Time to AMP up

I have been discussing the demographic cliff with higher ed leaders across the country a lot lately. While this email is prompted by that, business and health industry leaders will benefit from the following as well (see the headings below). You see, higher ed is likely to get smaller in the coming years. Nathan Grawe sums it this way:

In three years, the number of college-bound students is projected to decrease by 15% over the next decade due to a sharp decline in the number of births following the Great Recession. This decline, known as the “birth dearth,” was so blunt and significant that it will lead the nation over the edge of a demographic cliff (or enrollment cliff for higher ed) after 2025. Between 2025 and 2029, the number of college-bound students will decline by over 400,000 fewer students in a span of four years, an average loss of 100,000 students per year.

Now that is indigenous to higher education, but what follows is not.

The size of any organization is not based on need.

Ever wonder why our organizations are the size they are? They are not the size we need. They are not even the size we want. Instead, our organizations are the size we can afford. More precisely, our organizations are the size we think we can afford. Though less than wise, this makes perfectly good sense because it is the easiest thing in the world to spend all the money we have. It requires no discipline, no vision, and no foresight. Our businesses and our institutions are the size we think we can afford and when we find we cannot afford them, we trim the size to that which we can afford. You've just witnessed this in the news at Facebook and several other businesses instituting big workforce reductions. Over the past several years, many higher education institutions have realized that they cannot afford the size of their organization.

I believe that oftentimes, our greatest opportunities come brilliantly disguised as problems. Let us look at opportunities challenges such as this provide.  When organizations are built to the size they can afford, we increase not only cost, but complexity and challenges to communication.  3 people in an organization have 3 points of connection. Very manageable. But 7 people have 21 connections and 11-member teams have 55 connections! Talk about complexity. Each connection is one more point to manage, one more link in which the team can fray, one more layer of complexity.  Could we benefit from smaller organizations? My answer: Most often, YES.

Revenue should never drive purpose, vision, and mission.

It is time to rethink why our organizations are the size they are. When we are not clear on our vision and purpose, it is easy to get off-track and use our revenue to make decisions. It becomes easy to confuse our needs with our wants. Our purpose, vision, and mission should drive our revenue. Revenue should never drive purpose, vision, and mission.

Now is the time to AMP up

So in the face of layoffs in business and the looming demographic cliff in higher ed, now is the time to AMP up. In the face of declining morale and employee engagement and facing tough headwinds, purpose and vision are more important than ever. We know that today’s workforce craves Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.  Both engagement and morale are high—even in difficult times—if employees are given these three things.

Autonomy

We all need to feel some sense of control. In these difficult times, wise leaders examine how they can cede control to those below them in the organization. Many employees feel helpless in times of change and that helplessness breeds hopelessness. Instead, let's find ways to give our employees a sense of agency and autonomy wherever we can.

Mastery

We know that we are most fulfilled at work when we are utilizing our strengths. People yearn to master their craft. How can we show employees a greater commitment to their strengths and the utilization of their strengths? Even in the most difficult challenges, the sense of mastery can serve as a buoy for our teams.

Purpose

Nietzsche told us that he who knows his why can survive any what or how. How well does your team know the why? Now is the time to make our purpose explicitly clear. It will be our guide star through the darkest of times.

Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose. AMP. Now is the time to AMP up. Ralph Waldo Emerson told us that,  “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared with of lies within us.”  Now is the time to build what lies within us—to build a strong core in order to withstand the coming headwinds.

In the face of financial uncertainty, demographic cliffs, and the daily challenges, it is easy for our people to become demoralized. It is time to AMP up. Even if you are not facing these difficulties, now is the time to ask, “How many ways can I provide Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose to those in my organization?”

We are more powerful than we will ever know.

Your response, thoughts, and questions are always welcome.

Keep the faith,