Written by: Jocelyn Barrie, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“One of the key responsibilities of leaders is to identify and develop the leaders of tomorrow... Be the oxygen to your team members' flames, empower them and support their growth" ‒ Alexander N. Andrews, author of Unlike a Boss.
“They don’t appreciate anything I do for them.” she exclaimed.
The resignation in her voice sounded off the walls of her office as she slumped forward. I clasped my hands and asked her gently.
“And now tell me, why should they?”
It’s one of the most common complaints I hear from the incredibly intelligent, creative leaders I am blessed to work with, their anguish compounded with the accepted rhetoric:
"Nobody wants to work"
"If you want it done ‒ you have to do it yourself" (so much so, that on more than one occasion, I have seen CEOs, broom in hand, sweeping their shop floors (and if this is you…PLEASE STOP!))
and, of course,
"You can't get good staff these days"
Fundamentally, this is simply the cry of brilliant team leaders and business owners who have hit the wall; experiencing feeling stuck, frustrated, exhausted, and/or completely alone.
And perhaps the climate has changed. With the onset of professional Instagram and tic toc personalities, together with years of lockdown and work from home initiatives, certain roles and industries may be suffering from a lack of candidates.
Perhaps people are also less willing to be grateful for simply having a job, and will no longer stay with companies that don’t stimulate their imaginations or fulfill their aspirations? Regardless, if companies are going to stay relevant, this isn’t the time to throw our hands in the air. Rather, to attract and then keep talented staff, it is more important than ever that leaders understand their function and impact.
In this regard, having managed teams of over 120 employees, being named by the “Investors in People” awarding body as the “epitome of the Investors in People ethos”, and maintaining one of the highest staff retention rates in our industry, I have GREAT news. Namely, no matter what the condition or circumstances, our problems as leaders and managers is never “them”, and it is always us. The key to your success is accepting this as true.
Great leadership will, of course, bring out the best in your team. Sarah was hired right out of college as an assistant with no experience in the industry. Within ten years, she was named COO for the entire company. Mandy was a team leader in one of the remote sites we had acquired. She was under discipline by her previous employer. However, after evaluation, it was clear that she was undervalued and highly talented. Within a few years, she became site manager and ultimately education and quality management director for the group. Both of these executives have just passed twenty years with the company.
However, and what is harder to accept, is that great leadership will not always create managers out of assistants. I have suffered poor performers, incompatible partners and even dishonest, thieving employees. There are “bad” staff, and names might even be popping into your head right now. Yet, and the most important lesson I have learned as a business owner, is that the impact of “bad” staff on our results (and our sanity) is also our responsibility. In other words, rather than railing against the injustice, in these instances, a responsible leader might ask:
1. Is my recruitment process robust enough?
2. Is my onboarding process thorough, clear, and appropriately focused?
And, most importantly,
3. What do I allow/ How long does it take me to correct what isn’t working?
Personally, for example, finally stepping into my leadership role led me to create group quality management systems, personalised mentorship programs on the spot, suspend employees with immediate effect, move staff into better-fit roles, and even support some out of their jobs (and the industry), to follow their true heart’s desires.
Namely, the point is this; As leaders, when we accept and respond to everything in our team as a function of our own beliefs, behaviours and company procedure, we are no longer personal victims of our staff or the climate, but immediately empowered to get the results we want.
So, in a nutshell, here are some common mistakes leaders make that foster “bad” staff and poor results.
1. We don’t understand what will entice potential candidates - While it is important that your offer meets market demand, taking a neuroscience approach to recruitment will highlight many factors beyond money that will motivate people. At the base level, people need safety and security. After this, they will be motivated by connection, recognition, comfort, freedom, aspiration, potential and purpose. Do your recruitment materials highlight this potential?
2. We recruit beneath ourselves - When we were growing up, we were taught that authority figures were all knowing and all powerful. Hence, as leaders we often believe that we have to be the best and the brightest in the room and we fear staff will make us look bad or challenge our position.
In actuality, a great leader recognises the characteristics that will best facilitate the project. This means having employees who are competent enough to minimise his/ her input so the leader can ultimately focus on growth and development.
Our interviews always ended with “Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?” Any candidate who said something like, “Sitting in your chair” was essentially hired on the spot.
3. Our interview questions are theoretical rather than experiential - I once read something that really stuck with me, “What you say is who you want to be. What you do is who you are.”
Review your interview questions. Do they ask candidates about their past behaviour in actual or related situations, or simply how they would behave in the theoretical future?
4. Onboarding is not “procedurised” - Does every new staff member get the same clear, relevant, focused, cohesive training delivered by trained employees?
Does it include your company’s vision, mission and values and how your new staff are able to contribute to their implementation?
5. Naturally, leaders often operate from fear, rather than principle - To our brains, control is safe, releasing control is risky. Hence, many leaders end up micromanaging based on the principle that, “If I don't control everything it will all fall apart”, or “If something doesn’t work, it will be my fault. I could lose everything for myself and everyone around me.” However, unless leaders allow their staff to expand freely, toward clearly defined outcomes in a meaningful and safe way they will continue to behave, either as incompetent infants, or rebellious teenagers.
Our brains are also naturally driven toward connection and to avoid rejection. Hence, many leaders also fear reprimanding, or guiding staff, believing it will cause them to either leave or revolt. To avoid this, or being disliked, unwanted staff behaviours are sustained longer than they should be or until there is significant deleterious consequence.
6. There are no meaningful, clearly communicated vision, mission or values - Fundamental to business success is a clear, powerful, well integrated;
Vision that communicates the future of the company,
Mission that clearly defines what you are doing to get there and why and
Values that define the boundaries within which operations happen.
Without this in place, employees have nothing concrete to buy into. This reduces their feelings of purpose and, hence, engagement. Further, employees will naturally create their own culture which may, or may not be, aligned with the leader’s intentions. Cliques, silos, and competition over cooperation tends to become the norm.
Further, there are no guidelines under which your entire staff team can independently innovate or support business growth. So, either the business moves randomly without clarity of purpose, or staff shut down.
An important caveat on this point: Ultimately, it is impossible to overstate the importance of a stated vision, mission and values for great leadership to occur. At the same time, I have also worked with companies where these things are “in place” but they are designated to the website, a plaque in the staff room or donned across water bottles.
However, if the leader doesn’t apply their vision, mission and values as the foundation on which all decisions are made, the implications are worse than not having any at all. Not only will staff behave as if there are none in existence, trust in the leadership and belief in the company is a seriously impacted.
Hence, to answer our initial question; Why can’t we get good staff these days? The bottom line is, we can, and you may already have your own “Sarahs” and “Mandys” hidden amongst your team. The key is to recognise that our problems were never them, but instead, a reflection of our beliefs, our behaviours and our processes (or lack thereof). In this way, we are immediately empowered to quickly transform our employees’ engagement and productivity, our culture, and our outcomes.
Living the life of our dreams paves the way for others to do the same. To achieve this, we must accept full responsibility for all of our experiences. This begins when, particularly as leaders, we stop asking “Why…?”, and, instead, start asking “How…?”
Not sure of your own “how” yet? Send me a DM or book a free 20minute Q&A session to find out how to start getting the results that you deserve NOW! (BOOK CALL HERE)
Jocelyn Barrie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jocelyn Barrie coaches and mentors aspirational business owners and leaders to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit and achieve success. As the founding director of two multi-$m companies, leading over 120 staff, and numerous solo ventures, her business experience is wide and varied. Enhanced by qualifications in Neuropsychology and Neurolinguistic Programming, as a certified Jack Canfield Success Principles Trainer, yoga instructor, and ongoing study in Rapid Transformation Therapy, she offers a plethora of tools and successful techniques to help identity what’s in the way, generate a renewed vision and drive motivation. Fundamentally, Jocelyn believes that if you can dream it, you can achieve it. Through her knowledge, experience, and coaching techniques, her mission is to unleash the full potential in her clients and their businesses, helping them achieve their highest aspirations.
