“Everyone is waiting to see what happens. Who can forecast how things will unfold?”

The question is being asked as to whether many leaders possess any real vision or mission for their organisation?
Is there a correlation with this and the “Great Resignation”?

According to a 2018 survey conducted by Norwest Venture Partners, 90 percent of CEOs “admit fear of failure keeps them up at night more than any other concern.”

Given this, one can understand just how difficult the last two years have been for many leaders. Most have had to face the prospect of failure at one level or another.

Of course, the last two years have been an extraordinary time. However, much has changed during that time and there is a frustration that many do not have a real grasp of the changes which have taken place and this is creating tensions within companies. This raises two areas for discussion:

· It does appear that few leaders possess any real vision for their businesses; that it is more dominated by financial models. Has business become too one-dimensional in thinking?

· Is there a need to develop the ability of leaders to be able to mentally adjust to changing landscapes?

A few outcomes for consideration:

· One report in 2020 sampled 21,000 employees and found that only 29% believed that the vision of a CEO was aligned to the organisations?

· Another report noted that 94% of CEOs were uncomfortable with the whole “vision piece”.

· In contrast, a report noted that 67% of employees are not convinced that their leadership teams possess any real plan for the new emerging landscape; they are waiting to see how events unfold.

· A further report, in 2019, found that 50% of employees believed that leadership teams created an effective vision for the business.

Does it matter?

It is understandable that tensions are growing as organisations are increasingly concerned over the so-called “Great Resignation” and the challenge to retain employees. There are complaints that talent is less loyal and open to change but if the above reported facts are correct, then isn’t all a natural consequence?

The question is whether, over the last decade, too many leadership teams have become more focused on their models, results, and returns than any true mission? There is a strong belief that the decline in loyalty amongst employees is correlated to the lack of visibility by leaders and with models dominating over any mission.

The challenge for business is to find a far greater balance and for leaders to need to raise their bar in how they communicate the mission of the organisation internally.