Is this your leadership development strategy?
A common story that I hear is when a valued employee resigns because they’ve accepted an offer with another organization – but they didn’t leave because they were unhappy. In fact they love their work. But they don’t see any opportunities for professional growth and development.
When the employee hands in their resignation, the current manager often says, “But we see you as someone with leadership potential! We had plans for you for the future.”
The employee is surprised. They had no idea that they were being thought of in this way. The current organization often goes into overdrive to come up with some way to retain the employee.
When I hear these stories, I wonder, where was the communication breakdown?
The answer is: On both sides.
As an employee, it can be intimidating to proactively say aloud, “Hey, I’d like to know how I can get on a track for becoming a leader.”
Your brain wants to try and keep you safe, and to not feel vulnerable or face rejection. Thoughts swirl through the mind that cause employees to keep their mouth shut, toiling away, and silently hoping to get noticed. Thoughts like: “Who am I to want that?” or “What if they don’t think I’m good enough?” or “Wouldn’t they have already told me if they thought I was capable?”
When they don’t get noticed, they begin to look outside the organization.
Conversely, managers don’t prioritize conversations about career goals, potential next steps, and give concrete feedback on how to get to the next level. It’s not that they don’t want to have these conversations, but things get in the way:
They feel overwhelmed putting out fires and don’t get around to it.
They don’t know where to begin because they themselves aren’t quite sure how they got to be in management or leadership.
The organization doesn’t have a defined leadership development plan that is codified, or has time and money dedicated for it.
Research tells us that the number one reason people leave organizations isn’t because of salary or benefits. It is because people don’t see options for their growth and development.
If you want to do a better job retaining employees, here are some easy steps you can take:
Make sure your managers prioritize time for conversations with employees about career goals and their future with the organization.
Develop a codified plan for leadership development that is transparent to everyone in the organization
Make sure time and funding are dedicated to employee growth and development.
Make sure everyone in the organization has the skills to have conversations that may feel vulnerable or risky.
Provide coaching training for your staff so that they can support and empower others as they grow and develop.
If you need support developing a leadership development process that meets the needs of your organization, let’s set up a time to talk.