Is Outplacement Outdated for Some Leaders
As Covid-19 continues to take its toll on the human and economic health of the nation and the impact of Brexit becomes a reality, a growing number of corporate senior leaders and executives are finding themselves faced with (or the prospect of ) redundancy and the need to reflect on what the future holds. In addition, many HR leaders and teams are working hard to understand the longer term impacts of the crisis alongside managing immediate headcount restructures and/or efficiency driven programmes. Many now rely on traditional outplacement programmes to handle the fallout to help senior colleagues exiting the business find new opportunities.
In June 2020, a survey during the first wave of the pandemic by the Chartered Management Institute reported a third of respondents expected redundancies in their own organisations by at least the end of 2021. According to a CIPD report in December 2020, professional, specialist and technical roles are the most challenging to recruit into and the latest lockdown means the outlook remains uncertain. Losing employment and/or redundancy is one of the most stressful experiences for anyone, directly affecting wellbeing, relationships, financial stability and self confidence. Senior executives are no different and can often be the most reluctant to reach out for support, use the services made available or, more critically, don't want to talk about it or are unaware of what they really need.
Traditional outplacement services give a good blend of support and resources but they often lean towards conventional approaches to returning to the world of work on the same terms as someone left it. A polished CV, interview techniques, dealing with recruiters and up-skilling are major areas of focus and for many this satisfies the needs of an individual still building a career and reputation. Some of these services can feel clinical and remote, driven by email with static content for mass consumption. That said, a good number do also offer personalised coaching services, although these tend to compliment these core services and tend to be time boxed around an end result to get an individual re-employed.
For an increasing number of senior leaders and executives, who have spent many years mastering and honing their knowledge and skills, these traditional services are not enough and do not have enough depth to tackle where they are now. Some, who have spent a career creating and implementing strategies or driving innovation and transformation, don't want to simply refurbish and remarket what has gone before. They are feeling too much repetition in the workplace, frustrated with implementing someone else's strategy or chasing results no one really wants. Individuals we speak to, often aged 45 years plus, really do not want to refresh their CV and plunge themselves into the ego-centric ocean of applicants vying for attention or be processed through a conveyor belt of auto-filtering, testing, assessments and short-listing.
This is important because these are life critical decisions and there are risks this approach only scratches the surface. There are more important and fundamental psychological challenges for some of these individuals. They need a more intellectual and philosophical conversation to explore, reassess and redefine their needs, purpose and value for the next stage of life. They need help in the art of self-mastery so they can re-architect their life but this time on their own terms. They want to speak with someone who can take them on a journey of self awareness and self discovery, to take a step back and reassess what truly matters at this stage of their lives. If this sounds a little "cosmic" and "out there", it only appears so because of the incredible pace at which we lead our lives today. Regaining a sense of perspective cannot be done by remaining in such a highly paced, competitive and pressured environment, where fear of failure smothers the ability to gain clarity of thinking. For those who want to make truly life changing decisions, they need to find a way to detach from their current state and enter a calmer environment that can reinvigorate suppressed or hidden senses, discover lost energies and make clear, practical and sustainable choices for their WorkLife on their own terms.
Furthermore, some senior executives have made huge sacrifices alongside spending years building a successful career and reputation, resulting in significant life changing events, both positive and negative, and now the journey ahead doesn't quite look and feel the way it did 5, 10 or 20 years ago. The work environment has left some emotionally and physically exhausted, burned out even, and the prospect of "more of the same" makes the outlook bleak and depressing. Life priorities for these age groups are also changing with underlying personal drivers such as status, wealth and power starting to give way to happiness, health and inner fulfilment. Digging deeper, we are finding senior leaders have become hostage to their working environment, blindly conforming because that's how it's always been done, a virtual prisoner at the mercy of peer pressure or the perennial fear of failure. Money has now become an anti-depressant, providing short term relief to an ongoing condition and longer term successful treatment is not going to come from competing using the same set of rules.
Understanding how to deal with this type of fundamental shift at a pivotal moment in one's life needs time, care and attention beyond the conventional services on offer. These observations may resonate with readers and some may recognise these traits in some of their leaders. It is a good moment to reflect and ask if your current outplacement offering can really meet these complex challenges and needs.
To provide an authentic solution, an alternative and more humanistic approach is needed and it begins with an intelligent conversation. Intelligent in the sense that it is deeper and more thoughtful, focusing on reconnecting some of the damaged or broken threads that hold together genuine inner needs and outward desires. That means breaking with convention and recognising the need to detach from the trappings that may have served well in the past but are now not providing genuine fulfilment. This break enables an awakening and awareness of the possible, discovery of a clearer purpose and recognition of true value which in turn leads to a greater feeling of fulfilment and contentment. Having that sort of conversation with someone who has operated in a similar environment, empathises with their plight and can guide them on a journey to a wholly new WorkLife experience, is not something you will find in a traditional outplacement programme. What's more, the journey does not need to (and probably should not) end when someone lands that next role or starts a new business. Ongoing support and guidance is equally as important, providing essential reassurance and advice to navigate through future challenges or break new ground. The choices then become clearer. Some leaders may choose to return to the corporate world, others may opt for a completely different lifestyle business built around them and others may choose a portfolio approach. In all these cases, it needs to start with an investment in oneself and engagement in an intelligent and tailored conversation.
Taking time to do this beyond the traditional outplacement offerings is an alternative that will, for some, be critical to their mental and physical wellbeing and genuinely transformational for their WorkLife - as mentioned earlier, these are life critical decisions. For organisations who promote and offer this alternative route, it will demonstrate they genuinely understand all leaders are not the same and that some would benefit from a more humanistic support service. That in turn can only enhance the firm's brand and reputation, particularly regarding commitments to wellbeing, and will ultimately strengthen its alumni base.
In conclusion, it must be said this alternative is not for everyone and will only help those leaders and executives who are prepared to de-prioritise their ego and recognise they have a genuine need to re-purpose their life. But there are silent sufferers amongst leadership teams who would benefit from an intelligent conversation and, for those, this could be the most transformational experience of their career.
If you want to find out more or recognise the need for a more humanistic outplacement service offering for senior leaders and executives, click here.
From the Fount at Zengility
