Tag Archives: Leadership

The Great Resignation – Predictions, Reality, and Ongoing Challenges

Articles, , ,

(This article was first published in the Critical Path, the monthly newsletter of PMI Sydney Chapter publish in August 2024)

Burnout The Great Resignation, a term coined in 2021 by Anthony Klotz, predicted a mass exodus of employees from their jobs, driven by pandemic-induced burnout, a re-evaluation of career goals, and a desire for better work-life balance. Experts anticipated this trend would last for several years, significantly impacting employers and shifting power dynamics in favour of employees. Businesses were expected to face challenges in retaining and attracting talent, leading to increased automation and a greater emphasis on employee well-being and flexible working conditions.

Fast forward to mid-2023, and the Great Resignation has largely subsided, with resignation rates returning to pre-pandemic levels. However, the underlying issues that fuelled this phenomenon persist, and employee dissatisfaction remains a significant problem. Despite the normalisation of resignation rates, many workers continue to grapple with stress, inadequate compensation, poor workplace culture, and limited career growth opportunities. This ongoing dissatisfaction has great implications for various professions, particularly project management.

The Impact on Project Managers and Projects

Project managers have felt the brunt of the Great Resignation and the continuing wave of employee dissatisfaction. The challenges they face are multifaceted and deeply intertwined with the broader issues affecting the workforce.

  1. Increased Workload and Stress: Talent shortages and high turnover rates have made it difficult for project managers to assemble and maintain effective teams. This often results in increased workloads and stress as they strive to fill gaps and keep projects on track.
  2. Shift in Management Practices: The demand for flexible working arrangements has led project managers to adopt more adaptable project management practices. This includes accommodating remote work and adjusting project timelines to better suit team members’ needs.
  3. Focus on Employee Well-being: Recognising the importance of mental health and well-being, project managers are prioritising the creation of supportive environments and promoting work-life balance. This shift is essential for maintaining team morale and productivity.
  4. Enhanced Communication Skills: Effective communication has become even more critical in managing remote and hybrid teams. Project managers must ensure clear, transparent, and frequent communication to keep their teams aligned and motivated.
  5. Leadership Development: There is a growing emphasis on developing leadership skills among project managers. Training in empathy, conflict resolution, and team-building is crucial for supporting and retaining project managers and team members.

The Persistent Challenge of Employee Dissatisfaction

Despite advancements in project management techniques and frameworks, employee dissatisfaction remains a significant hurdle. Technical skills alone are insufficient to guarantee project success. The human element—how team members feel about their work, their environment, and their leaders—plays a crucial role in determining project outcomes.

Employee dissatisfaction can lead to disengagement, reduced productivity, and higher turnover rates, all of which can derail projects. Project managers must navigate these challenges by fostering a positive and supportive work environment, even if the broader organisational practices are lacking.

Practical Tips for Project Managers

To improve team satisfaction and enhance project outcomes, project managers can implement the following strategies:

  1. Prioritise Mental Health: Provide access to mental health resources and create a supportive environment where team members feel comfortable discussing their challenges. Encourage regular breaks and promote a healthy work-life balance.
  2. Offer Flexibility: Accommodate flexible working arrangements, such as remote work and flexible hours. This can help team members manage their personal and professional responsibilities more effectively.
  3. Recognise and Reward: Regularly acknowledge and reward team members’ efforts and achievements. This can boost morale and job satisfaction. Recognition can be in the form of verbal praise, bonuses, or other incentives.
  4. Foster Open Communication: Maintain clear and transparent communication channels. Encourage team members to voice their concerns and provide regular feedback. This helps build trust and ensures everyone is on the same page.
  5. Invest in Professional Development: Provide opportunities for training and career advancement. This shows a commitment to team members’ growth and can increase their engagement and satisfaction.
  6. Create a Positive Work Environment: Promote a culture of respect, inclusion, and collaboration. Address conflicts promptly and fairly; and ensure that all team members feel valued and supported.

By focusing on these areas, project managers can create a more engaged, motivated, and satisfied workforce, ultimately leading to better project outcomes. While the broader organisational practices may take time to evolve, these practical steps can make a significant difference in the day-to-day experiences of team members.

The Great Resignation may have subsided, but the challenges it highlighted remain. Project managers must navigate these ongoing issues with empathy, flexibility, and a focus on well-being to ensure their teams thrive and projects succeed.

Generation Gap or Generational Diversity? A curse or a blessing?  A limiting difference or an enriching variety?

Articles, , ,

(This article was first published in the Critical Path, the monthly newsletter of PMI Sydney Chapter publish in April 2022)

It is not unusual to have four, or probably five different generations in one business unit or team.  With retirement age increasing, people working for longer time, and the exponential technological changes in the last few decades, all of this introduced significant differences in the mindsets, behaviours, and assumptions of people from different generations.  Ignoring these differences will turn an enriching generational diversity into annoying gaps.

More Generation Z workers (born after 1994) are entering the workplace these days.  They are rubbing shoulders with Millennials (born 1980-1994), Generation X (born 1965-1979) and Baby Boomers (born before 1965).  At times, you may also find some employees from the Silent Generation (born before 1946) in your team. Indeed, this is adding challenges for managers and team members alike.

Attitude, working style, perception, life experience, and aspirations, are some of the differences across the generations.  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives sometimes overlook Generational Diversity.  While some studies in the US indicate that only 8% of companies include Age in their DEI strategies, there is a growing discussion and interest in acknowledging this diversity and executing strategies to leverage the cross-pollination of generational knowledge and skills as an accelerator for success.  It is argued that combining the wisdom and business planning of the more experienced (older) staff with the energy, excitement and new skills of the younger generation ensures a more sustainable progress.

Phyllis Weiss Haserot invented the term GENgagement: “the state of achieving harmony, mutual involvement and cooperation, flow, and ongoing absorption in work with people of different generations.”  In her interesting book You Can’t Google it, Phyllis Weiss Haserot asserts that organisations need continuity, heart, talent, inspiration, common purpose, and to transfer wisdom through the ranks in a continual flow.  She presents a recipe for GENgagement which includes the ingredient of ‘Enabling multigenerational input to organisational and market strategy and service delivery.’  This can be perpetuated through meaningful and trusting conversations, bonding stories, and working relationships across generations. 

Rachele Focardi asserts that “acknowledging and embracing differences is the only way to harness the power of each generation and build multigenerational teams that can truly drive innovation.”  In her enriching book Reframing Generational Stereotypes, Rachele Focardi affirms that with the skills of perspective-taking, curiosity, empathy, sensibility, and humility; and using strategies to recognise, understand, embrace and celebrate Generational Diversity, you will be able to shift the minds of senior leaders to inspire, empower, and develop employees across multi-generations.

Gentelligence is the title of a book co-authored by Professor Megan Gerhardt, Josephine Nachemson Ekwall, and Brandon Fogel.  The authors present “a revolutionary approach to leading an intergenerational workforce.”

In promoting the term Gentelligence, the authors put forward a framework for moving employees away from generational conflict and toward a productive embrace of one another’s differences.  The framework consists of four practices:

  1. Resist assumptions.  Appreciate individual contributions and recognise shared values across generations.
  2. Adjust the lens.  Welcome multiple views, create opportunities for the team to discover each contributor’s strengths, embrace age-diverse perspectives, and develop programs that allow for cross-generational transfers of knowledge.
  3. Strengthen trust.  Share power to demonstrate the value of individual contributions and give every employee permission to question whether a practice aligns with the company’s values.
  4. Expand the pie.  Provide continuous learning opportunities and enable intergenerational knowledge exchange through programs such as mutual mentoring and intergenerational boards.

In conclusion, generational diversity is a blessing.  To leverage this wealth of wisdom, enthusiasm, creativity and curiosity, you should avoid erroneous assumptions, facilitate dialogue, recognise differences, encourage intergenerational interaction, embrace conflicting perspectives, and design mentoring, coaching and training programs with generational differences in mind.