an unprecedented wave of resignation, dubbed the Great Resignation. According to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, showed that more than 4.5 million Americans, or 3% of the workforce, voluntarily quit their jobs. 

The millions of people who left their job altogether had good reason, some noting COVID concerns, retiring early, living on savings, and a significant factor, that people stopped being afraid to quit. 

Equally at the top, the resignation brought about a revamp of leadership, with CEOs and other chief executives choosing to leave their position. According to an October 2021 report by global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.,  announced 142 CEO changes in October, up 38% from the 103 exits in September and 54% higher than the 92 CEOs who left their posts in the same month last year. It is the highest monthly total since January 2020, when 219 CEOs left their positions, the most on record in a single month. 

The Great Resignation or Great Upgrade? 

Goldman Sachs estimates that a million people will come back into the workforce this year, raising the workforce rate slightly but still a substandard 62.6% by the end of the year. 

Now more than ever, attracting top talent is proving to be a challenge. It’s safe to say people aren’t returning to the wages and work-life imbalance they left. Millions of those ‘quitters’ didn’t leave the workforce; they upgraded for better treatment, better schedules, and better benefits. 

With such an imbalance between companies looking for top talent and employees looking for an upgrade, this moment of disruption presents an opportunity for CEOs to expand their impact and influence to innovate and find new ways to grow for the future. One such approach focuses on building a purpose-driven culture tied to a strategy that can deliver results and sustain employee engagement and retention. 

How to Purposely Steer Your Company’s Culture 

1. Redefine the WHY: has your company’s purpose and values shifted or not been consistently reflected in the company’s culture to date? Now is the time to clear the old and re-evaluate if your company’s culture aligns with the purpose and vice versa. By building a purpose-driven, intentional commitment to culture aligned with strategy, your company has a competitive advantage to retain existing employees and attract like-minded talent with ease. 
2. Assess your Current Culture: ask yourself what’s missing or not working with your existing culture. Once identified, jot down ways to rectify these pain points. Remember that your employee’s engagement, commitment, and retention to your company, are primarily influenced by a deep sense of purpose and the feeling of being treated with equity and inclusion. Thus, it’s vital to drive a broad engagement where a deep understanding of purpose and values permeate across every corner of the organization and is embedded into the culture.
3. Perform a Mind Map SWOT Analysis: once you have figured out the above points, apply a strategy. An effective tool is to do a SWOT analysis mind map while keeping in mind the following:
   # Breakdown your purpose and company culture
   # Identify the top 3 priorities in each category
   # Assign measurable goals and deadlines
4. Create Congruency in Communication: before sharing your redefined purpose and organizational culture, check that you are communicating with congruence, essentially that your verbal and non-verbal gestures line up. As an NLP practitioner, I see many clients who desire to implement change, but their non-verbal cues show resistance. Fortunately, with NLP tools, it can be put to rest and eliminate miscommunication once and for all so that your messaging is solid. 

Food for Thought

In the words of Simon Sinek, ‘Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.’ Remember, implementing the above principles becomes imperative in challenging times like the current uncertainty we all now face. The allure of increased pay may draw talent to new opportunities in the short term, but it’s the purpose, inclusion, and values-driven cultures that will foster sound engagement and retention in the long run.

Written by Aden Eyob.

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