Teach...Your People Well (or they'll leave for somewhere who will!)

Max Goldman from Success Factors shared a very interesting article from Forbes magazine  in which Kevin Cashman responds to readers questions. One question he received was "...what practical measures can senior leaders take to deal with potential crises." Cashman responds in an interesting fashion: 

It may sound simplistic, but the best thing a top leader can do is be a great coach, boss and mentor. After conducting 19,700 exit interviews of key employees leaving companies, the Saratoga Institute found that 85% of bosses thought their top people left for more money and opportunity. But the real reason behind the turnover: 80% said they left due to poor management and leadership or because of a dysfunctional company culture. If you're a board member, a CEO or a leader on the front lines, paying more attention to the development of your people and teams is the crucial variable for retaining key people.

I left a long comment for Max, and I'd love to hear what the leaders here at Make It Great! have to say about this quote, and my response. Here's my comment:

I often see people craving mentoring and leadership, especially from folks that have already achieved what others are aiming at. I know I do. It's one reason I love the blogosphere. I can find hundreds of people who've done what I want to do, and shoot them questions that I might never be able to ask a senior manager. I am fortunate that my senior leaders can be asked many questions, though it's useful to get multiple opinions on things.

I'm looking for your thoughts on 2 specific pieces of information, and if you agree or disagree, please state why:

1. Are people craving mentoring and leadership at companies?




2. Is the blogosphere a good place to get a second opinion?

Thanks for sharing your insights and helping me Make It Great!
Phil Gerbyshak

Technorati Tags: leadership, management, blogosphere, mentoring

Comments

[Drew McLellan]

While it may sound simplistic, I think for the vast majority, getting support and mentoring from their superiors just doesn't happen.

As you might have surmised, from a recent exchange we had about the FISH! book, I work hard at mentoring my people. But I'm not as good as I should be. Sometimes I let the day's fires get in the way of investing the time and attention my people deserve.

The good news for managers and leaders is that I believe we get credit for trying. Am I as good at it as I should be? Nope. But, do my teammates see me trying to be better and asking for suggestions on how I can help them grow? You bet.

To answer your questions -- yes, I think people crave it. We're all hungry to grow, get better and be noticed for what we're doing today.

Is the blogosphere a good place to find it? Yes and no. It's an amazing place to learn and make connections (and friends). But I think the ideal is when we can get that sort of nurturing and help from more than one place. When you are getting it at work, through your network of friends and peers AND blogosphere -- that's nirvana!