2023 STATE OF LEADERSHIP SURVEY

PRESENTED BY BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DAILY

2022 was a year of many challenges, and 2023 promises to provide many more. Some expected, and others still unknown. However, at leaders, it's necessary to plan for disruptions, change, and unexpected challenges. We gathered the input of 113 of leaders of businesses of different sizes, industries, and asked for insight into what challenges they faced, what they expect for 2023, and how they overcame some of the biggest challenges they faced in 2022. 

Whether you're looking for insight from your peers on how to lead your business into 2023, or seeking information on how to better serve your customers and clients, you won't want to miss what this group of business leaders had to say. 

 Team Management Challenges

Our question:

Each employee comes with their own unique challenges. Combine them together, and you’ll find that different teams have their own quirks and difficulties to overcome. For the employees and teams that you oversee, what do you see as their biggest challenges? (Select 2)

Poor Communication: 36.28%
Understaffed: 29.20%
Not Enough Training & Technical Knowledge: 24.78%
Poor Time Management: 21.24%
Lack of Trust Among Team Members: 21.24%
Disengaged: 15.04%
Difficult Personalities: 14.16%
Not Enough Teamwork: 11.50%
Other: 10.62%
Not Enough Interest in Work: 9.73%
Competition to Outperform One Another: 6.19%

Insight from the comments

A common struggle many teams face, unsurprisingly, is poor communication.

There are some managers and employees that don't emphasize the importance of communication within our group and also manage their time poorly. It may be a result of being overburdened with work, however, in most cases, it is not.
New management without history. Only one employee remaining who has been part of the team for more than 6 Mos, inexperience, limited training. Hence, poor to no communication & limited trust.
Despite all the available communication tools members are mostly unclear about the priorities perhaps due to ineffective communication.
I think with the hybrid environment, communication has become really critical and it's very difficult to balance the different communication channels that have been created.

Many leaders have found it difficult to keep employees engaged in their positions.

Employees don't have the passion for excellence and thirst for job knowledge that I would like.
Since COVID, many staff have disengaged from work. They are providing what is basically required and not going the extra mile. Sick calls have increased, and staff is reluctant to help those in need.
There seems to be an increasing amount of disenchantment with deadlines and timeliness. Finding a motivator to ensure compliance is difficult without making it a penalty.

In many organizations, there's too much work to get done, in too little time with too few staff.

I think we face more overachievement than anything. It's difficult to schedule important improvement process items because we are so busy and working so hard for one another. We have a hard time recruiting the people we need to hire fast enough for our needs.
This store is very disengaged, which breeds resentment among associates. Trying to get everyone on the same page and excited to work is difficult when everyone feels like they are the "only" ones working. It's a unique challenge.
Staffing has been an issue since COVID, keeping good people once they are hired is the other challenge and keeping them motivated to stay in their current roles.
Our team has a very large workload and several very high-visibility projects. With all of the work we are doing, we've already added resources to the team, but all of us are still overworked and beginning to burn out with the projects we have. 

Every team needs knowledgeable employees, but increasing and maintaining institutional knowledge can be easier said than done.  

Due to turnover, my staff is inexperienced in our field. All are very knowledgeable and skilled, so they will do well in the end, but currently, this is causing a drag in the workflow.
Not enough training and technical knowledge. Formal education at times is not sufficient for employee needs to handle the work they are expected to do. At times induction and continuous on-the-job training are required to build their capacity.
New hires coming in are not given professional training (thru the HRIS system) or even enough training when asked to "jump in" and work. I think this creates not only issues with catching up but even bad feelings that a new person is immediately going to fail. I think all companies do more with less headcount, but unfortunately, companies don't want to pay for the knowledge new employees bring in, and overworking them becomes a norm. This is where the "quiet quitting" comes in.

In some cases, employees are doing their best, but they don't have enough institutional support from leadership to succeed.

There is no established corporate culture from the top down. Leadership does not invest enough time, money, and energy in listening to their departments and current staff. Divisional/departmental policies and standards for treating individuals, staff, and managers are inconsistent.
Senior staff holding the same roles have extremely different personalities. Hard to align on projects.
Not enough interest is seen among employees as they are not appropriately utilized in terms of new projects/challenges and have not been appreciated for their current contributions. They feel neglected and ignored which leads to less interest/productivity and no creativity. In this space of corporate life, there isn't much trust among employees and between teams. This is creating much drift and there is less knowledge sharing and helping for others leading to suspicions with fewer collaborations.
While it seems the team members trust each other, it feels as if the team leadership questions our conclusions and judgments by asking questions that feel very much like micromanagement.

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Download your 
FREE copy of our 2023 State of Leadership Survey!

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 Biggest Challenges

Our question:

Whether you oversee just a few employees, or whole departments, managing employees is never a simple task. What are the biggest challenges you face when it comes to managing employees? (Select 2)

Retaining Good Employees: 38.05%
Employee Training and Development: 26.55%
Improving Teamwork: 24.78%
Managing Conflict: 16.81%
Coaching and Mentoring: 15.93%
Setting Goals for Employees: 15.04%
Communicating Effectively: 15.04%
Delegating Tasks: 12.93%
Reviewing Employee Performance: 7.96%
Working with Diverse Employees and Cultures:  7.96%
Disciplining employees: 7.08%
Managing Remote Employees: 6.19%
Other: 6.19%

Insight from the comments

Holding employees accountable, especially in a competitive job market, can make discipline challenging.

Holding people accountable in an environment where they could walk out (physically or virtually) and get another job is tough.
I think this is in part the hybrid workforce, but the engagement level and the desire are just not there. It is not training or resources, but trying to find that one thing that is a motivator.

With a competitive market and expensive benefits, it makes it difficult to retain good employees. 

Retaining good employees in this environment has been very challenging. Everyone is hiring and promising greener pastures. Employee performance is very time consuming and usually has little value to the actual employee.
Good employees are enticed/poached by the likes of meta/Facebook who are offering more competitive benefits (in terms of stocks), so retention is my biggest challenge; conflict amongst top engineers is also a challenge.

Communication and teamwork always seem to be recurring issues, 2022 was no different.

Teamwork — our teams are new to each other so when turnover occurs, building relationships and training is difficult and time consuming.
Not enough time to coach effectively. Budget constraints have sent seasoned workers elsewhere.
Too many meetings and high work volumes led to challenges in mentoring and developing employees. These issues have lead to significant turnover in experienced staff which also impacts the ability to properly develop and mentor.

A lack of training, resources, and upward mobility leaves many leaders without proper motivation to inspire teams.

There are NO performance base rewards, nor opportunities for advancement or involvement and application to apply for department or assignment that staff may be interested in. This contributes to very low morale and distrust of upline executives because it is blatantly obvious they have favorites and disallows promotions and expanded scope of interests expressed by their direct reports.
Tight deadlines leave no time for training. Senior leadership wants staff to learn on their own time.
Training is time-consuming when projects need to be on schedule. When employees are in the office, they overhear conversations from senior leaders that impact their learning, when remote they miss out on that opportunity.

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 Getting Your Work Done

Our question:

Leaders and managers aren’t just expected to oversee employees. In most cases, they also have their own jobs and work tasks to complete. Balancing those things can be a challenge. What challenges do you face personally when trying to get your work done? (Select 2)

Managing my Time: 42.48%
Getting Buy-in on Projects and Initiatives: 29.20%
Staying up to date on Industry Topics: 28.32%
Navigating Organizational Hierarchies: 27.43%
Improving my Management Skills: 20.35%
Inspiring Employees Under me: 15.93%
Networking Internally: 14.16%
Staying up to date on Employment and Labor Laws: 13.27%
Other: 5.31%
Getting Employees to like me: 3.54%

Insight from the comments

Between work responsibilities, managing employees, and other competing priorities, time management can be a real difficulty.

I sometimes struggle with time management, especially during busy seasons at my job.
Time gets away from me due to various other fires that need to be put out + there is only so much time in the day to keep up with ongoing changes, updates, and improvements.
Managing project timelines is difficult due to the fact that most other interconnected/interdependent divisions and departments that are stakeholders don’t have the bandwidth to support the projects, initiatives, and tasks necessary. They are pulled in and out of differing priorities without proper time and priority management from leaders, making access to resources and expertise unpredictable.
Having enough hours in a day to accomplish the many layers of work that need to get accomplished. A better HRIS would help me.
I think that with COVID, meeting times have gone completely overboard with many meetings not having clear agendas/takeaways which causes massive time waste/suck and leaves little for personal/professional development as well as for employee development/etc beyond simple firefighting/task management.
Many companies say "take time off to rest" but when everyone you work with is online and working to 8-9p at night, how can you take time to rest when no one else will do it?

It can be difficult to keep up with all the knowledge necessary to be successful in leadership positions.

I struggle to find good and free resources to help me improve my management skills.
Anything in the HR world — understanding cafeteria plans, HSAs, and HR applicable knowledge for strengthening skills.
Regular information on employment and labor laws is so important. It's crucial to advise upper management of changes, as well as have knowledge of laws when issues arise.

Not all leaders find that leading people comes naturally. 

Balancing being liked versus demanding adherence to standards is a constant personal challenge. Along those lines, if subordinates resent their leader, they cannot inspire them.
Getting employees to be independent thinkers who can problem-solve.
Sometimes it is hard to get management to see the need for needed software upgrades.
Management is a skill that requires continuous learning & self-improvement. Finding the time and space to continuously improve both in terms of industry knowledge and leadership skills is a challenge.
I have so many responsibilities that I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to developing team members the way I'd like to.

For employees working remotely, it can be difficult to build connections with coworkers. 

I've only been with the company for 2 years and have worked remote the entire time with only a 1-week trip to the company headquarters. Getting to know people in the company has been difficult and limited only to the ones I absolutely need to deal with. In addition, with the amount of work we have and the limited team size, having spare time to catch up on, or learn, anything new about the industry or about my job in general is extremely difficult.

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 Facing Major Obstacles

Our question:

In an ideal world, things would go according to your carefully crafted plans. However, as we know, that’s rarely the case. What issues are holding you back from being as successful as you’d like? (Select 2)

Not Enough Tools and Resources to Support Efforts: 46.90%
Managing my Time: 28.32%
Lack of Internal Support: 27.43%
Unrealistic Goals and Expectations: 25.66%
Lack of Funding for Initiatives: 23.89%
Lack of Organizational Structure: 17.70%
Not Enough Training on Technical Skills: 12.39%
Other: 10.62%
Lack of Management Skills: 5.31%
My Team Doesn't Respect me: 1.77%

Insight from the comments

For many HR workers, time and money are major limitations in staying up to date on current issues, regulations, and policy best practices.

Not enough access to all the tools available to make sure we're compliant and up-to-date; I spend a lot of time researching for the most recent data I'm in need of. I learn better via printed materials, but can't afford to buy $500-$600 reference books and $2500/yr trainings offered by some organizations.
Most recently, the time required to research and do continuing education to stay on top of changes when in a heavy recruiting environment and change management scenario.
I could choose any of the above, because the root cause of our challenges is a lack of time and resources. If I was to say what tends to be the most challenging for me, it's the tasks that involve applying employment law & regulations (almost everything, I know!) when the complexity or uniqueness requires research. Compliance is also challenging and time-consuming.

In some cases, HR initiatives are held up by slow leadership who don’t react in a timely manner. 

Management is much too slow to approve policy recommendations, and financial constraints have really impacted payroll processing.
The root of the issue is the lack of leadership completing tasks in a timely manner and the turnaround time for the Board of Directors to approve changes.

In some cases, balancing state rules and regulations can add an extra degree of challenge. 

With our states paid family leave, there are many more requests that "double up" on paid time off, and filling temporary paid leave for a large number of employees is difficult.

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 Expectations for 2023

Our question:

It’s hard to predict the future, but any business leader knows that it’s vital to keep your eyes on the road ahead. What do you see as your biggest upcoming challenges in 2023? (Select 2)

Employee Engagement & Retention: 44.25%
Inflation & Rising Prices: 40.17%
Hiring & Labor: 30.09%
Implementing & Integrating Technology: 19.47%
Planning & Forecasting: 14.16%
Increasing Sales & Revenue: 10.62%
Business Resilience: 10.62%
Changing Laws & Regulatory Environments: 9.73%
Diversity, Inclusion, & Equity: 8.85%
Remote Work: 7.96%
Other: 3.54%

Insight from the comments

Remote employees can be more difficult to engage, however not supporting remote work options may cause its own issues. 

It is difficult to engage employees when they prefer to stay remote. We have tried all kinds of enticements to get them back in the office, but very few have succeeded.
With the change in work dynamics, as a result of the COVID pandemic, engagement and retention have been a challenge. Employees working remotely also struggle to spend more time in the office because they have gotten comfortable with working mostly remotely.
Our new CEO is not sold on remote or hybrid but the rest of the org is used to it.
Remote will always remain an issue as those individuals want that flexibility, but keeping them connected to an internal culture is a challenge.

Keeping good and talented employees is always a priority, but doing so isn't always easy to do. 

A big challenge is maintaining desirable characteristics in employees, including technical skills, work ethic, commitment, and "soft skills" while also keeping them in the organization in an increasingly competitive labor market.
My organization is located in an area that continues to have an affordability issue and salaries/benefits have not kept up. There has been increased cross-migration between employers in the area to attract good employees that already live here.

In a frequently changing environment, keeping up and adjusting swiftly is a necessity. 

Planning and forecasting with such volatile markets will require a much more agile mindset to plan at the enterprise level, which we aren't accustomed to.

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 HR Wins in 2022

Our question:

That’s enough about your challenges, let’s talk about your triumphs. What’s one challenge you overcame in 2022? How did you manage to do so?

Insight from the comments

Implementing changes can be difficult, but open and proactive communication can help.

Relaxing COVID 19 regulations provided a sense of normalcy to our employees with no negative results.
Reorganization of organizational structure. I am fairly comfortable with change but some are not. By keeping everyone in the loop so that rumors didn’t get started, people felt included, had their questions answered, and were overall comfortable with the changes that were made.
Getting clients back to our business since COVID shut everything down. Letting people know we continue to be strict on cleaning, encouraging using masks if concerned, and that we continue to be diligent regarding current guidelines.

Most leaders don't enjoy performance reviews, but when implemented correctly they can be a valuable tool. 

I was able to get more performance appraisals completed by our staff. An increase from 100 to 127 this time. This was achieved through my direct meetings with various staff from different divisions and levels of work. I conducted several meetings as well as workshops on how to set SMART objectives and assess performance based on these objectives. This makes it easy for various managers to conduct sound performance appraisals which has been reflected in the increased number of appraisals received this year.

Managing multiple tasks and priorities can be difficult, but the right tools can help keeps things organized. 

I started applying Agile/SCRUM methodologies and templates to manage better in a very fast and unfocused environment.
I started tracking productivity data with a great internal spreadsheet set up and trained all production employees updating it regularly.

Maintaining proper skills and knowledge for employees requires a focused effort. 

Increasing the technical skills of team members by guiding them with motivation and coaching was a triumph. The team was poorly equipped with the technical knowledge to do the work expected of them. This was a top priority as quality is of utmost importance when dealing with the life of patients.

Filling vacancies quickly is often a necessity, but not at the cost of hiring the right people. 

Getting senior management to understand that recruiting is more than just liking someone. I trained them on recruiting and explained the difference between just hiring versus hiring the right person
Increased training for staff and was able to recruit to fill vacancies. Started an initiative to bring students into the program to be mentored to fill future vacancies.
state-of-leadership-survey

Download your 
FREE copy of our 2023 State of Leadership Survey!

PRINT TO PDF

 Tips & Tricks for Success

Our question:

Share your expertise: What’s one resource, tip, or trick you use to make your job easier? How does it help?

Insight from the comments

Organization.

I try to keep a good 'to-do' list so that I don't miss things (as much) and am able to follow up on other items more easily.
I immediately do things or write things down the moment I think of them. Those promptings are important to follow. From complimenting a co-worker to completing an important follow-up task, etc.
Keep yourself organized. At the end of the day, put everything in one pile and the next morning reorganize in a matter of importance and/or time.
I keep a daily work journal of what I have done, who I have spoken to, and issues I have tackled. Simple short sentences, bulleted entries.

Skill growth.

Networking with people who have skills I don't.
Professional associations have been a lot of supportive help.

Increasing productivity.

Address challenges head-on and do not delay in taking action. Once done, move on to the next task.
Planning my day in advance. Setting goals and breaking down the steps to achieve them.
Taking breaks between tasks. It helps me reset my mind to tackle the next project.

Maintaining mental health.

Go for a walk outside during lunch to refresh and replenish one's internal resources.
Logging off when I get home — I get it that no one at my workplace does this, but not doing it is how I burned out at my last job.
I have a life coach that I have engaged to keep myself on track and to have a resource that is confidential. In HR, we don’t have access to others in the organization to support us with many issues.
As a leader, I maintain the perspective that taking care of one's employees so they keep a positive attitude while delivering service is furthering the organization's mission

Leadership.

Set aside two hours a week for training staff.
Have weekly virtual meetings with remote employees.
I like to empower my managers and ask for input on new products/software.
Having a learning mindset with the understanding that things will go wrong so it's more about learning/improving rather than being overly confident.
Show 'true empathy' as a manager/leader throughout the pandemic, which most of my management peers say they do but don't really.
Treat people right and when you need them they’ll always be there for you.
I have an open door policy and always listen to my help. I help on the floor if needed and family always comes first, I would never ask any employee to do something I would not do myself.

Tools and resources.

Creating reports using Excel & PowerPoint
Teams chat makes it easy to communicate with the entire group and allows my team to reach me any time they need to.
I have two that I use regularly. 1. Use rules in Outlook to manage my inbox and keep only the high-priority emails right in front of me. 2. Time-box a couple of times a day to read my emails and respond to them.

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