Losing Talent: Go Ahead, Tell Yourself It’s Mutual

I’ve recently published a post at Linkedin entitled, How Not to Manage a High Performer. (The comments are worth a look.) In the article, I discuss all of the ways we, as managers and organizations as a whole, shoot ourselves in the foot where top talent is concerned. We rely too heavily on their collected experience when things become hectic, and essentially drain them dry. We fail to offer them real challenge. Then we somehow forget to say thanks — for a job truly well done.

The employee-employer relationship may have started out on the right foot — and good intentions were plentiful. However, as time marches on another troubling story emerges. We drop the proverbial “ball”, so to speak and the tenor of the relationship devolves. Then — without fail, the inevitable moment finally arrives when your high performer makes the decision to move on. We’ve forced their hand in many cases, and in truth we’ve actually limited (not energized) their careers.

We’d like to tell ourselves that the feeling is “mutual” — that as an organization we’ve done all that we could. They’ve “outgrown us” or were somewhat “hard to please”. However, that’s likely a little whit lie, we tell ourselves. Organizations can find themselves on the wrong side of that argument each and every day.

The decision to leave is often not mutual or well-timed (we’ve forced their hand), and organizations lose for a numbers of identifiable reasons — most of which are well-known and preventable. (Take a look at the concepts of the Psychological Contract and “Tours of Duty” in The Alliance).

So, I say hooray for talent. Move on. Jump off. Find an organization that is willing to take a moment to learn who you are and what you need to excel. I’ve seen talented, good-hearted, motivated employees suffer at the hand of a completely clueless organization, yet thrive at another. That difference is the responsibility of organizations to affect.

So tell yourself it’s mutual — and that the next employee is simply one click (through ATS) away. Go right ahead.

But, it’s not.

You lose.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. She is the Director of Thought Leadership at Kilberry Leadership Advisors, Toronto. She is also serves as an Influencer at LinkedIn.