In 2008, many companies took dire measures to survive the global economic crisis. Company layoffs, restructuring, and new strategies, keeping operations lean while building their next chapter. There were previous recessions through the decades; however, the Great Recession of 2007-2009 shook the current employee landscape to its core. The skepticism and anxiety about our workplace still hold today in employee communities. When the Covid-19 recession of 2020 took the world economy down, employees were somewhat numb to the shell shock. “My livelihood was disrupted before, it’s happening again, and it will likely happen in the future.”
When you combine this wartime shell shock with leaders trying to resurrect an already-proven dysfunctional model post-crisis, a slow erosion of enthusiasm, passion, and dedication takes hold in workplaces globally. Where there was once enchantment and “moving heaven and earth” for a company’s success, employees have learned to do the minimum to get through another year to make ends meet. The workplace is worn out.
Leaders have to acknowledge this, never repeat it, and create a powerful future that will provide trust for their workforce. It’s a challenging endeavor. Leaders must champion a collective, decentralized operating model where all employee voices and contributions can be input into company strategy, project execution, and the design of day-to-day operations. The antiquated top-down hierarchy operating model and its dysfunction is a relic of an old era that employees are now rejecting. Keeping this status quo alive will leave employees disenchanted once again and looking for their next job. Employees are astutely aware within thirty days of what kind of company they’ve signed up with.
”Bring back enthusiasm, passion, and genuine dedication through the intentional design and implementation of a collective operating model.
The mission: bring authentic enchantment back. Bring back enthusiasm, passion, and genuine dedication through the intentional design and implementation of a collective operating model. A collective operating model is a runway paved in gold to engage your workforce to stay with you and ensure you survive the next predictable global crisis. It’s critical to have a resilient company built to weather any storm instead of rebuilding every time there is a storm.
A collective operating model engages employees at every company level, regardless of hierarchy. It provides a rich pool of information, insight, and resources to ensure your company is resilient. Leaders, stop repeating what you’ve done before. It doesn’t work. Your employees already know this. We are in a new era, and your employees want to be enchanted again.
