As has been mentioned in this space before, the War for Talent is not likely to abate anytime soon. Uber Coach Marshall Goldsmith (author of “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”} spoke to over one hundred young future leaders and concluded that that there are “two major social trends are creating challenges for both of them, as young professionals, and for you, as their leader:”:
The culture of success and the culture of comparison.
These trends present challenges by themselves and can reinforce each other in ways both positive and negative. We live in a culture that worships success, and when augmented by the speed of social media and other communication, the result can catalyze an unhealthy comparison to others that may affect your team members in negative ways that will find their way to your workplace.
Dr. Goldsmith writes that the resulting “anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicide are now described as being at epidemic levels, especially among the young and educated. The birth rate is now the lowest in the developed world. As an example of the comparison culture, South Korea leads the world in cosmetic surgery.”
In a short article in Chief Executive magazine, “Coping with Cultural Catalysts” Dr. Goldsmith explores these phenomena and offers a few prescriptions.
