Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith recently wrote a thought-provoking article titled High-Impact Performers For Tough Times: 6 Ways to Keep Them Happy. The authors suggest steps to keep today’s high-impact performers and tomorrow’s great leaders happy:
“1) Show Respect: This may seem obvious, but it can’t be done by rote. Genuinely treating employees with kindness, respect, and dignity will elicit loyalty to both the leader and the organization. It is possible to lead people through fear and intimidation; however, the odds of retaining and developing people using this style are slim.
2) Focus on a Thriving Environment: You need more than the fad-of-the-month leadership development program to create an environment in which high-impact performers want to stay and will put their all into an organization.
3) Offer On-Going Training: High on the list for leaders who want to retain high-impact performers is training and on-going education, both of which ensure that people can 1) do their jobs properly, and 2) can improve on existing systems.
4) Provide Coaching: By working one-on-one with employees in a coaching relationship, leaders can discover and tap the talents of individuals and direct their development, align their behaviors and skills, thus becoming active as agents of change, enhancing the success of the organization.
5) Give Feedback: More than an annual review, leaders may give employees assistance in specific areas, such as developing networks, handling work/life balance, and attaining job and skills training.
6) $$ and Decision-Making: I haven’t yet mentioned compensation, which is an obvious employee retainer, but it’s not enough. In addition to compensation, people need to be involved in decision-making.”
All of us would do well to closely examine our leadership actions, behavior and decisions in the light of the 6 steps listed above. We would also do well to ask our colleagues and team members for their input on our leadership actions, behaviors and decisions in the light of the 6 steps listed above.
An honest, open discussion regarding these 6 ways to keep high-impact performers will uncover excellent opportunities for improvements in all areas of our leadership responsibilities. Try it. I guarantee it.
The complete article titled High-Impact Performers For Tough Times: 6 Ways to Keep Them Happy by Kelly Goldsmith and Marshall Goldsmith can be found by clicking here.
