Have you ever noticed leaders spend a lot of time talking about talent,
only to make the same mistakes over and over again? Few things in
business are as costly and disruptive as unexpected talent departures.
With all the emphasis on leadership development, I always find it
interesting so many companies seem to struggle with being able to retain
their top talent. In today’s column, I’ll share some research,
observations, and insights on how to stop the talent door from
revolving.
Ask any CEO if they have a process for retaining and developing talent
and they’ll quickly answer in the affirmative. They immediately launch
into a series of soundbites about the quality of their talent
initiatives, the number of high-potentials in the nine box, blah, blah,
blah. As with most things in the corporate world, there is too much
process built upon theory and not nearly enough practice built on
experience.
When examining the talent at any organization look at
the culture, not the rhetoric – look at the results, not the commentary
about potential. Despite some of the delusional perspective in the
corner office, when we interview their employees, here’s what they tell
us:
More than 30% believe they’ll be working someplace else inside of 12 months.
More than 40% don’t respect the person they report to.
More than 50% say they have different values than their employer.
More than 60% don’t feel their career goals are aligned with the plans their employers have for them.
More than 70% don’t feel appreciated or valued by their employer.
So, for all those employers who have everything under control, you
better start re-evaluating. There is an old saying that goes; “Employees
don’t quit working for companies, they quit working for their bosses.”
Regardless of tenure, position, title, etc., employees who voluntarily
leave, generally do so out of some type of perceived disconnect with
leadership.
Here’s the thing – employees who are challenged, engaged, valued, and
rewarded (emotionally, intellectually & financially) rarely leave,
and more importantly, they perform at very high levels. However if you
miss any of these critical areas, it’s only a matter of time until they
head for the elevator. Following are 10 reasons your talent will leave
you – smart leaders don’t make these mistakes:
1. You Failed To Unleash Their Passions: Smart companies align employee
passions with corporate pursuits. Human nature makes it very difficult
to walk away from areas of passion. Fail to understand this and you’ll
unknowingly be encouraging employees to seek their passions elsewhere.
2. You Failed To Challenge Their Intellect: Smart people don’t like to
live in a dimly lit world of boredom. If you don’t challenge people’s
minds, they’ll leave you for someone/someplace that will.
3. You Failed To Engage Their Creativity: Great talent is wired to
improve, enhance, and add value. They are built to change and innovate.
They NEED to contribute by putting their fingerprints on design. Smart
leaders don’t place people in boxes – they free them from boxes. What’s
the use in having a racehorse if you don’t let them run?
4. You Failed To Develop Their Skills: Leadership isn’t a destination –
it’s a continuum. No matter how smart or talented a person is, there’s
always room for growth, development, and continued maturation. If you
place restrictions on a person’s ability to grow, they’ll leave you for
someone who won’t.
5. You Failed To Give Them A Voice: Talented people have good thoughts,
ideas, insights, and observations. If you don’t listen to them, I can
guarantee you someone else will.
6. You Failed To Care: Sure, people come to work for a paycheck, but
that’s not the only reason. In fact, many studies show it’s not even the
most important reason. If you fail to care about people at a human
level, at an emotional level, they’ll eventually leave you regardless of
how much you pay them.
7. You Failed to Lead: Businesses don’t fail, products don’t fail,
projects don’t fail, and teams don’t fail – leaders fail. The best
testament to the value of leadership is what happens in its absence –
very little. If you fail to lead, your talent will seek leadership
elsewhere.
8. You Failed To Recognize Their Contributions: The best leaders don’t
take credit – they give it. Failing to recognize the contributions of
others is not only arrogant and disingenuous, but it’s as also just as
good as asking them to leave.
9. You Failed To Increase Their Responsibility: You cannot confine
talent – try to do so and you’ll either devolve into mediocrity, or
force your talent seek more fertile ground. People will gladly accept a
huge workload as long as an increase in responsibility comes along with
the performance and execution of said workload.
10. You Failed To Keep Your Commitments: Promises made are worthless,
but promises kept are invaluable. If you break trust with those you lead
you will pay a very steep price. Leaders not accountable to their
people, will eventually be held accountable by their people.
If leaders spent less time trying to retain people, and more time trying
to understand them, care for them, invest in them, and lead them well,
the retention thing would take care of itself. Thoughts?
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/12/13/10-reasons-your-top-talent-will-leave-you/
