Quick Take | Tips to Help Executives and Leaders Grow
The Quick Take podcast provides concise and actionable tips to help executives and leaders, like you, tackle the thorny and complex challenges that affect us daily. By leveraging their experience and relationship with other global leaders, our hosts provide suggestions that are based on their deep experience as leaders and coaches but also pressure tested in boardrooms everywhere because they asked their friends….(almost). Hosted by James Capps and Susie Tomenchok. Episodes release weekly on Thursdays.
Quick Take | Tips to Help Executives and Leaders Grow
Avoid Losing Your Top Talent
Feeling like your top performers might be eyeing the exit? In this episode, we dive into the crucial world of talent retention. We explore why keeping your star players happy isn't just good for morale – it's a serious money-saver too. Learn three simple yet powerful strategies to keep your senior leaders engaged, motivated, and firmly on your team. Plus, we'll show you why those one-on-ones you keep putting off might just be the key to unlocking your team's full potential. Tune in for some practical wisdom that could transform your leadership game!
In this episode, we discuss the following:
1. The importance of retaining top talent and the cost of losing senior executives.
2. Three key strategies for keeping senior leaders engaged and motivated.
3. The value of meaningful one-on-one meetings and consistent communication with team members.
CONNECT WITH SUSIE:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susietomenchok/
CONNECT WITH JAMES:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/capps/
Welcome to the Quick Take Podcast, the show where you get targeted advice and coaching for executives by executives. I'm Suzy Tominchuk.
Speaker 2:And I'm James Capps. Give us 15 minutes and we'll give you three secrets to address the complex topic of issues that are challenging executives like you today.
Speaker 1:Hey, welcome to Quick Take. I'm your host, Susie, along with James. How are you, James? I'm fantastic. How are you, Susie?
Speaker 2:Awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you for enunciating my name. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm here for enunciation, if nothing else.
Speaker 1:Yes, well, that makes me feel appreciated and recognized.
Speaker 2:Well, you are appreciatable.
Speaker 1:Well, so you know, I have a lot of clients that are going through a lot of transitions and I have this guy. He's a big guy, he um has a family and actually three kids that are in elementary school. His wife stays home with them.
Speaker 2:So he has, kind of you know, a lot of things going on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a lot of burden and he is really struggling with staying with the company he's at because he just doesn't feel like he's challenged. He doesn't feel like the his boss, who is, you know, the pretty high up uh is giving him and trust him fully. So he's really trying to figure out what his next steps are and he's looking pretty aggressively by going through recruiters and and and looking out there, almost spending more time doing that than really focused on this job. So he's very disconnected.
Speaker 2:And I.
Speaker 1:I thought it was an interesting thing for us to talk about around. What do you do or how do you know when your top talent because he's a producer and I know that they really appreciate him and want him to stay but they don't know he's looking.
Speaker 2:You know, I think the statistic is that it costs a company 200% of an employee's salary annual salary to replace them. That's obviously a senior executive. But you know, the investment in saving senior talent can be so small and the cost of losing them so high that I think this topic is so important for leaders to really take a beat and think about how they can secure their top talent. You know, the market for senior people is always very hot and good people are always being recruited, so I think it's important that leaders remember that they've got to invest in their team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it also makes me that's really interesting stat around 200%. But also you don't even know that you've kind of lost their productivity as their motivation has waned.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's hard to see those things, you know, and it's without good, solid KPIs which you know it's difficult to have a good KPI for a seasoned person or a senior person you don't really realize what you've lost till it's gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so such a broad topic, how are you framing it for us today?
Speaker 2:Well, I think about the things that you know. If you're in the C-suite and you have a handful of folks underneath you, or you're the CEO of the company and your C-suite is underneath you, what are the things, what are the muscles that you need to be building so you can have an ongoing success rate? You know I think I read that McKinsey did a study that companies that have higher executive tenure tend to have had were measured to have 12% better revenue than those that had higher turnover. So just tenure alone can drive a 10 to 12, 12% increase in revenue. That's insane. Now, that doesn't mean keeping bad people is good, but a good executive team who is firing on all cylinders, has a leader that has got these muscles, I think, in place to ensure that they're content and being effective.
Speaker 1:That's such an interesting stat because we don't see that that often anymore People don't stay in jobs. But if you can keep somebody challenged and motivated and really appreciated, uh that goes a long way.
Speaker 2:Right, it's, it's super important and and you know what I found too, as um the work, it gets crazy, um the uh, the, the stress gets higher and and the relationships become more comfortable and more familiar Uh, tend not to do these things. You know, I think the first thing all of our listeners should consider is the one-on-one meeting and how often you cancel that or how often you just say to yourself well, I see them in the hall. Or you know we talk every day. That's not a one-on-one. So my first piece of advice is you know you've got to identify the managers at risk through crucial conversations. You know, I think that Carrie Patterson's book Crucial Conversations is so critical. It talks about the need for those very specific and targeted discussions around how your key people are performing, and doing that with thought and doing that with consistency goes an incredibly long way. And so you've got to hold those conversations and you've got to make those times for those conversations synchro-synced. You cannot forget the criticality of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know you've said before that when you have a good performer and you're like, oh, we don't need to meet, you, just cancel it. You don't really say anything. You don't even realize how often you might do that with somebody, and engagement is really important. And they say that positive and negative connection is better than no connection.
Speaker 2:I totally agree.
Speaker 1:So when you do that, you don't even realize the impact that you have. So keeping those meaningful conversations are essential.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know for me, I just need some connectivity. I don't whether it's positive or negative, I just need to feel like we are aligned. Um that I am, I'm feeling the pulse, and that doesn't mean daily for me it could be monthly, but you know, if I can get a, you I can get a half hour once a week. Just to know that we're all aligned. I will run as fast as I can possibly run, and that changes drastically when I am no longer feeling like I'm plugged into the broader perspective. So, personally, that's critical for me and I think people I've worked with share that same feeling.
Speaker 1:I will tell you, though, I work with a lot of people who say their boss doesn't even have one-on-ones with them.
Speaker 2:I'm always shocked at that.
Speaker 1:And they haven't talked. I talked to somebody the other day who said I haven't even talked to my boss for weeks.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So we also need to say in our microphone if you're not having one-on-ones, start them now, yes, do it.
Speaker 2:It seems trivial, but it's important. And I think the second one I'll jump into is really about empathy, which is almost the other side of this coin, which is remembering to have upward empathy. Which is remembering to have upward empathy meaning understand that, while if you may not be having a one-on-one with your boss, that they have a lot of stuff going on, and so it goes two ways, that you really need to ensure that everyone gets the feedback that they need up and down, and sure that there is that emotional intelligence of the organization to be able to have those dialogues. And so I think, at the end of the day, the responsibility is about creating the ecosystem and where that emotional intelligence works, people make sure that they have the comfort and confidence that they can have those conversations with you so that they have that upward empathy, that they know where you're coming from and understand what's going on.
Speaker 1:So is your point that you should manage up and be thoughtful about what your boss needs?
Speaker 2:Well, I think it's you know, for most of us, anyhow we are. You know whether, even if you're a CEO right, you've got your reporting to everybody works for somebody Anyhow we are. You know whether, even if you're a CEO right, you've got your reporting to everybody works for somebody, as I like to say. You know whether it's the board or the investors. And if you showcase your communication style with the people you report to, you are constantly reminding them that I do have a one-on-one or I do have these things, and that's how I feel motivated, then they'll understand where you're coming from and they'll behave in the same way, how I feel motivated. Then they'll understand where you're coming from and they'll behave in the same way.
Speaker 2:One of the things that I hear a lot, unfortunately, from senior people is um, when their directs ask for one-on-ones, the senior person's response is really, I haven't talked to my boss in six months. You know what? What's good for the goose isn't good for the gander here. And just because you know your dad spanked you with a paddle doesn't mean you need to spank your kids with a paddle. And and? Um, we, we should perform in a way that we think is is right and we know uh works rather than the way that you're getting treated. So model uh the behavior that you want to see and and your people will. That empathy will will change a culture and drive a better communication.
Speaker 1:That empathy will change a culture and drive a better communication. Yeah, and I love that because you are teaching them to become leaders like you. Yeah, and so that's a great reminder. I like that one a lot. All right, what's the last one?
Speaker 2:But how many times have you heard that though? Well, I haven't talked to my boss either. So what? So you have a bad boss, so you're going to be a bad boss. That's not what it's all about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they can't say that, you can't say so what to them? So they don't realize the impact of what they're saying?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I understand it's also a culture thing, but that's a bigger discussion. Yeah, it's also obvious it's a culture thing, but you know that's that's a bigger discussion. Um, yeah, but my, my third item is, um, really key to both of those, which is those interactions should be meaningful. Right, it goes back to how, uh, you know, you can um talk your way out of a one-on-one by saying you know, I see, I see them in the hallway all the time.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, you've got to create a very specific coaching habit. You've got to be able to um have those meetings. That means something. And so, uh, if, if I like to think that, um, you know, you should have an agenda for your one-on-one. So they are specific, so you don't get caught up in what's going on, in the drama or whatever activity happened over the weekend or the things you have in common. You've got to have a specific, meaningful discussion, and I think that several books on coaching talk about creating that coaching habit, creating that muscle memory, and so, when you do have that engagement, it is meaningful, it can be crisp. And so, when you do have that engagement, it is meaningful, it can be crisp, it doesn't need to be long, but it is a distilled, powerful moment that will keep your senior people engaged and focused and it's not going right into that conversation.
Speaker 1:Really thinking about preparing for that, I just want to add too and of being thoughtful about questions you ask yourself like what is their biggest challenge right now, what's getting in their way or where do they need to develop so that you can pre-think of some of those things? So when you're creating that agenda, there are things that are pertinent to the business right now, but there's also that development of that senior leader and that helps them see that you understand their journey or their career path or where they want to go.
Speaker 2:Sure, that's so good. I always suggest that you start a one-on-one with, allowing them to start with what's on their mind, because it's so interesting how often you'll have an agenda of well, these are clearly the topics that we need to talk about, because this is what's critical to the business. And then they open their mouth and it's something that is out of left field and you had no idea that that's really the issue that's bothering them. That's how you find out what's really going on in the business. That's how you find out what's going on in the minds of your people. I always make sure my agenda items come last, because if you're lucky and you're aligned, those items get addressed along the way. But it's so important that your coaching skills come to bear on a regular basis and create that dialogue.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right, that's good. So what are the three?
Speaker 2:First off, you've got to identify those people at risk by having those critical conversations. Be consistent in those conversations, you know, have those one-on-ones. Secondly, create an ecosystem where there is that upward empathy and that downward conversation so you do have the dialogue, that you do create the emotional intelligence within the organization so people can have the honest conversations. And third, make sure, if you do have those meetings, make them meaningful, make them constructive, make sure you're having those goal-setting conversations, you're having the detailed discussions around what's important to both you and them. So when they walk away from that 15, that 30-minute meeting, they feel like they got something done, not just chatted and then got nothing accomplished.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it so good. Thanks so much, James.
Speaker 2:Good stuff. Susie, I have a question for you. Yeah, as an executive and as a leader, what would be like the one thing that either you do or other executives do on as part of their daily routine that you would think our listeners would find surprising? You know, we often hear that leaders get up in the morning and read or exercise, but is there something that you do in particular, or others you've you've met, that is on their daily routine, that you would think that would be um out of the ordinary?
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so interesting. I have to think about somebody I I. One routine that I I I do is I look ahead to all the meetings that I'm going to have and I think about my emotional mindset for that meeting.
Speaker 2:Oh, so interesting yeah.
Speaker 1:Because we look at what we're going to talk about and we look at agenda. But I find that doing that helps me, and even if it's days before it helps me kind of get my confidence around that topic or makes me be thoughtful about what that's going to feel like to go into that meeting. So if it's something that I'm nervous about or that I know I will get nervous about or I'm not ready for, it kind of sets the emotional side of me in the right gear so that I do get in the right mindset for that meeting, Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:I love that. So it's not just doing a daily calendar check, you're doing a daily emotional calendar check. And that really, looking at those meetings, not so much as in what is the topic, am I ready, but it's really what is my emotional position going to be during that meeting. So you are prepared for that. And I think, boy, that's really, that's really insightful.
Speaker 1:And the thing I tell people to think about is, if it's high stakes for you, if the outcome is really important to you, whether you show up well or you ask the right questions or you're negotiating something, that getting yourself ready for that in that way will make you better prepared to get to the best possible outcome. So what high stakes situation is coming up for you that you need to be more thoughtful about, to take time to get yourself in the right mindset?
Speaker 2:Oh, fantastic, great answer.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Quick Take, where we talk about the questions that are on the mind of executives everywhere. Connect with us and share what's on your mind.
Speaker 2:You can find us on LinkedIn, youtube or whatever nerdy place on the internet. You find your podcasts. Our links to the show are in the show notes.
Speaker 1:We appreciate you.
