WHAT IF EVERYTHING

YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW

ABOUT EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT
AND RETENTION
WAS WRONG?
THE LIMITLESS LEADER:
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS
DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND

FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH CONDUCTED

BY LAURA GASSNER OTTING
FROM JANUARY 2019-DECEMBER 2021

JANUARY 2022
OVERVIEW...................................................1-2

KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS.............3-17

ACTION STEPS.........................................18-19

METHODOLOGY.......................................20-24

ABOUT THE AUTHOR....................................25

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION.................26

OVERVIEW
Between August and September of 2021, roughly 8.7 million Americans, or about 6% of the U.S.
workforce, quit their jobs. The Great Resignation is upon us. But, what is driving it?

In a survey we conducted beginning in January 2019 and continuing through the pandemic, one which
more than 5,600 workers from every sector and every demographic have answered, several trends
have emerged, the understanding of which will allow leaders to recruit, retain, and re-engage their
most valuable performers.

As a 20-year veteran of retained executive search,

much of my time pre-engagement was spent The Great Resignation is not
disengaging my clients from the tried and true
scorecard of eight widely accepted key factors which a result of the pandemic.
would motivate anyone at any time to consider
jumping ship for a new opportunity. This list of what It’s been brewing for
makes a good job good -- mission, leadership,
challenge, scope of impact, acquisition of new skills,
decades.
prestige, benefits, and money -- does not take into
consideration what makes a good job good for each individual. Worse, employers have become
convinced that there is only one prioritization of this list, with money being at the top.

(Spoiler alert: it rarely is.)

As employers (and as employees), we pursue happiness. But happiness is fleeting; it is consonance

that lasts.

Consonance is the feeling of harmony and alignment that comes from knowing that the very best of
what you can do is demanded to solve a problem about which you care deeply, and you are being
rewarded for solving that problem in a way that is personally, financially, emotionally meaningful to
you. In short, it’s when “what you do” matches “who you are.”

Consonance is what allows your best employees to keep contributing at their highest levels. A lack of
consonance is what is driving The Great Resignation we are experiencing today. These issues didn’t
arise at the start of the pandemic, but the pandemic laid bare the pain points that your employees
have been unable to articulate until now.

And, perhaps, the problem isn't the workers, but you.

Let's dig in, and demystify how to help your star performers get re-engaged in what matters most.

-- Laura Gassner Otting, December 2021

1 | OVERVIEW
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 THEIR WORK REALLY MATTERS: CALLING, CONNECTION, CONTRIBUTION, AND CONTROL.
Calling
CONSONANCE IS MADE UP OF FOUR FACTORS THAT HELP WORKERS FEEL AS THOUGH CALLING is a gravitational pull towards a goal larger than yourself—a business
you want to build, a leader who inspires you, a societal ill you wish to remedy, a
cause you wish to serve, or a family you want to nurture.

Connection
WHAT IS CONSONANCE?

CONNECTION gives you sightlines into how your everyday actions serve that
calling by solving the problem at hand, growing the company’s bottom line, or
reaching that goal. It helps you understand why your work actually matters.

Contribution
CONTRIBUTION means that you understand how this job, this brand, this
product, this paycheck contributes to the company you want to grow, the
community to which you want to belong, the person you want to be, or the
lifestyle you’d like to live.

Control
CONTROL reflects how you are able to influence your connection to that calling
in order to have some say in the assignment of projects, deadlines, colleagues,
and clients; offer input into shared goals; and do work that contributes to your
career trajectory and earnings.

2 | OVERVIEW
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
TEN KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS
In the following pages you will find myriad findings and statistics from our research, however these
are ten of the key takeaways:

Invest in your leadership capabilities. Workers are not failing leaders; leaders are failing workers. Very
few workers report feeling inspired by their leader, or understanding why their day-to-day work
matters and how it affects the overall long-term goals.

Double down on relationships. Bad leaders drive away star players, but even good leaders are at risk
too when their employees don't feel like they have a good relationship with them.

Protect your mid-level managers. Mid-level managers communicate organizational ethos and vision
but are resigning specifically because they, themselves, don't have enough of it. While studies show
that resignation rates increase at age 30, our data shows that unhappiness begins five years earlier
when financial flexibility precludes ease of transition.

Prioritize inspiration. Workers are less motivated by personal gain, and more motivated by leaders
who inspire them to be their best, by working on a problem which matters to them, and by having
some control over the teams to which they are assigned, their projects on which they work, or the
ability to influence their hours or earnings.

Be generationally responsive. Gen Z wants to be an important part of the team. Millennials want to be
appreciated for how their work impacts the bigger picture. Gen X wants flexibility for outside demands.
Boomers want to feel relevant, included in strategic conversation. All generations want meaning.

Build community around meaning. Millennials and Gen X would work harder, but feel stifled, silences,
and squandered by uninspired leaders and disconnected colleagues.

Hire more veterans. Service veterans desire leadership roles earlier on in their tenure, are far less likely
to prioritize pay, but are much more critical of their leaders.

Understand gender differences. Women take a broader view, weaving work and life together to
determine overall happiness and satisfaction, while men define their identity more narrowly through
the lens of work first, and life second. These gender imbalances get worse as women climb the
corporate ladder, where they find themselves stalling out by the Director level in terms of the flexibility
and control they seek.

Build purpose into work. Nonprofit/Government workers are no more engaged or disengaged than
private sector workers, but measure what brings them happiness and purpose differently. Private
sector workers can have calling, even if it isn't in the traditional "higher" or "lofty" sense.

Stop blaming the pandemic. The pandemic has had little effect on worker satisfaction but instead has
shone a light on what has long been brewing. The happiest post-pandemic workers were no longer
burdened by busywork and had more agency over how and when (and where) their work got done.

3 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
WORKERS ARE NOT FAILING LEADERS,
LEADERS ARE FAILING WORKERS.
Across every demographic, one thing is abundantly clear: it's not workers who are failing leaders, it's
leaders who are also failing workers. While 69.5% of workers say that they do work that makes them
proud, only 35.8% say that they serve under a leader who inspires them to be their best, with on
average only 40.8% to say that they are the best versions of themselves at work.

Leaders can turn this tide by opening up more frequent channels for feedback, asking more and better
questions about projects and problems, and remembering that small check-in moments about
immediate crises are more useful than annual reviews or All-Hands type State of the Union speeches
which leave them wondering, "Yeah, that's great for the company, but how does this affect ME?"

Quick Tip!

Consider your role in rescuing your team when they are in trouble. Stop asking "How
can I help?" and start asking "What do you need to successfully solve this problem?"

The former makes only you the hero, the latter invites them to shine.

4 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 GOOD LEADERS WHO LACK RELATIONSHIPS
SHARE SIMILAR RISK TO BAD LEADERS.
Good leaders will retain more employees than bad leaders. But when workers don't have a strong relationship
with good leaders, even good leaders are at risk of staff dissatisfaction, disengagement, and disappointment.

Workers who serve a bad leader experience helplessness, lack agency to affect change, feel that they are
underpaid and under appreciated, don't like their colleagues (no surprise: bad leaders hire bad people), don't
respect their leader, and are looking for a side hustle. They do not feel like the best version of themselves at work.
Workers who serve a good leader do but report that, while they are mostly satisfied, they could use more pay.

Where things get interesting, however, is that even workers who responded that they serve a good leader feel
significantly higher levels of unhappiness if they feel like they have a weak or neutral relationship with that leader.
In cases where workers have a less strong relationship than desired, they report having little influence, feeling
unimportant, and lacking the agency to be a contributing member of the team.

GOOD LEADERS WITH

GOOD LEADERS BAD LEADERS
NO RELATIONSHIP

GOOD LEADERS BUILD... BAD LEADERS DAMAGE... NO MATTER HOW GOOD

Workers inspired by their leaders Workers who aren't inspired by THEY THINK THEY ARE,
know how to do their best work. their leaders feel lost. LEADERS WHO LEAD IN A
VACUUM ARE SIMPLY NOT
95.5% 17.5%
want work to be part of what
inspires them to get out of bed in
are surrounded by people they GOOD LEADERS.
admire and want to emulate.
the morning. Workers who served under a good

87.2% 34.6%
want to be excited to go to work
every day because it represents
feel like their work relates to their leader, but who have no
goals in some way.
who they are. relationship with that leader are

90.7% 25.5%
understand how the quality of
their work impacts those around
feel like they can effect change that not much better off.
allows them to do more aligned
them.

25.1%
work. feel like they can effect change

71.8% 31.9%
still would happily work harder are the best versions of themselves that allows them to do more
and keep longer hours if what they at work. aligned work .

30.1%
did mattered more to them.
have influence over the metrics by
which their work is judged.

54.4%
...BUT THEY CAN IMPROVE. ...BUT THERE IS HOPE. feel like their opinion matters to
those who make decisions that
Even good leaders can do better by Despite bad leadership, these affect them.

workers by including them more. workers are still invested.

52.7%
are empowered to seek feedback
and/or mentoring.

94.5% 95.3%
do their best work when they feel still want work to be part of what

36.1%
like important, contributing inspires them to get out of bed say their work gives deeper meaning
members of their teams. every morning. to their spiritual and/or community

80.9% 71.8%
values.
still would happily work harder

35.5%
get bored when they aren't learning
new things. and keep longer hours if what they know specifically what to do each
did mattered more to them. day to move their goals forward.

49.6%
feel like they can effect change that
allows them to do more aligned
work. 90.9% want to feel appreciated in their
work.
39.4% have sightlines into the bigger picture
or strategic plan of their company.

41.5% 79.8%
have influence over the amount of

38.3%
still want to make an impact on
money they earn or the numbers of see a relationship between their
someone/something every single
hours they work. weekly, monthly, quarterly goals and
day.
the annual goals of their employer.

Important Question!

Determine whether you are a good leader or a bad leader by asking your team if they feel
empowered to ask for feedback, have agency/influence about how they work, and have an
understanding of why their work matters. And, even if you are good, keep building
relationships.

5 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
MIDDLE AND FUTURE MANAGEMENT ARE
MOST AT RISK AT RESIGNING.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzed by Ian Cook, and Visier, resignation
rates are highest amongst workers aged 30 to 45 years old, whose average resignation rates rose by
more than 20% between 2020 and 2021.

For many companies this means from middle management all the way up to the most senior ranks,
those responsible for setting and spreading corporate culture and goals are considering the exit,
something which spells trouble in both the short- and long-term. While recruiting is an excellent
opportunity to bring in fresh blood, it can also be a key time to double down on retaining existing team
members by giving them what they actually want.

Most surprising of all is that only little

more than half (55.8%) of these
respondents stated that they needed
more contribution from their work than
they already had, Another 7.6% said that
they had too much. The rewards they
were getting from the work they were
doing were already satisfactory.

On the other hand, 62.5% were looking

for more calling, inspiration to do work
that excited them for leaders who
inspired them and on problems which
resonated with them, 65% wanted to have more control over the teams to which they were assigned,
the projects on which they worked, or they ability to influence their hours or earning through their
hustle.

Probably least surprising, at a time when workers have been asking themselves, “Does my work really
even matter?” is that 62.7% reported that they wanted more connection from their day-to-day tasks to
the big picture.

Key Insight!

Your mid-level managers are the ones most responsible for

communicating organizational ethos and vision but are resigning
specifically because they, themselves, don't have enough of it.

While studies show that resignation rates increase at age 30, our data
shows that unhappiness begins five years earlier when financial
flexibility precludes ease of transition.

6 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 HIGHER WAGES AND ROBUST BENEFITS ARE
NOT A PANACEA FOR A HAPPY WORKFORCE.
...if, that is, you are paying a living wage.

In 2011, Angus Deaton, PhD, and Daniel Kahneman, PhD, reported that the "happiness wage" for US
workers was $75,000, based on 2008 & 2009 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being data points. Adjusted for
inflation, that number is now roughly $93,000 in real wages. However, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the average salary in 2021 was $51,480.

So, that's a big "if." If you are paying a living wage, please continue reading. If you aren't, go fix that first.
But, if you are, let's consider that there are a lot of other factors at play in between the living wage and
the happiness wage. In fact, only 36.7% of workers say that pay is the most important thing about a job.

We feel happy at work if we are given

great benefits, like free lunch and
foosball in the break room; if we
have an easy commute; salary
increases; or if our best friend is in
the cubicle next door. These things
are good for morale, so managers
are constantly looking for the
newest, fanciest perk to trot out as
part of the employment proposition.

Here’s the problem with that: Any

company can hire a clever HR
thing, whether it’s free dry cleaning, dog-friendly offices, or Workout Wednesdays. These things build
community, they are good for recruiting, and they look compelling as notices on the back of the door in
the bathroom stall. But simple pleasures never last; soon enough, you’ll be back on the Hedonic
Treadmill looking for the next bright, shiny retention object.

95.1% 90.9% 90.4% 92.4% And here

is the
36.7%
of workers want their of workers report that it of workers do better work of workers do their best of workers say that the
work to be part of what is vital to them that they when they see how the work when they feel like great news... most important thing
inspires them to get up feel appreciated in their quality of their work they are an important, about a job is that it pays
every morning. work. matters to the big picture. contributing member of them enough to live the
the team. lifestyle they want.

Quick Tip!

Instead of carrots, offer consonance. Instead of a checklist, offer meaning.

Your team wants to be rewarded in many ways, not just financial. Regularly allow
space in meetings to point out the accomplishments of your team, taking care not
just to recognize their achievements but how those achievements enable the entire
organization to fulfill specific goals.

7 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
EACH GENERATION WANTS DIFFERENT
THINGS FROM THEIR WORK & LEADERSHIP.
By 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce, so it makes sense to focus on what drives
them, if for no other reason than to contradict that common complaint waged against them: that they
expect trophies for showing up. It turns out that they do, but so does everyone else.

Each generation wants to be inspired, feel included, and be appreciated in their work...

GenZ Millenials GenX Boomers

I want my work to be part of what inspires me to get up
every morning.
97.2% 95.3% 95.1% 95.6%

It is vital to me that I feel appreciated in my work. 90.6% 96.0% 91.5% 89.8%

I want to be excited to go to work everyday because it 87.2% 86.5% 86.6% 85.2%

represents who I am.

...but being included, feeling special, and enjoying appreciation looks different to each generation.

I feel empowered to ask for feedback & mentoring.

55.5% 51.2% 50.2% 54.6%

The work that I do feels important to me. 58.3% 56.2% 63.8% 71.6%

I am the best version of myself when I am at work. 39.4% 36.0% 41.1% 48.3%
I only want to do work that helps me get ahead in the future. 52.2% 42.7% 33.4% 27.1%

"Work should be part "Work should be part "Work should be part "Work should be part
of what inspires me, of what inspires me, so of what inspires me, so of what inspires me,
knowing that the that I am able to do my that I am able to do my where I can be an
quality of my work best work as an best work as an important, contributing
matters to a goal important, contributing important, contributing member of the team,
broader than just me member of the team, member of the team, where I can remain
and where I can be an for which I am for which I am relevant, and where I
important and a appreciated and where appreciated, as long as can be appreciated for
contributing member I can draw a direct line it is flexible for outside my involvement in
of the team." between the quality of demands in my life." conversations about
- Gen Z my work and the - Gen X strategic direction."
company goals." - Boomers
- Millennials

Quick Tip!

Take time to understand what drives each employee, whether it is being part of the
conversation, enjoying appreciation, accessing feedback/mentoring, or feeling relevant.

8 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 MILLENNIALS AND GEN X WOULD DO MORE,
IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY.

71.5% 37.6%
serve under a leader who inspires
them to be their best.

56.2%
feel that the work they do is
of Millennials would important.
happily work harder and

40.1%
keep longer hours if what feel that the majority of the work
they do each day relates to their
they did mattered more.
goals in some way.

42.0%
know specifically what they need

92.4%
to do each day to move their goals
forward.

47.4%
have sightlines into the bigger
of Millennials do better picture or strategic plan.
work when they see how

44.2%
the quality of their work see a relationship between their
short-term goals and the long-term
matters to the big picture.
goals of their employer.

42.1%
enjoy telling friends and family

83.6%
about their work, their company,
or their leader.

30.4%
are surrounded by people they
of GenXers need to work admire and want to emulate.
somewhere where the

34.3%
company and colleagues so work that gives deeper meaning
to their spiritual needs and/or
share interests and values
community values.
with them.

35.1%
are able to influence the amount of

71.4%
money they earn or the number of
hours they work.

of GenXers have outside

demands that make it
36.5% have influence over the metrics by
which their work is judged.

45.8%
important for them to
have input over which projects and
influence the hours they
teams are assigned to them.
work.

9 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
CONSIDER HIRING SERVICE VETERANS AND
PUTTING THEM IN CHARGE EARLIER.
Service Veterans -- men and women, across all generations, who have served in AmeriCorps, the Peace
Corps, or the military -- have a combination of traits that set them apart in the workforce and which
make them ideal for long-term investment.
Service Veterans excel at creative
thinking, problem solving, grace under
pressure. They know how to prioritize,
they have perspective, they bring grit.
They have a proven ability to work wit
people who don’t look like them, think
like them, or act like them and can
bring these skills to management. They
know how to bring out the best in their
peers, and they know how to lead and
how to follow. They are, however, more
critical of leadership, likely because
they have been trained in leadership from the beginning of their careers and, regrettably, possibly
experienced the tragic consequences of bad leadership.

Service Veterans are quiet in success and thoughtful in defeat. It is in their bones to be loyal in public
and honest in private. They’ve seen the big stuff, so they don’t sweat the small stuff, but they also know
the small stuff makes the big stuff work.

And, because they were placed in positions of responsibility early in their lives, they are ready to be in
charge in the workforce sooner than their peers.

Service Veterans are Service Veterans are Service Veterans are Service Veterans are

18.3% 16.0% 12.5% 11.9%

more likely more likely more likely more likely
than non-Service Veterans than non-Service Veterans than non-Veterans than non-Service Veterans
to be the best version of to feel like they are able to work for a company to do work each day that
themselves at work. effect change in their that aligns with their relates to their goals in
company, cause, or personal mission in life. some way.
community to do more
aligned work.

Service Veterans are Service Veterans are Service Veterans are

3.2% 8.8% 10.8%

less likely less likely less likely
than non-Veterans than non-Veterans than non-Service Veterans
to say that it is vital that to say that the most to be working under a
they feel appreciated in important thing about leader who inspires them
Quick Tip! their work. their work is that it pays to be their best.
Hire a Service Veteran! them enough to live the
lifestyle they want.

10 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 MEN AND WOMEN PRIORITIZE WHAT
MATTERS IN THEIR WORK DIFFERENTLY.

Calling Connection
More women than men feel that their work allows them More women than men stated that they needed their
to serve something meaningful, and that their work is work to matter to the organization, calling, or
aligned with their own personal mission, which is good community. More women than men are incentivized
since more women than men say that it is important for by feeling relevant rather than powerful.
their work to give their life purpose.
Just under 50% of both men and women felt like they
However, more men than women say that they would had sightlines into how their work impacts the bigger
happily work harder or keep longer hours if they felt picture, but close to 90% of both said they do better
that their work mattered more. work when they understand this.
MEANINGFUL MISSION LIFE'S WORK WORK FEELING SIGHTLINES BETTER
WORK ALIGNMENT PURPOSE HARDER MATTERS RELEVANT ABOVE WORK

WOMEN 63.5% 47.7% 78.8% 68.0% WOMEN 86.1% 87.1% 49.5% 90.1%
MEN 54.2% 34.4% 68.9% 72.6% MEN 76.3% 76.8% 48.2% 86.1%

Contribution
More women than men feel that the values of their work
Control
More women than men have demands outside of work
life align with the values of their home life, and need their which makes it important for them to have some agency
job to allow the flexibility to pursue interests both at over the hours they work, though more men than women
work and at home. feel that they actually do have such influence.

While more women than men need to feel appreciated in Women want influence more than they want power in
their work, more men than women place an importance greater numbers than men, but men say that they feel
on the relevancy of the work they do to get them ahead that they do better work when they can hand-pick their
in the workplace. colleagues on any given project.

VALUES JOB FEELING GETTING OUTSIDE WORK INFLUENCE HAND-PICK

ALIGNMENT FLEXIBILITY APPRECIATED AHEAD DEMANDS AGENCY DESIRED COLLEAGUES

WOMEN 59.0% 90.7% 92.2% 34.5% WOMEN 68.3% 33.9% 78.3% 49.7%
MEN 47.7% 81.5% 82.5% 39.6% MEN 58.8% 39.4% 69.8% 53.4%

Key Insight!

Women take a broader view, weaving work and life together to determine
overall happiness and satisfaction, while men tend to define their identity more
narrowly through the lens of work first, and life second.

As such, the road to consonance weighs each factor differently, and managers
must learn to emphasize and reward accordingly.

11 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
GENDER IMBALANCES GET WORSE FOR
WOMEN AS THEY CLIMB INTO LEADERSHIP.
Unfortunately, not only does it not get easier as we climb into leadership, it gets exponentially worse
for women as they ascend into Director and C-Suite level positions.
Men consistently experience a deficit of Entry Level Management Director C-Suite

9.8% 21.4% 8.7% 20.3%

CALLING compared to their female
counterparts at each level of seniority:

Men experience a reducing deficit in Entry Level Management Director C-Suite

CONTRIBUTION until the C-Suite, when

they are eclipsed by women: 27.4% 22.3% 1.63% 15.1%
Women experience more CONNECTION Entry Level Management Director C-Suite

to the work than their male counterparts

until they reach Director level: 5.1% 12.1% 3.9% 6.4%
Women consistently experience a deficit Entry Level Management Director C-Suite
on CONTROL compared to their male
counterparts at each level of seniority: 10.3% 3.8% 21.4% 61.9%
Key: Women feel this level of deficit. | Men feel this level of deficit.

At each level of seniority, women are more aligned with their calling, though each (women by 48.3%,
men by 56.1%) see an increase as they rise. Throughout their career, 47.7% of women say that the
mission or cause of the company they serve is aligned with their personal mission in life, as opposed
to just 34.4% of men.

Both women and men stagnate at the director

level in terms of how closely their work is
connected to their goals. Achieving more power
does little for the 87.1% of women or the 76.8% of
men who align connection more closely with
relevance. Both (92.5% for women, 87% for men)
would prefer a seat at the strategic table.

Both women and men lose contribution from their

work as they reach the C-Suite. Women become
less interested in just doing work that gets them
ahead, and more interested in work that involves
something bigger than just them. C-Suite Men
want most to be appreciated for their work.

As women rise through the ranks, they

consistently want more control but find
themselves with less. Women, conversely, stall out
at Director level and see minimal increases at the
C-Suite level, watching their male peers gather a
2-1 increase in control compared to theirs.

12 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 WHAT MATTERS MOST/LEAST CHANGES FOR
MEN AND WOMEN AS THEY RISE IN RANK.

MEN WOMEN
Involvement in strategy conversations. Work represents something bigger than self.
Contributing member of team. Involvement in strategy conversations.

LEAST MOST
Desire to do work that earns influence. Work represents personal values/mission.
Knowledge of big picture. Contributing member of team.
Pay equal to desired lifestyle. Doing work that earns promotions.

C-SUITE
C-SUITE

Doing work that earns promotions. Pay equal to desired lifestyle.

Pride in telling friends/family about work. Pride in telling friends/family about work.
Ability to accommodate outside demands. Ability to pick team/assignments.

Involvement in strategy conversations. Involvement in strategy conversations.

Contributing member of team. Contributing member of team.
Desire to do work that earns promotions. Feeling appreciated and relevant.
LEAST MOST

Sightlines into the bigger picture. Flexibility to pursue outside interests.

DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR

Pay equal to desired lifestyle. Doing work that earns promotions.

Doing work that earns promotions. Pay equal to desired lifestyle.
Pride in telling friends/family about work. Pride in telling friends/family about work.
Ability to accommodate outside demands. Ability to pick team/assignments.

Involvement in strategy conversations. Contributing member of team.

Contributing member of team. Feeling appreciated for the work done.
MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT
Sightlines into the bigger picture. Flexibility to pursue outside interests.
LEAST MOST

Feeling appreciated for the work done. Sightlines into the bigger picture.
Pride in telling friends/family about work. Doing work that earns promotions.
Pay equal to desired lifestyle. Pay equal to desired lifestyle.
Doing work that earns promotions. Pride in telling friends/family about work.
Ability to pick team/assignments. Ability to pick team/assignments.

Flexibility to pursue outside interests. Feeling appreciated for work done.

Contributing member of team. Contributing member of team.
LEAST MOST
ENTRY-LEVEL

ENTRY-LEVEL

Sightlines into the bigger picture. Flexibility to pursue outside interests.

Continued education/learning new things. Work represents personal values/mission.
Pride in telling friends/family about work. Pay equal to desired lifestyle.
Pay equal to desired lifestyle. Pride in telling friends/family about work.
Doing work that earns promotions. Doing work that earns promotions.
Ability to influence hours worked. Ability to pick team/assignments.

13 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
MUCH OF WHAT WORKERS NEED TO DO THEIR
MOST-ENGAGED WORK IS FREE.

Regardless of gender, one thing is clear. Inclusion in strategic conversations as important and
contributing members of the team, having sightlines into the bigger picture, feeling appreciated at
work, and working with like-minded, respected individuals matter to all.

Having these things enables workers to create relationships with their colleagues and their leadership,
paving the way for them to feel more empowered asking for feedback and mentoring, as well as
understanding how the quality of their work fits into the bigger picture.

Finally, having the flexibility and agency to do work that feels important completes the picture and
helps workers show up as the best versions of themselves.
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14 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
GREAT TEAMS FOSTER ENVIRONMENTS
WHERE WORKERS BECOME STARS.

40.8% I am the best version of myself

at when I am at work. 59.2%
Agree or Strongly Agree Neutral, Disagree, or Strongly
Disagree

Do their best work when they feel like they are Do not get deeper meaning to their spiritual
an important team member. and/or community values.

Want work to represent who they are. Are not surrounded by people they admire and
want to emulate
Do better work when they see how the quality
matters to the goal. Do not serve under an inspiring leader.

Want to feel appreciated in their work. Do not feel able to effect change in their
company, cause, or community.
Like to be involved in conversations about
strategic direction. Do not enjoy telling their friends about their
work or their company.
Need their work to involve something bigger
than themselves. Do not feel that their day-to-day work relates to
the bigger picture.
Understand how the quality of their work
impacts those around them. Feel unable to influence earnings/hours or
team/project assignments.
Are incentivized more by feeling relevant than
feeling powerful. Have no influence into the metrics by which
their work is judged.
Want to make an impact on someone or
something every single day. Feel a lack of alignment with the mission of the
organization.
Feel more comfortable knowing what is
happening next. Do not know specifically what to do each day to
move forward.
Are willing to work hard to get to a place where
they are trusted with influence. Have no sightlines into the bigger picture and
how they matter.

Quick Tip!

Build a culture that turns workers into stars by actively appreciating and involving
them, giving them sightlines into strategic decisions, and surrounding them by team
members they admire. This will foster and environment where they reinvest
themselves into your organizations and amplify their own team-building behaviors.

15 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 PURPOSE-DRIVEN WORK IS NOT UNIQUE TO
THE NON-PROFIT/GOVERNMENT SECTORS.
Workers from every sector want their work to be part of what inspires them every day. Yet, a common
misperception about the workforce is that nonprofit or public sector worker feel more purposeful,
selfless, and connected to their jobs than those in the private sector. However, that is not exclusively
the case. In fact, on average, 71.6% of nonprofit sector workers are in consonance compared to 73.7%
in the public sector and 74.4% in the private sector. In other words, it's fairly even.

So, why is this? It stems for confusion around the idea of purpose, that the only jobs with purpose are
jobs that include service, and service can only be respected if it involves sacrifice. However, people find
purpose in different ways. For some it's curing cancer. For others it's getting out of debt so that their
children can make different choices. And, for yet others, it's buying a Maserati and a beach house.

While 95.5% of nonprofit workers, 94.7% of government workers, and 94.9% of private sector workers
say that it is important that their work gives their life purpose, that definition of purpose is individual.

I enjoy my work more when I can influence how its assigned. 87.1% 87.1% PRIVATE SECTOR 84.7%
I have input to which teams/projects are assigned to me. 51.4% 50.5% 45.3%
GOVERNMENT
NONPROFITS

The most important thing is that my job affords my lifestyle. 28.3% 37.0% 38.8%
My job provides me with the lifestyle I want. 49.2% 50.5% 51.2%
I do my best work when I understand the bigger picture. 92.1% 84.5% 91.3%
I have sightlines into the bigger picture or strategic plan. 59.8% 49.8% 49.2%
Important Question!

Workers from every sector want purpose, but purpose isn't defined writ large, with
only the words higher or lofty in front of it. It is defined individually.

Ask your workers what gives them purpose, and determine if they are in jobs where
they can fulfill those goals that are specific to them.

16 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
THESE ISSUES HAVE EXISTED SINCE BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC.
It would be easy to point to the pandemic and say that it was the culprit behind the sudden
unhappiness, disengagement, and dissatisfaction at work. But not only were these issues all present
pre-pandemic, it appears that the pandemic did not do much to shift these numbers in any sort of
meaningful way. The pandemic merely sharpened the lens through which we all viewed our careers.

Pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, the top rated determinant of whether an employee was happy at
work was whether their work inspired them to get up every morning.

When faced with the

question, "When life goes
back to normal, is the
normal I'm going back to
really the life I want?"
The answer was a
resounding "No."

Calling increased only 2.59%. Connection decreased by 5.37%, likely caused by remote workers feeling
less part of the team. Contribution rose by 2.19%, though it is notable that it was not the primary
driver of worker satisfaction pre-pandemic and even with the rise still remains least interesting in a list
of more pressing considerations.

The only notable increase was control, at 18.81%, likely caused by companies removing excess and
unnecessary projects while focused on survival, and workers having more agency over how and when
they got their work done.

Key Insight!

Workers responded favorably -- after some adjustment period -- to the

clarity that was created by crisis. Busywork fell away, mission-critical
work took central stage, and leaders were forced to show their authentic
side (or maybe just their bookcases, dirty laundry, toddling "co-workers,"
and prying pets).

More than anything, this is an argument for continued remote and/or

hybrid offices with an increased attention towards building cultures that
support employee authenticity and engagement whether in-person or not.

17 | KEY FINDINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY TO
IMPROVE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Retain While You Recruit

Position descriptions are not just read by job candidates, but often secretly scanned by current
colleagues as well. A good job description will excite new candidates to apply, especially some
that might not have after reading only a few trite paragraphs of boilerplate information. But a
great job description will retell the story of “why” your organization exists and how it dovetails
with the callings of your current team members, rekindle the joy and excitement that brought
current staff to your organization in the first place, and connecting them to how their day-to-day
work fits into the bigger picture.

Additionally, the writing of the position description can be used to bring your team together to
discuss central themes and challenges facing the new hire. Meeting with them early will also
increase the likelihood that they feel some control and investment in the process and the success
of your newest staff member, as well as their own retention. You will benefit by asking questions
of key staff and stakeholders who will surround the new hire, which will inform the position
description, and in turn, enrich the conversations, the interviews, and evaluation process both
presently and in months and years to come through a new, shared, and re-invigorated language
and goal posts.

In other words, a great position description will not only make the hiring process smoother, it will
sell the organization externally and internally, serve as a mini-strategic planning session, provide
performance evaluation clear to the hire and the supervisor, and build interpersonal
relationships that have been strained by pandemic-driven distance.

Change Your Message

If your all-hands meetings are not lighting a spark in your team members, it's time to stop and
ask if you are speaking their language. Most leaders regale their staff with exciting tales of the
future -- big ideas, bombastic predictions, larger-than-life goals -- while the sad truth is that the
only one who deeply cares about this is the leader. While pie-in-the-sky dreams feel great to
those in charge, everyone else is befuddled, wondering, "Well, where do I fit in to this scenario?
Do I still have a job? How will this affect my hours, my earnings, my happiness?"

Most leaders never draw a line from the big goals to how the individual team players will help to
(and be rewarded for) making this happen, leaving those workers polishing up their resumes in
anxiety-fueled confusion.

Rather than giving the speech you want to hear, think about instead giving the speech they need
to hear, highlighting the importance of their roles, how the work will be measured, and where
you will need their input to get there better and faster, together.

18 | ACTION STEPS
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 ...CONTINUED ACTION STEPS.
Check In More Often

The distance between project completion and year-end review is often so long that it renders
feedback foggy, generic, and useless. Workers leave feeling less appreciated and more confused,
with precious little specifics in terms of areas to improve. What's worse: in the absence of
feedback, whether filled with praise or criticism, workers feel less connected to their leaders,
driving even good leaders to lose star players who feel they have no relationship with them.

Rather than wait for the end of year review, check in with your team more often, leaning in to the
fact that they are closer to the project and can help you understand how to lead them through it
better. Listen more, ask them what they need, facilitate an environment where they can be the
best versions of themselves at work, and that team will flourish and build up everyone around
them as well.

Open the Curtain

So many of the indicators of dissatisfaction come from workers not feeling valued, but the
correlation to these emotions isn't through their bank accounts but through their hearts and
minds. Workers are confused about how their work matters, why their work is important, and
what their work means to the overall bigger picture. Share more, and share more often about
these things, even if you feel like you're doing it too much.

Redefine Success

Getting your staff to be engaged (or re-engaged) in their work is not as simple as throwing more
money at them. In fact, even when that does work, it proves to be a short-term solution, leading
to a toxic culture that incentivizes the worst behaviors amongst your team. There is a better, and
cheaper, fix.

Each of your team members defines success differently from each other and, quite possibly,
differently from you. Spend time understand what drives them by asking them what brought
them to this work, this cause, this team, this organization. Be open to the fact that their answers
might surprise, confuse, or even inspire you.

Assess Your Team

Take the Limitless Assessment and discuss the results.

The best way to understand how your team defines success and to help them attain more of it, is
to take a deep dive into the topics discussed in this report. By taking the Limitless Assessment,
you can learn where your team is lacking, and where you can fill in the gaps, adjust your
leadership style, or craft the correct solutions.

19 | ACTION STEPS
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 METHODOLOGY
Data from 5,606 respondents was collected from January 2019 through October 2021. Respondents
learned about the assessment after hearing Laura Gassner Otting speak on stage, on screen, on
television, radio, or podcast, and therefore had at least a basic understanding of the concepts surveyed
by the questions.

Fourteen questions were asked about each segment of consonance (calling, connection, contribution,
and control), divided into “Quotient” (how much the respondent currently has) and “Compulsion” (how
much the respondent wants). Answers were provided on a Liekert Scale of Strongly Agree, Agree,
Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

Trust Insights was engaged to assist in the extraction, transformation, and processing of data from the
Limitless Assessment. The survey sample comprised 5,606 responses from 74 nations with a
concentration in the United States of America. Survey responses were not weighted or ranked and are
thus not representative of the population as a whole.

Results indicating gender excluded those individuals who chose not to answer, 2.19% of respondents,
and those individuals who chose a category other than identifying as male or female, 0.33% of
respondents.

All data were loaded and cleaned in the R statistical programming language and visualized in Tableau
Software and Excel.

1 | M E T2H 0 O| DMOELTOHGOYD O L O G Y
R E C R URI TEICNRGU A
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NGG RTEHAET GRREESAI T
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LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 QUESTIONS TO MEASURE CALLING
QUOTIENT AND COMPULSION

I need my work to involve something bigger than just me.

The work that I do is aimed at bringing about the change I want to see.

I do work that makes me proud.

I want my work to be part of what inspires me to get up every morning.

I need to feel like my work is in support of a broader goal that I have in life.

The work I do (paid or unpaid) allows me to spend time serving something that is meaningful.

I serve under a leader who inspires me to be my best.

I would happily work hard and keep longer hours if what I did mattered more.

It matters to me that the organization where I work is looked upon favorably by others.

The work that I do feels important to me.

I want to be excited to go to work everyday because it represents who I am.

I am the best version of myself when I am at work.

The mission or the cause of the company I serve is aligned with my own personal mission in life.

It is important to me for my work to give my life purpose.

QUESTIONS TO MEASURE CONNECTION

QUOTIENT AND COMPULSION

If I called in sick tomorrow, people would notice and care.

The majority of the work I do each day relates to my goal in some way.

I need my work to matter to the organization, the cause, the community.

I do better work when I see how the quality of my work matters to the bigger picture.

I like to be involved in conversations about strategic direction.

I know specifically what I need to do each day to move my goals forward.

I do my best work when I feel like an important, contributing member of the team.

I am incentivized by feeling relevant more than by feeling powerful.

I understand how my relationship with leadership factors into my interest/ability to achieve my goals.

I have sightlines into the bigger picture or strategic plan of the organization where I work

I feel most confident when I can draw a line from the decisions I am making today with my goals for tomorrow.

I want to make an impact on someone or something every single day.

I understand how the quality of my work impacts those around me.

I see a relationship between my weekly, monthly, or quarterly results and the annual goals of my employer.

21 | METHODOLOGY
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
 QUESTIONS TO MEASURE CONTRIBUTION
QUOTIENT AND COMPULSION

My job provides me with the lifestyle I want.

I am proud to talk to friends about the work I do, the organization where I work, and the leader I serve.

The most important thing about a job is that it pays me enough to live the lifestyle I want.

My work gives deeper meaning to my spiritual needs and/or community values.

It is vital to me that I feel appreciated in my work.

I need my job to allow for the flexibility to pursue my interests inside and outside of work.

The values of my work life align with the values of my home life.

I only want to do work that helps me get ahead in the future.

I get bored when I'm not learning new things.

My work increases my education, learning skills, and network that will open up additional opportunities.

I am surrounded by people I admire and want to emulate.

I enjoy telling my friends and family about the work I do, the company which employs me, or the leaders who manages me.

I need to work somewhere where the company and my colleagues share interests and values with me.

My job provides me flexibility to pursue my interests (whether inside or outside of work).

QUESTIONS TO MEASURE CONTROL

QUOTIENT AND COMPULSION

I have the ability to influence my work environment.

I have input as to which teams and projects are assigned to me.

I am empowered to seek feedback and mentoring from a variety of sources.

I enjoy my work more when I have some over how it is assigned.

I have outside demands that make it important for me to be able to influence the hours I work.

I feel more comfortable when I know what is happening next, whether that means big picture or task-at hand.

I am able to influence the amount of money I earn or the number of hours I work.

I do better work when I hand-pick my colleagues on any particular project.

I am willing to put in the hard work to get to a place where I am trusted with influence and power.

My opinion matters to those who make decisions that affect me.

I don't like surprises.

I have influence over the metrics by which my work is judged.

Influence means more to me than power.

I am able to affect change in my company, cause, community that allows me to do more aligned work.

22 | METHODOLOGY
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
ABOUT ASSESSMENT RESPONDENTS

23 | METHODOLOGY
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
EDUCATION/WORK DATA
ABOUT ASSESSMENT RESPONDENTS

24 | METHODOLOGY
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
LAURA GASSNER OTTING
Washington Post Best Selling Author and Keynote Speaker, Laura Gassner Otting, inspires people to
push past the doubt and indecision that keep great ideas in limbo because her presentations make
listeners think bigger and accept greater challenges that reach beyond their limited scope of belief.

She delivers strategic thinking, well-honed wisdom, and perspective generated by decades of
navigating change across the start-up, nonprofit, political, as well as philanthropic landscapes. Laura
dares listeners to find their voice, and generate the confidence needed to tackle larger-than-life
challenges. She leads them to seek new ways of leading, managing and mentoring others.

Laura’s entrepreneurial edge has been well-honed over a 25-year career that started as a Presidential
Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, where she helped shape AmeriCorps. She left a leadership role
at the respected nonprofit search firm, Isaacson, Miller, to expand the startup ExecSearches.com.
Laura also founded and ran the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, which partnered with the full
gamut of mission-driven nonprofit executives, from start-up dreamers to scaling social entrepreneurs
to global philanthropists. In 2015, Laura sold NPAG to the team that helped her build it, both because
she was hungry for the next chapter and because she held an audacious dream of electing our nation’s
first female president.

Along the way, while serving on Hillary Clinton’s National Finance Committee, she was asked to do a
TEDx talk which became so popular that it launched a speaking career. Laura has spoken across the
United States and internationally to universities, companies, conferences, accelerators, TEDx, and the
US Military.

She is the author of Mission-Driven: Moving from Profit to Purpose

(2015) and the Washington Post Best Seller Limitless: How to
Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life
(2019). She lives with her husband, two teenage sons, and
troublesome puppy outside of Boston, MA.

To reach Laura:
LGO@LimitlessPossibility.com
617-340-9721
facebook.com/heyLGO

For media inquiries:

instagram.com/heyLGO
Joelle.Speranza@SmithPublicity.com

For speaking inquiries:

twitter.com/heyLGO
Megon@LimitlessPossibility.com

linkedin.com/heyLGO

YouTube.com/heyLGO

25 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021
MEDIA INQUIRIES
We would welcome you to cover these findings on your media platform, and provide for you
the following resources to make your job easier.

HEADSHOTS BOOKS
Find your choice of serious, silly, Laura's books, including the
casual, and formal headshots here. Washington Post bestseller
Feel free to choose the one that is Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody,
right for your audience. Carve Your Own Path, and Live
Your Best Life can be found on
her website at
heyLGO.com/books.

NEED MORE?
If you need more,
including a formal bio, details about this reports,
or some a's to your q's,
just give us a shout!

LGO@LimitlessPossibility.com

26 | CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE GREAT RESIGNATION AND BEYOND
LAURA GASSNER OTTING, 2021