BY JOSH CORMAN and evolved over the years , Dr . Bryan K . Williams has been an ever-present voice , inspiring ISPA members every time he speaks , whether sharing insights from his decades of industry experience or helping audiences reach their goals and potential as leaders . During the pandemic , he has continued that connection with ISPA , holding virtual sessions on leadership and organizational diversity while also keeping spirits up through a series of short motivational videos . Now , on the verge of returning to the ISPA Conference to present a special Knowledge Builder Session on leading teams in an age of burnout , Williams says that he is “ humbled and excited ” to reunite with the ISPA community in May .

Ahead of his appearance , Pulse spoke with Williams about the state of the workforce , the subtle ( and not-so-subtle ) ways in which the pandemic has affected the team-leader relationship and why the Great Resignation is less surprising than we may think .

Pulse : In your view , what has changed the most about the expectations that team members have for their leaders , compared to the time before the pandemic ? BRYAN WILLIAMS : What the pandemic has done is amplify employee expectations about feeling engaged at work . Now , this was always the case , but I think if we look back generationally at Generation X and before , it was kind of common to come to work , do your job and go home . That ’ s what you were “ supposed to do .” And whether you felt engaged at work or not , you may have worked eight or 10 or 12 hours a day for 20 or 30 or 40 years and not enjoyed your work . You could still do it , because that ’ s what was expected . But millennials and Generation Z — and this is before the pandemic — saw their parents unhappy at work under the grind of the nine-to-five , and these entire generations of people said ,“ I ’ m not going to let that be me . I expect to come to work and be in a place where I am appreciated .” And you would hear leaders lament how difficult this younger generation is . It ’ s not that it ’ s difficult — it ’ s just that they are motivated by different things .

So , it ’ s not enough anymore to say ,“ Do this because I say so ,” right ? You have to involve people . And then the pandemic happens , and all of these people were forced to all sit down at the same time and reflect and tell themselves the honest truth . [ They asked ] “ Is this really what I want to do ?” A lot of them said ,“ No .” So , for those organizations that are able to retain or attract quality talent , it ’ s because they understand that the job is no longer the reward . The reward is people feeling like they ’ re making a contribution and they feel engaged .

22 PULSE • APRIL 2022