Building first class team begins with you. Are you the type manager that you would want to work with and reach for, or are you a type of manager that you would run away from, as fast as you can? It is a very pointed question, and one that takes time and consideration.
After reading Jack Canfields’ “Success Principles”,
attending several seminars and workshops on personal power and effectiveness
and coaching many leaders and emerging leaders it has become a passion of mine
to communicate the need of good management as one of the solutions to the retention
quandary.
Not only does each and every manager and business leader need to own the accountability of new employee selection and internal employee advancement they must also own and forward their personal accountability in doing the right things with the right people when they get them. It is not just a Jim Collins cliché, it is a reality of being in management today. Great people want to work for great people; it is a complete waste of time and money to conduct a search, pay for selection instruments and then pay a finder fee for a stellar candidate only to put them in a situation with a no win manager.
Each one of us in a leadership and people management role must do what we can to be the best mentors, coaches and developers of the people who work with and support us; it is one of our most poignant responsibilities.
As the war for talent shifts and the new millennial graduates come to the marketplace these people will demand and require personal and professional development and they won’t stay anywhere that does not offer them this. If you know yourself as someone who does not want to bother with developing people, then management might be a task of your past, it is time to move on to another less impact role. I hear from many managers about their frustrations with their management functions; many say they feel like an adult baby sitter. The only reason this happens is because there is something missing from the hiring process. Believe it or not, there are self starters with initiative who do not need to be prodded to do their work. Your job is to harness your power to identify that trait in an interview. You can read Stephen Robbins, “The Truth about Managing people” to learn more about this.
Your Self Limiting beliefs as a manager, a hiring agent, a developer of people and a leader accountable for results limit you in your ability to leverage the power of your human capital. Explore what those limiting beliefs are and how they hold you back. One limiting belief I hear all too often is, “ it is human resources job to select the candidates and it is their fault I have no one of substance on my team”. Throw that one out right now! As a human being and a person who is in charge of others, it is time to own that is 100% your responsibility for whom you have working on your team.
Once your company extends an offer and it is accepted by a great candidate it is up to you to impact that new employee’s experience of working for and with you. From the moment they walk in the door on their first day, to the one on one meeting you facilitate about your expectations and what it is like to work with you, to an inquiry that you conduct about what they need from you to operate at their maximum capacity, to the team lunch, to an assignment of a new employee/ on boarding mentor and a 1st week review of “how did it go”; it is up to you. Studies from sources like the Herman Group, report that over 75% of employees’ determine either consciously or unconsciously how long they will stay in a company during their 1st few weeks on the job. This is also where they learn what they can get away with and what is expected, the power of observation can work in reverse if the manager is not at cause in the delivery of this type of communication. So be at cause and set the stage for a powerful on boarding.
The next step in creating an extraordinary working experience for your new employee is to determine where they are in terms of capacity and what they need in terms of development. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, Marcus Buckingham’s book “Go Put Your Strengths To Work”, drills down on the necessity to stop trying to fix what does not work in yourself or in people. No wonder managers are frustrated. Hire people who have the strengths your team needs and then capitalize on taking those strengths to the next level. People want purpose and meaning in their work, when you allow someone the ability to do what they are good at as well as an opportunity to take themselves to the next level, you build loyalty and commitment.
So, it starts with hiring right, and it continues with partnering right. Give your management everything you can, play to your strengths and take them to the next level, then share what you learn with your people. Nurture them and watch them blossom and grow in their commitment to you and the company. After all ……It’s YOUR job.
