Bill Schaninger shares his insight on what’s evolving about work and leadership.
It may be four years since the pandemic kicked off, but many of its influences are still with us. As businesses navigate an evolving landscape where employees hold more leverage than ever, good leadership is crucial to harmonize the needs of employer and workforce. Bill Schaninger, Senior Partner at Modern Executive Solutions (and former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company), has insight on what’s evolving about work and leadership.
POWER SHIFT
The pandemic has permanently altered the workplace, as many companies have found that what they do can actually get done without the physical office. With record low unemployment and abundant work-from-home and hybrid job opportunities, the power balance between employers and employees has shifted in favor of workers. “Businesses are facing a significant challenge in getting and retaining workers,” Schaninger says. “Employees are thinking, ‘If this doesn’t work for me, I’m not going to do it.’ Sometimes they’re joining jobs and then simply not showing up.”
Employees are evaluating their jobs for what they offer beyond just a paycheck, seeking flexibility, purpose and growth opportunities.
In exchange, employers and management who meet these needs cultivate more engaged, invested teams generating greater productivity.
THE FLEXIBILITY FIGHT
Whether employees are getting to slot their work hours around caregiving responsibilities or just rock their sweatpants throughout the day, they are loving greater flexibility. “People are asking for flexibility not just in their hours but in what they work on, how and with whom,” Schaninger says. And while the future of work can’t just be disparate elements working in isolation, businesses trying to haul employees back into the office full-time are engaged in a futile attempt to reassert power.
“The nonlinear workday works pretty well,” Schaninger says. “If the work’s getting done to a good standard, who cares? The work ought to drive the level of collaboration required.”
Instead of trying to summon employees to heel, it makes sense to embrace flexibility based on what the company and employees really need to work, plan and proceed effectively. Be it bringing employees in for a two-week stretch to complete a project or scheduling inperson meetings a few times a month, leadership should adapt to the work, not the other way around.
MORE THAN MID
Schaninger is passionate about the role of middle managers in navigating these changes. His book Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work makes the case that the long-maligned and passed-over middle manager is actually well-positioned to orchestrate the tenets of company strategy through front line talent, and directly placed to build the give-and-take relationships with that talent that will win their loyalty and bring out their best.
Instead, “We’ve made those jobs a joke,” Schaninger says. “We have them in Zoom meetings, filling out forms and bogged down with administrative tasks.”
Cuts to HR and training budgets have left many middle managers unprepared for leadership roles. Good leadership requires more than just task proficiency— it requires a unique sensibility and set of skills. “Michael Jordan,” Schaninger points out, “was a terrible coach.”
RECOGNIZE, RESPECT, RETAIN
Small-business owners and founders could stand to take heed here as well: a lack of formal leadership training presents pitfalls for them, too. “We’re on record levels of business starts and most of them fail,” Schaninger says. This is for a variety of reasons, but taking employees for granted doesn’t have to be one. While it’s amazing that so many people are pursuing their passions, expecting the same tireless hours and enthusiasm from employees who have nothing like an owner’s investment in the company is unlikely to pan out.
Good leadership requires meeting employees where they are, supporting their professional growth and sharing in the success of the business. Investing in leadership skills is far from redundant when it offers small businesses and complex companies alike the ability to acquire and thrive on better talent. “If you don’t treat human capital as scarce resource,” Schaninger says, “you will have trouble moving from plan to performance.”
EMBRACE THE FEEDBACK LOOP
As good leaders evolve to acknowledge that life occurs outside work and to show commitment to employees’ growth, they’re juggling another factor Schaninger has identified in the changing scene. “Assume that people have not been on the receiving end of feedback,” he says. “You may have to work harder at delivering that feedback.”
While many newcomers to the workforce are eager to cut their teeth on constructive criticism, others are new to the dynamic and err more towards avoiding things they might not be successful at. Leadership requires creating an environment where people feel supported to take risks and learn. The right people will rise to the challenge, and empowered managers will have led the way.
Published as “Ask the Expert” in the December 2024 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
