How to Combat the Great Resignation with a Regenerative Culture

The best way to combat the great resignation in today’s business world is by developing a regenerative culture within your organization.

The news recently included a report on our nation’s labor force. According to the most current statistics, four and a half million people resigned from their current job in the previous month. This is a staggering figure considering that the same report stated that there are currently 11 million job openings available nation-wide.

Some have referred to this post-pandemic trend as “the great resignation” as people are leaving their jobs in unheard of numbers. 

Equally as perplexing is that many of those choosing to resign have no other form of employment in mind. According to newly released statistics, 28% of the general population that resigned currently have no other job in place. The figure for the healthcare industry is almost unbelievable as a whopping 56% of people leaving our workforce are doing so without having another job.

David Rock, the founder of The Neuroleadership Institute, shared his perspective on this issue in a recent podcast. Rock believes that the pandemic created a unique opportunity for many of us to reflect on what we want: not just from our work, but for our life going forward.

In many ways, the closing of businesses (i.e. dental offices) created the time and space for this “great reflection”. 

People deeply reflected on their values and purpose and whether their current employment was aligned with or in conflict with these personal guiding principles. “Is this job serving my goals, my purpose, and my values?” The labor statistics provide us with the obvious answer.

Rock’s research indicated that underlying an employee’s decision to resign were feelings of burnout, a sense that they were not appreciated by their employer, and a lack of freedom or autonomy in completing tasks.

Additionally, he uncovered two recurring needs expressed by those considering resignation.

• The first was their desire to continue working remotely rather than being bound to an office.
• The second was their ability to have flexibility to complete their work on their own schedule and not be tied to specific work hours found in traditional employment.

Unfortunately, dentistry is not capable of meeting these needs for our employees. Is this the reason we are currently experiencing severe staff shortages? This is a great question that may need further investigation.

Rock believes that, given these current circumstances, there has never been a time where leadership has been more necessary. Leaders create organizational cultures, and the great resignation is proof that leaders need to take a close and hard look at their organization’s culture because most are not meeting the needs of their employees.

Again, this is unfortunate for the healthcare profession because many of us have a blind spot when it comes to leadership. We know how to manage, but management without leadership will not create the culture necessary to meet the changing needs and desires of our workforce.

Warren Bennis, the leadership guru and professor emeritus at the USC Leadership program famously stated that “organizations that are over managed and under led are more likely to fail.” Our nation’s current workforce problems are testimony to this quote.

Healthcare, in general, and dentistry, specifically, would seem to be poorly equipped to meet the needs of our current workforce. We cannot provide remote work opportunities, and our staff must work a traditional eight-hour day or longer.

Furthermore, we share a blind spot for the leadership and culture development that, according to David Rock and Warren Bennis, is critical for maintaining talented staff.

Perhaps we should take the advice of many who believe that the best thing to do is work with those things we can control. Obviously, we are limited in our ability to provide remote work or ever flexible work hours to some extent.

What we can control is our leadership development and the culture we create within our organizations.

Rock believes that developing what he calls a regenerative culture is an organizational imperative in today’s business world, and the best way to combat the great resignation.

A regenerative culture is not one that simply maintains a sustainable status quo, but rather one that embraces a growth mindset and synergy in that each employee is better off, year after year, for being part of the organization.

Leaders that have adopted coaching as a leadership style have proven to be the most effective in developing regenerative cultures. By developing coaching skills, leaders develop their human capital and optimal cultures at a much faster pace. Staff satisfaction is greatly increased, and those practices with coach-like leaders attract and retain the very best talent.

Many coaching organizations have trained leaders to become more coach-like with amazing results. Line of Sight Coaching has been doing this for our doctors for the past several years.

If you would like more information on our coaching programs and how using coaching as a leadership style can benefit you and your practice, please reach out to us to schedule a complimentary 30 minute phone call.

 

At Line of Sight Coaching, we have created a quick ten-question self-assessment Leadership Quiz.  Take this opportunity to gauge your leadership effectiveness and get an answer to the question… “Have you ever wondered about your ability to lead?”  Take our Free Leadership Quiz.