Remember when you were just getting started in your career and you looked around and saw those leaders at your company and thought, “One day I’ll have a job like that.” The executives at your company probably looked like they had it all together, and that they made the decisions they wanted to. They got to the point in their career where they were in charge, and who could want anything more?
What happened to those days? A common theme has emerged in our work over the past few years, and it is not a positive trend: Younger employees who are smart, motivated, and have the potential and desire to do great work, are not looking up the corporate ladder with longing anymore. We even see clients, in the middle of their careers and closer to the top, who are realizing that they do not want to take their boss’s place. They want nothing to do with the work lives their bosses are living.
Employees don’t like what they’re seeing. They aren’t inspired by the jobs and lifestyles of the people they’re supposed to be inspired by. It doesn’t take a brainiac to figure out that it’s hard to get motivated by a career path if it leads to what you perceive to be the edge of a cliff.
What are these ambitious folks getting turned off by?
“I don’t want to work my way up to my boss’s job because he doesn’t seem to have a life.”
“The executives in my company are all unhappy. Why would I want to become one of them?”
“My boss works all the time and my boss’s boss works even more than that. For what?”
“I’m not inspired by the Director jobs here. They work hard and they complain a lot.”
“My boss is always so tired. She’s traveling all the time and tells me how exhausted she is.”
“My boss has no time, which means I get a string of emails after 9 pm every night.”
And these quotes came from clients before the pandemic, and the pace of work and the challenge of getting it done has only increased.
Sometimes it’s not that your high-caliber young talent is getting turned off by something, it’s that they’re not being turned on by anything at work. Igniting that flame in the furnace of a high potential is the job of the leader.
So, if you’re a leader, you might want to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself a few questions:
On a scale of 1 to 10, to what extent do you think your talent wants a shot at your work life (which is a big part of your life in general, right)?
If your number is below a 7, what might need to change?
Can you identify what might be contributing to a low score?
Do you want to be living the work life you’re living right now? If the answer is no, what are you prepared to do about it?
What signals are you giving off that show you’re specifically happy at work? Or unhappy?
What signals are you giving off that show you’re too busy?
What’s the difference for you between being “authentic” vs. “brutally honest” with your team? (Does your team really need to how late you stayed last night and how early you were in this morning?)
Who do you need to be a role model for, to inspire to work hard and grow into a job that’s actually rewarding and enjoyable?
Are you the only leader in this situation or are you keeping up with the Jones’ at your company?
If you need to set a different kind of example, think about the ways in which you can set realistic boundaries around work.
When are you taking time to “fill your cup” or get back to neutral?
Are you taking care of yourself physically and mentally?
Are you using all of your vacation days?
Do you have set times when you are unreachable?
Do you connect and share with your team the things that bring you joy outside of work (family, friends, hobbies, etc.)?
Leadership comes with a lot of responsibility and a part of that is reflecting on what kind of role model you are for the next generation of would-be leaders to replace you.
Original article written for Happy Spectacular by Jodi Wellman; additional thoughts by John Philbin