As a business leader committed to leadership excellence—from shaping winning team/organizational culture to empowering a next generation of leaders—you are likely well versed in the myriad of powerful concepts and statistics floating across the Internet:

  • According to Gallup, only 33% of American workers are engaged at work
  • One of the chief reasons employees quit is because of their boss, not for more money or advancement
  • 44% of Millennials, if given the choice, say they expect to leave their employer in the next two years, according to research from Deloitte

But what about some of the other impactful statistics? The ones that may suggest we have to consider amending and evolving our leadership philosophy?

Let’s take a look at four statistics that are considerably changing the landscape of the workplace:

 

The cost of replacing a high-level or highly specialized employee is 400% of their annual salary (ERE Media)

Simply put, the cost to replace top talent is exorbitant. Employee attrition at that level can be catastrophic, especially when you factor in the financial and morale impact associated with the loss of that individual’s knowledge and skill sets, and cost to train their successor.

Tip: Don’t wait for the annual performance review, or monthly one-on-one, to perform a temperature check with each member on your team. Instead, establish an environment that facilitates constant communication and allows for employees to openly share their career goals, current challenges and thoughts on the business state-of-the-state.

 

58% of people say they trust strangers more than their own boss (Harvard Business Review)

Think about the impact of that sentence for a moment. Our employees would put more trust in the 56th person they pass on the street than in their boss who they see, work and talk with every day. Though it’s well understood that trust is a cornerstone to any successful leadership mantra, this statistic paints a different picture, evidencing that we still have work to do. And, as the saying goes, trust takes a lifetime to build and just seconds to destroy.

Tip: One of the biggest ways to build trust is to create transparency within an organization. Consider how often you are sharing information with your team about where the company is headed, potential roadblocks ahead and room for opportunity. When your team feels they are part of the vision—and equal contributors to the vision—trust begins to strengthen.

 

77% of workers “always or often” spend between 31-40 hours a week feeling distracted at work from stress (Mental Health America)

A 2017 Mental Health America “Mind the Workplace” report, which studied more than 17,000 employees across 19 industries in United States, found that our employees have a high degree of stress and it directly impacts their ability to be productive, manage their workloads and execute. The survey reveals that our employees are overwhelmed with a number of factors such as unsupportive managers, excessive and unrealistic workloads, and lack of accountability within the organization.

Tip: With the ever-elusive work-life balance slipping further and further away, consider other ways to bring calm to your team. For instance, implement a praise policy that allows employees to celebrate wins more regularly. Or explore the power of flexible working arrangements such as remote work, flexible hours or even the four-day, 10 hour-work week.

 

56% of organizations are not ready to meet leadership needs (Deloitte)

Deloitte research found that today’s companies are not prepared for tomorrow’s leadership demands because we are not spending enough time today investing in our people and crafting comprehensive leadership development programs. The situation will only worsen, according to Deloitte, as Baby Boomers increasingly retire and Millennials make up the majority of our workforce.

Tip: Evaluate your existing leadership program and consider: what types of trainings have you exposed your team to in the past 12 months?, Are you aligning your leadership program to the areas your team wants to explore most?, and Do you even have a leadership program? In the next 60 days, identify one meaningful workshop—e.g. how to set and execute vision or how to build a culture of accountability—you could bring to your team that would help them strengthen their leadership skills.

 

Are you interested in supporting your team by introducing leadership frameworks and trainings? Click here to learn more about the workshops offered by Tim Hebert, national keynoter, leadership activator and workshop facilitator.