Who is Leaving? Who Are You Attracting?

The people that care the most leave first.

This was a key point in Seth Godin’s recent blog post, “You are not the lowest common denominator,” which references the methodical way that companies (technology companies, in particular) eventually, consistently lower their standards in product innovation and service in order to appeal to a broader audience. (more…)

Last week my youngest had her wisdom teeth out, so I re-arranged my schedule and worked from home for a few days while she recouped. Though I was grateful to have the flexibility to keep working while still being able to look after my daughter, by the end of Day 2, I was starting to feel a bit stir crazy, confined within the walls of my office and away from the chaos, meetings, and daily face-to-face interactions with teammates and clients that I find fulfilling and energizing.

When I shared this with two of my virtual teammates, they laughed! They had just been discussing how much they enjoyed working in boundaries of their quiet home offices with few interruptions to their production. I quickly realized that what some of us view as boundaries, others of us view as confinement! (more…)

As a leadership coach, I spend a decent amount of time talking with leaders about their disengaged employees. I’ve noticed over time that as leaders, we often say, “If he won’t step up, he’s going to have to leave.”

At the same time, our employees are saying, “My leader doesn’t appreciate me, so I’ve checked out, and I want to leave.”

Leaving, however, doesn’t have to be the solution for a disengaged worker, and I believe that individual leaders – and not organizations – are mostly responsible for creating engaged employees.

So, what are some of the most common reasons employees feel disengaged, and how can leaders address them? Here are five things that you, as a leader, can do to re-engage the people on your team. (more…)