Employee Retention – How to Keep Great Employees
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Employee Retention – How to Keep Great Employees
Why do people leave their jobs?
The number one reason: they don’t like their leadership. Please don’t leave companies, they leave people. Why? Because a lot of leadership doesn’t know how to lead.
Power and influence don’t work for everyone. If you want to test a person’s character, give them power. The first thing to rise to the surface when someone becomes a leader generally isn’t confidence, it’s insecurity. When we feel insecure, we almost always overcompensate with unhealthy behavior. When someone says, “I’m the boss!” they are wrongly leveraging power. That’s why you should you’re your inner “boss” and strive to be an effective leader. Simon Sinek says it this way: “A boss has a title. A leader has the people.” Position may give you power to control but trust will give you permission to lead.
Here are some differences between a boss and a leader:
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A boss instills fear. A leader inspires confidence.
Fear generally leads to inaction, which leads to lack of confidence, resulting in more fear. Instill confidence in your team, what you stand for and where your organization is going. Creating buy-in only helps team confidence.
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A boss assigns blame. A leader takes responsibility.
When you are always blaming others, you are usually avoiding some important issue about your own leadership. If your team members constantly have to worry about saving themselves, you’re only instilling more fear.
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A boss demands loyalty. A leader extends trust.
If you have ever had a boss who demanded loyalty, chances are they weren’t loyal to you which resulted in no trust. Ever heard the phrase “you must give respect to earn respect”? You show respect for your team when you trust them with their job.
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A boss controls people. A leader empowers people.
We can have control, or we can have growth. We can’t have both. If we’re empowering people, we’re giving people responsibility, not just tasks. When we give them tasks, we’re training them to do, but when we give them responsibility, we’re empowering then to lead. If you hired someone, you probably hired them to make decisions, improve things and push the mission forward. Let them do that!
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A boss is often guarded. A leader is transparent.
You don’t always have to know it all to be a great leader. Be yourself. People would rather follow a leader who is always real than one who is always right. Our imperfections make us human and humans connect.
An insecure boss is distant, does not admit to weakness and likes to control information. A secure leader admits mistakes, doesn’t have to know it all and is often very real and vulnerable. People may admire strength, but they connect through weakness.
Remember, your team is your biggest asset. Empower them. A leader helps their team realize their importance and, in the end, keeps them around!