EXPRESS
COACHING MOMENT
‘Re-member’
Your Team
For those of us who lead teams, one of our most urgent
and important priorities is to attract,
cultivate and keep world class
talent. Having a team filled with exceptional performers doesn’t just give you bragging
rights; it’s one of the few remaining ways to distinguish yourself and your
work from the competition. It’s one of your best competitive edges! And it
doesn’t just happen on its own either.
That means that we must intentionally set aside time from
our often insanely busy schedules to aim ourselves at this work. And when we’re
really tight on time, which is almost always, we tend to focus far more on the
first two elements of the talent equation – recruiting the best (attract) and
growing and building our bench strength (cultivate). It’s hard for me to argue
with this approach; we can’t live without them.
But let’s not forget that third element – retention.
Keeping top performers once they’ve joined us. What are we doing to ‘re-member’
our longer tenured stars & superstars? To once again, emphasize how proud
and appreciative we are to have on our team? To sing their praises? To give
them our undivided attention? To re-ignite their passion and enthusiasm? To
refresh their energy?
It’s time to stop taking our strongest & longest
performers for granted. One best practice to consider is conducting ‘stay’
interviews. Of course, we make time for interviewing recruits. And we find time
for exit interviews, often asking what we could have done differently to keep
the person. Stay interviews give us an opportunity to answer that powerful
question before it’s too late to make a difference.
Leadership
Dare – Pick two tenured top performers and schedule an hour with
each. Tell them what you’re up to and ask them to think about ways that you can
help them to be happier and more fulfilled. Thank them for their leadership and
tell them what their contribution means to you and the team.
Don’t think you have the time? Think of this as an
investment….a trade-off. There just might be one less exit interview in your
future!!
