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Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus

by Peter Grabuschnig | Aug 17, 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership in the digital transformation, training new leader | 0 comments

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus

Prefer to listen to the article? Click below to access our AI speech-generated audio. However, if you want to read it as usual, keep scrolling.

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus

In a changing world of work, where motivation and employee retention are crucial, leaders are increasingly in the spotlight. Current statistics send alarming signals: 60% of leaders receive no leadership development at all. Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace” report highlights the urgency of this problem.

Learn with this article how targeted leadership development can strengthen cohesion and serve as a key to retaining and motivating talent.

The motivation of European employees is in danger

People lack recognition for their performance. Much emphasis is placed on employer branding and new recruiting strategies – but what can leaders use to retain and motivate employees over the long term?

The “State of the Global Workplace” report by Gallup (June 2023) confirms this lack of motivation, which many HR managers suspected. Only a small number of employees show a real commitment to their work, colleagues, or supervisors.

Most respondents merely perform their duties and see their job as a means to an end. Worryingly, 72% of these people would change jobs given a better opportunity.

In Austria, only one in 10 employees are motivated on the job and feel a strong connection to the company. These employees feel valued by their direct supervisors and are satisfied in the team environment. They are also willing to go the “extra mile,” which is important in most companies.

More recognition and flexibility

Our goal for the future, at least according to Gallup, should be to support this specific group of employees in the company. As quickly as you can lose them, turning them into loyal employees would in principle be possible.

Small changes are often enough, such as

  • increased recognition
  • more flexibility
  • confidence in their abilities
  • or the expansion of a clearly defined scope for action and decision-making.

Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, sums it up:

“To address the challenges of our time, we need to change the way we lead people.”

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent

Leadership in focus

This is a clear message that is not only directed at HR departments but above all at leaders. Both the times and the nature of leadership are changing and require new requirements and approaches. This does not necessarily mean that previous approaches were bad.

Nevertheless, we should think about how to respond to the new realities of our time. The COVID-19 pandemic has woken people up – not only to digitalization but also to their own work-life balance.

Developing a culture of belonging

The question that now arises is how companies are able, despite growing flexibility in the form of home offices, new time models, etc., to establish a culture that creates a sense of connection and belonging despite partial physical distance.

While corporate culture is often shaped by top management, it emerges and develops in completely different places. Each team, each department, and even each division shapes its own culture. This often reflects the values of the company, but not always.

What is the reason for this? Leadership!

Employees are not motivated because of the awesomeness of the company they work for. The main reason is a well-functioning and stable team. The leader is responsible for this. And this is exactly where the starting point lies.

60% of leaders do not receive leadership development.

Individuals are often promoted into leadership positions without receiving adequate experience or training – a phenomenon known as the “Peter Principle.” These practices lead to competency gaps and tolerate poor leadership, which in turn can lead to high employee turnover.

Although there is obviously harmful leadership behavior, there is often no intervention, possibly due to relationships with top management or perceived expertise.

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent

The time for tolerating bad leadership is over

This neglect has long-term negative effects on the company. It’s time to stop tolerating bad leadership. Two main ways that corporate culture is slowly decomposing are rewarding toxic team members and self-centered leaders.

Successful company cultures rely on collaboration and encouragement rather than selfish approaches. Employees with excessive egos appropriate success and discourage talented colleagues. By tolerating this harmful behavior, team dynamics are undermined.

In order to strengthen a sense of belonging, employee commitment, productivity, and resilience, it is critical to actively address poor leadership. The future requires close monitoring and effective action against this problematic behavior.

The leader is the key to any successful team.

While salary, flexibility, and additional benefits are important, they are not the all-inclusive solution. Even a modern office can’t attract someone if the team climate isn’t right. Debates about work schedules like the 4-day work week should only come to the forefront when the team and leadership are in harmony.

Improve retention:

The most effective way to solidify employee commitment to the company is through effective leadership at the direct level. Contemporary, values-based leadership development is critical.

One-off face-to-face seminars are no longer enough. Continuous support and individual team development are indispensable. Concrete steps such as coaching, empowerment, and servant leadership should be implemented comprehensively. Only in this way can the bond and togetherness in the team be strengthened to achieve successful results together.

 

Tips for strengthening connectedness & belonging in hybrid daily life:

  • Emphasize transparent communication, coaching, and clear goals in a community.
  • Encourage regular sharing, team activities, and projects.
  • Establish a supportive culture of appreciation.
  • Prioritize flexibility and inclusion.
  • Identify and encourage development opportunities.
  • Promote generational understanding.
  • Connect function and purpose (1on1 virtual, face-to-face solutions).
  • Enable digital collaboration.
  • Evaluate and challenge collaboration regularly.
Peter Grabuschnig

Peter Grabuschnig

Trainer, Coach & MDI Partner

Peter is a partner and trainer at MDI, advising major international corporations on implementing hybrid work policies and building a hybrid work and leadership culture.

He is considered an expert in training design. With his Webinar Guru Framework he has developed a tool that helps to design training content for successful and activating virtual learning.

  • LinkedIn

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Why Flexibility is Key to Employee Retention

Why Flexibility is Key to Employee Retention

by Peter Grabuschnig | Jun 26, 2023 | Digital Transformation, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 comments

Why Flexibility is Key to Employee Retention

This article presents 5 tips on how you can build a strong corporate culture within the trend of hybrid work that fosters a sense of belonging to your company.

The challenge of a hybrid work environment presents companies with the task of building and maintaining a strong corporate culture. With location-independent work, it becomes more difficult for us to foster a sense of connection and belonging to the company.

Studies have shown that companies that allow for flexibility have higher levels of employee engagement than those that do not. The trend towards a more flexible working world is likely to be unstoppable. We want to ask ourselves now how to retain employees in this new working environment.

These are five factors that will increase your employee retention in your company.

Allow for flexibility and encourage open communication

In your company, you should be willing to allow for flexibility and adapt to the changing needs of your employees. This may mean offering flexible working hours or home office and mobile working options.

Open communication is essential, especially in a hybrid working environment. You should encourage your employees to communicate openly and frequently and provide them with tools and platforms to do so.

 

Home Office

Create shared goals and values and provide opportunities for social interaction

Shared goals and values are critical for a healthy working environment. Your goals and values should be communicated to all of your employees and aligned with your company’s overall mission and vision.

Social interaction is important to create a sense of connection and belonging among your employees. In your company, you can organize virtual happy hours, team-building activities, and other virtual or in-person events to foster social interaction and build relationships among employees.

Acknowledge and celebrate successes

Recognizing and celebrating successes is important to a strong corporate culture. Companies should recognize both individual and team achievements and acknowledge employees for their hard work and contributions.

A flourishing working environment is crucial for employee retention, motivation, and performance. If you adapt to the new needs of your employees and create a hybrid working environment, you can be more successful and achieve better results within your company.

Peter Grabuschnig

Peter Grabuschnig

Trainer, Coach & MDI Partner

Peter is a partner and trainer at MDI, advising major international corporations on implementing hybrid work policies and building a hybrid work and leadership culture.

He is considered an expert in training design. With his Webinar Guru Framework he has developed a tool that helps to design training content for successful and activating virtual learning.

  • LinkedIn

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Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus

by Peter Grabuschnig | 17. August 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership in the digital transformation, training new leader | 0 Comments

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus Prefer to listen to the article? Click below to access our AI speech-generated audio. However, if you want to read it as usual, keep scrolling.Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus In...
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What Leaders Should Consider When Implementing AI

by Jana Wölfl | 26. July 2023 | Agile Leadership, eLearning, Leadership in the digital transformation | 0 Comments

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Why Flexibility is Key to Employee Retention

by Peter Grabuschnig | 26. June 2023 | Digital Transformation, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

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by Gunther Fürstberger | 30. May 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, training new leader | 0 Comments

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How to maintain attention in online meetings

How to maintain attention in online meetings

by Peter Grabuschnig | Jan 10, 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

Read this article to find out how you can get everyone to listen to you in online meetings and what you need to keep in mind in a hybrid setting.

How to maintain attention in online meetings

You know it – sometimes you are leading an online meeting and you get the feeling that the participants do not pay enough attention to you. Even if the topics discussed seem exciting to you, it is sometimes simply not possible to keep everyone on the ball. Read this article to find out how you can get everyone to listen to you in online meetings and what you need to keep in mind in a hybrid setting.

The beginning is everything

The very start of the meeting is important. In a virtual context, we often lack “arriving in the room.” That makes it more important to pave the way for a pleasant start: make brief small talk and ask how people are doing. This can often be enough before jumping right into the topic. Activation methods, which you should use thoughtfully and appropriately, have a further influence on attention.

Clarifying expectations

It is also important to clarify the expectations of the meeting and its process right from the start. If you want people to listen and participate, you should make this clear from the beginning and mention that the meeting will not be a frontal lecture. Then your participants can prepare themselves. You should always avoid monologues – keep your participants active, let them talk and discuss, contribute actively. This way you will have their full attention right from the start.

Activation tools

To activate people, you can use simple techniques that also work well in face-to-face meetings. Ask lots of questions – These can be short chat questions that you address directly to individuals to get their attention. They can also be rhetorical questions that encourage participants to think. Short surveys using tools such as Slido or Mentimeter, as well as scale questions (e.g. from 1-10) also work very well.

Observe the energy Level

People love to self-assess. This can be a question about a specific topic, but it can also be a question about the energy level after some time in the meeting to decide if it needs a break. Break-out sessions create interaction and get quieter participants to become active. Make sure you have the right group size (never assign less than 3 and more than 5 participants to one team).

Also, try to make the content as interesting as possible. Think about what is appropriate for your audience and use storytelling to bring your facts and figures to life. Relevant examples will help you relate to your target audience. Dale Carnegie said nearly 100 years ago, “Talk to people about themselves and they’ll listen to you for hours.”

How to keep everyone in mind

As a facilitator, you should always keep an eye on the group, proactively address quieter participants, and cut frequent talkers short to the extent appropriate. For larger groups, you should work online with the “raise your hand” function. This allows you to keep a list of speakers and always see whose turn it is next. In addition, activate the view of the participants to always see all names and try to actively address people whose camera image you do not see. Otherwise you tend to address only the people you see in front of you.

Attention keeping in hybrid mode

Hybrid meetings bring additional challenges. The most important thing is not to forget the online participants. It’s best to have a separate screen for the video overview that everyone can see. In addition, practice has shown that an extra moderator on site for the virtual session is very beneficial. This can also simply be someone from the group who puts on the hat to look after the participants. In most cases, the overall quality of the meeting will suffer if you’re running the meeting and managing the virtual participants on the side.

As you can see, it is definitely possible to make your online meeting so exciting that your participants want to listen to you. Try out some of the tools next time!

Peter Grabuschnig

Peter Grabuschnig

Trainer, Coach & MDI Partner

Peter is a partner and trainer at MDI, advising major international corporations on implementing hybrid work policies and building a hybrid work and leadership culture.

He is considered an expert in training design. With his Webinar Guru Framework he has developed a tool that helps to design training content for successful and activating virtual learning.

  • LinkedIn

By the way, Peter will also be moderating the Leadership Horizon 2023:

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Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus

by Peter Grabuschnig | 17. August 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership in the digital transformation, training new leader | 0 Comments

Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus Prefer to listen to the article? Click below to access our AI speech-generated audio. However, if you want to read it as usual, keep scrolling.Promoting Cohesion and Retaining Talent: Leadership in Focus In...
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High-Impact through Blended and Flexible Learning Over the last few years, we at MDI have been working with more and more tools to strengthen high-impact with our clients. In this blog post, we'll introduce you to two of these tools: Blended Learning, which we use at...
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by Jana Wölfl | 26. July 2023 | Agile Leadership, eLearning, Leadership in the digital transformation | 0 Comments

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by Peter Grabuschnig | 26. June 2023 | Digital Transformation, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

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3 P’s – The 3 success factors of hybrid leadership

3 P’s – The 3 success factors of hybrid leadership

by Dominik Etzl, Gunther Fürstberger, Peter Grabuschnig | Jun 23, 2022 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 comments

The 3 P’s – The 3 success factors of hybrid leadership

Basically, the concept of leadership in a hybrid set-up can be broken down to 3 main factors:

Purpose, People and Performance.

Each of these factors is an important piece of the puzzle that allows us to work efficiently and at full speed in hybrid. Here you will get a brief introduction to the basic principles of hybrid working and leading and why our 3 P’s are the 3 main success factors of hybrid leadership.

PURPOSE

Who would want to return to a workplace where you can’t identify with the values and thus don’t feel comfortable at all?

Everybody needs a reason to want to open the laptop every day – whether at home or in the office. In the hybrid world, you have to take care even more about keeping all of your employees on the ball. To do that, you need a collective mission – a Purpose.

At MDI, for example, we’ve made it our mission to develop leaders who “strive for a better world.” If your employees have a mantra that reminds them of why they have an important position in the company, they will be much more motivated to work and achieve more.

PEOPLE

Of course, employment itself should not be the only reason to enjoy showing up at the office. Often, it’s the people who motivate you to work every day. Much more emphasis should be put on the relationship among each other – the trust, the cohesion in the teams and the bond to the company. Especially when many employees are not physically in the office, you have to make sure that everyone is seen and heard. Transparent communication and respectful mutual behavior can quickly resolve conflicts and create a pleasant working atmosphere.

PERFORMANCE

The last P – Performance – is made up of three components:

  • Motivation
  • Competence and
  • Doing the Right Thing.

We ask ourselves the following questions: How much can and want our employees to achieve good results? Every starting situation of our colleagues is different. It is important to be understanding of each situation, to inquire regularly and to offer support where necessary.

We should also always keep up to date with the latest technology developments that can potentially facilitate processes and ways of working in the hybrid set-up. New apps and features are constantly being developed that make our routine workflows much easier and more flexible.

Clearly, hybrid work and especially leadership is still new territory for all of us. But before we despair and give up, let’s try around and keep the 3 P’s in mind.

Want to learn more aboute 3 P’s – The 3 success factors of hybrid leadership?

There are so many resources we can tap into to make work uncomplicated.

For more practical tips and tools, check out our guide

Successful hybrid leadership –

The 3 success factors of hybrid leadership

… and/or join our LinkedIn Leadership Community:

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or maybe this?

10 agile ways to make organizational learning more accessible

10 agile ways to make organizational learning more accessible

by Peter Grabuschnig | Jan 26, 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

10 agile ways to promote organizational learning.

In order to respond to the current challenges in an organization in the best possible way, different learning formats have proven to be strongly supportive in terms of implementation. These enable new knowledge to be shared proactively and flexibly in the form of impulses within the company. They also have a positive effect on the networking of participants, as they can learn from each other and develop results together.

In the following, Peter Grabuschnig presents some methods for learning and networking and their approaches from the new book by MDI: Agile Leadership Development – How Leaders Learn in a Self-Determined and Needs-Oriented Way

 

Knowledge as the foundation for innovation and development

In a world where buzzwords such as VUKA1, BANI2, digitalization and agility have found their way into the operational meetings of HR departments, it is essential to actively address the constantly new and changing realities of our society. Knowledge, which not only lays the foundation for acquiring new competencies but is also essential for strategic and operational decisions, must therefore have the following characteristics:

  • It must be easily understandable and accessible.

  • It must also be transparent and kept up to date.

This poses increasing challenges not only for corporations, but also for small and medium-sized companies.

Information and knowledge alone do not create competence

For this, transfer into practice, application and training are required. So in order to learn new things (development) and create new things (innovation), it is highly relevant not only to know where I can find information, but also to actively engage with it. New things can only be created through new impulses that help us sharpen our perspectives and reflect on them.

Transparency and networking as drivers of leadership development

Every year, companies invest vast sums in the further development of their workforce. Often, large training programs are rolled out that have taken months of painstaking preparation. A common disadvantage of these programs is that in most cases they are quite rigid and fixed.

However, the fact that quite a lot can happen in a year and that circumstances can change completely in just a few weeks has been demonstrated not only by previous economic crises and the Corona pandemic. This is not to say that such measures are not useful.

Nevertheless, tomorrow’s leadership development should be able to be more agile and thus more adaptive and inclusive.

In many companies, a lot of knowledge is already available through ongoing training offerings and the experiences of employees. This now needs to be leveraged and put “on the road.” This requires courageous, new and participative concepts that link employees with each other, provide them with new impulses and give them the opportunity to learn from each other. In addition to the classic transfer of knowledge and the training of methods and models, agile management development also relies above all on transparent networking of the target group and flexible adaptation of the content to the current, actual needs of the leaders involved.

10 agile ways to make organizational learning more accessible

The following are some methods for learning and networking and their approaches.

1. Leader Camps

The most successful format for networking is the Leader Camp – a modification of the Barcamp. This is a method that originated in software development. The Leader Camp is titled with a current umbrella topic and offers participants the opportunity to discuss their own issues and challenges in correlation with the umbrella topic. The format itself can either take place in presence as a large event or be conducted as an online congress.

2. Web Camp

The Web Camp is a shorter online version of the Leader Camp in which a specific topic is covered. For example, topics that have come up as a result of a Leader Camp, a survey, or even strategic or operational operational need can be further explored and worked on quickly and without much effort with a larger group of interested participants.

3. Hackathon

The Hackathon, like the Barcamp, is a format that has its origins in the field of software product development. Here, first and foremost, a basic question is asked about a topic. An example of this would be, “How can we – as a company – manage to integrate flexible working models?” An answer to this main question is then developed using a predefined creative process.

In the first step, the problem is examined, analyzed and described in detail. Then possible solutions are collected together. Clearly defined, tightly held time phases prevent the participants from getting too caught up in discussions, so the focus is always on solving the problem. The third step involves the concrete implementation of these solutions. Here, an attempt is made to develop a directly implementable option from the ideas collected. Finally, the groups present their results to each other. The hackathon is thus an ideal method for achieving results and implementation possibilities quickly, agilely and in a solution-oriented manner.

4. Masterclasses

In music, the masterclass is used as a format to learn from the best and get new impulses and ideas for your own progress. The Masterclass for Leaders has been inspired by just that. Online in a short, 90 – minute webinar format, but also implementable in presence, it thus offers many different possibilities. For example, participants can learn new things from experts and have the opportunity to reflect on knowledge they already know. They can also ask questions and exchange ideas on the topic.

The procedure is as follows: As a rule, the expert gives a keynote speech. Afterwards, they have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the topic with her. The short duration of the format makes it easy to integrate into the daily routine of executives, who are often very busy. Participation is based on voluntariness, and if someone is unable to attend, a recording can be provided.

5. Internal Masterclasses

To make existing knowledge in the company more accessible, the format of the internal masterclass is equally suitable. It does not make sense in every area, nor is it necessary, to buy in expertise from outside. There are many experts within the company who are willing and able to share their knowledge with others. Internally organized masterclasses, conducted by colleagues, create a good mix in the formats of continuing education programs, show appreciation for the expertise of individuals and offer the opportunity to effectively share important, company-specific information with a large group of people. Possible uses for internal masterclasses from the field include a financial review with the CFO and his team at the end of the fiscal year, etc.

6. The virtual implementation of the masterclasses

enables leaders to participate independently of locations and thus, for example, a better relationship, but also a better understanding, can develop between headquarters and countries. Particularly with regard to a hybrid working model, this format is suitable for bringing information to the workforce and providing them with news and impetus. This not only creates more transparency, but also promotes trust.

7. Online training

In 2020, the rapid technological adaptation of many companies to the realities of the pandemic led to the widespread acceptance of online training and online development activities. This digitization push has enabled us to now see training formats in virtual space as an actual alternative and extension to traditional classroom training. The big challenge will be to develop quality standards for online training. Nevertheless, online training is a very good way to get to know new methods and models and to train them in a virtual set-up in an entertaining and cost-reducing way.

8. Online courses

The online course as a form of asynchronous e-learning has been on the rise for some time. Platforms such as Masterplan, Udemy, Skillshare and LinkedIn Learning have recognized this and offer a variety of courses with different licensing models for use. With online courses, knowledge on a wide variety of topics can be made available on demand, quickly and without barriers.

However, the major challenge for personnel development is now not only the quality requirements for the content conveyed, but above all the large number of courses on offer. Curating the courses requires expertise that is not yet available in most cases. In addition, the lack of quality standards for online courses makes selection even more difficult. The professional field that will deal with this selection in the future are so-called learning curators. However, here, too, the question arises as to when an artificial intelligence with suitable algorithms à la Netflix will automatically offer our continuing education program adapted to the individual needs of the individual.

9. Breakthrough Sessions

Another way to make knowledge accessible and motivate leaders to transfer what they have learned is through Breakthrough Sessions (BTS). These are short sessions for reflection, sharing and getting feedback. Let’s assume a Web Camp is held, which leads to three specific projects. The project groups work on their topics and then have the opportunity in a BTS to present their progress or results and get feedback from other interested parties. Another option would be to bring in new projects, celebrate successes that have already occurred, or simply discuss new ideas together. Essentially, it’s about reflecting back on what you’ve learned from the learning pathway and discussing together what helped with implementation, what may have been missing, or where you still need support.

10. E-Coach

Making an additional learning offering alongside live formats compact and easy to access – this is the opportunity offered by the E-Coach. The E-Coach can be seen as an info and learning package. It can take the form of a newsletter, be embedded in the intranet or LMS, or be integrated into MS Teams as an MS SharePoint page. The goal is to provide leaders with additional learning opportunities or with necessary information.

Thus, with access to curated content such as e-learnings in the form of online courses or web-based trainings, podcasts, video lectures or interesting technical articles, the e-coach offers many supplementary tips and assistance for the daily management routine. In addition, it can be used as an information page to publish training dates, enable registration for individual measures, or provide direct access links to virtual events. In this way, participants can find all the important information about their development measures in one place.

Want to learn even more?

Learn more about Agile Leadership Development in our new book (german) or simply send us an inquiry to contact@mdi-training.com.

About the book
Peter Grabuschnig

Peter Grabuschnig

MDI Partner, trainer, mindset coach and consultant.

Peter is a partner and trainer at MDI, advising major international corporations on implementing hybrid work policies and building a hybrid work and leadership culture.

He is considered an expert in training design. With his Webinar Guru Framework he has developed a tool that helps to design training content for successful and activating virtual learning.

 

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By the way, Peter will also be moderating our upcoming Leadership Horizon Conference 😉 

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