Why do people leave teams and organizations? The No. 1 reason people leave jobs is because they fail to connect with their bosses as leaders and as people. And yet, they rarely are honest about why they leave.
Why should they be? There is no upside incentive for the employee to be open and honest. Who wants to burn a bridge with a boss they may need for a future job reference? It is easier to talk about work/life balance, moving on to build your skill sets, or the need to make more money.
In fact, salary is much further down the list as a reason to leave than what is usually reported in exit interviews.
So the question is, what is your current game plan to keep your best people? While most companies talk a great deal about the need to retain the best people to sustain growth, they lack an integrated game plan to create retention momentum.
As a leader, you are personally accountable to acquire and retain the very best people. So start making a plan now.
Emotional Connection Points
Emotional connections greatly enhance retention, and they are driven by the trust and development of your individual team members.
The power of the “unexpected” is the best way to emotionally connect with another person. Just as you get more credit with your significant other when you send a handwritten note when they least expect it, so too does the same concept apply to you as a leader.
• Write a personal handwritten note or send a greeting card to the spouses or significant others telling them what a difference their partner is making to your business.
• Take the employee to breakfast, lunch or dinner (if appropriate) and ask them what “really matters” to them and what you can do as a leader to help them build their future dreams.
• Take your entire team out together to celebrate a special event. For example, when I was with Hallmark, I would take my team out every year for a holiday dinner in the private dining room of a local restaurant. I would go around the room and say something special about each of the team members at the end of the meeting.
• Create a surprise, fun outing as part of a team business trip. For example, I took my team on a business trip together to the West Coast. While on the trip, we made an “unexpected” stop at Alcatraz in San Francisco. This created wonderful experiences that directly enhanced team bonding.
• Create local, fun activities for the team. These events are fun team activities that should be done during regular business hours to truly be appreciated. Weekend team activities that cut into individual personal time are almost always guaranteed to land with a giant thud. Remember, your team wants you to be a great leader. They are not looking for another weekend friend.
• Create an unexpected personalized memento for individual team members celebrating the accomplishment of a major event.
Big Foot
I have always had a habit as a leader of stomping my feet when I walk down the hallway. This habit has followed me throughout my career. My teams always had fun with my foot stomping on a regular basis. In fact, I was given the unexpected gift of a “big boot” from my team that was placed on a plaque with the inscription “Big Foot … Keep on Stompin’.” Everyone had a great deal of fun with this award at my expense. I loved it!
Combine all of these emotional connections with self-effacing humor. Always remember, humor at the expense of your team removes deposits from the emotional connection bank.
Home Turf
Don’t forget how the little things can make a huge difference. For example, instead of always having your people meet with you in your office, go visit them on their home turf. It is a sign of mutual respect. The ironic part is that by going to their home base, you give up your legitimate management authority to that person. They will actually see you as a more confident and caring leader. The location of the meeting is a little thing that makes a big difference.
Make Time to Connect
If people do leave leaders, as opposed to organizations, why do leaders so often fail to build these emotional connections with their people? Because it takes time and places many leaders outside their comfort zones, thus increasing their vulnerability. It is easier to tackle those 85 e-mails sitting in your in-box. What many leaders fail to realize is that they are actually more vulnerable if they choose not to invest the time to do it. How does the time needed to replace all your top talent compare with the investment you need to make to emotionally connect with your people? You need to invest every day. •
Jim Welch is founder and president of The Growth Leader Inc., and author of “Grow Now: 8 Essential Steps to Flex Your Leadership Muscles.”
