Wasted Potential - 7 Expert Lessons to Retain Your Top Talent

According to Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2017, 85% of employees worldwide are not engaged or are actively disengaged in their job.
 
“The low percentages of engaged employees represent a barrier to creating high performing cultures around the world. They imply a stunning amount of wasted potential.”
 
Wasted potential. How that phrase resonates with me!
 
Death by Administration
I'm sad to say, I was one of the walking ‘wasted potential’ not too many years ago. It was a dark and miserable time. My employer was doing a massive restructure, de-layering spans and levels and it was my job to implement it for my division.
 
The work I so loved and excelled at suddenly switched from senior level advisor to a massive load of mundane administrative tasks Every. Single. Day. It went on for months.
 
This kind of work was my worst nightmare and, the truth is, I wasn’t very good at it.  What a waste!
 
Wasted potential.
 
People can’t thrive when they are doing the wrong work. It devalues them, misuses talents and creates unnecessary pressure.
 
During stress-filled change, leaders can fall asleep at the helm; too busy ducking for cover, they completely overlook the signs of utter disengagement around them.
 
Don’t waste your best resources like that; you will surely lose your highest potential people when you don’t pay attention.
 
Expert Lessons
A great way to stem the tide of employee disengagement is to tap into the abilities of EACH and every person on your team. Get people doing the right work using their best skills, long before a change occurs.

According to Gallup's survey analytics it is your high potential talent that will take a walk if they are not engaged, long before the others. These top talent are the experts to learn from!
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Here is what they say: 
 
​Lesson 1

• Know their career aspirations and full employment background. What do they love to do? What do they detest doing. Why?

Lesson 2

• Know the strengths of each person. Never assume they want to or can do the work that everyone else does. Always match work to their strengths. It will save everyone time and pointless stress.
• Caution: A ‘stretch assignment’ isn’t taking on a bunch of administration or more work; stretch is learning a new skill that will help them and YOU in the future!

Lesson 3

• Know them as individuals. What environment makes them feel valued? Learn their communication and behavioural styles (use tools to discover) so you know where they struggle. Validate assumptions with the person directly, to be sure.

Lesson 4

• Identify the right incentives for each person. Top talent rises when they connect with real meaning and purpose. Make connections for them. How will their work make a bigger impact, better connect to the customer, and build a better company. Give them the ability to influence HOW they are recognized for achievements.
• Caution: Carrot and stick rewards do not work with high potentials. Offering a bonus to achieve an unattainable goal will not lead to greater engagement.

Lesson 5

• Spot the Hi-Po’s (High Potential). Based on their demonstrated behaviour, and how they work with others, watch for those who have the making of a leader. They are the ones who seek ‘meaty’ work, influence others positively and demonstrate company values. Let them know you see their potential. Having them lead a process, a project, a team meeting or strategy planning session shows trust.
• Caution: High Performance does not necessarily mean High Potential. Don’t confuse the two.

Lesson 6

• Give them meaningful feedback. One of the greatest gifts you can give anyone is candid feedback. Provide regular feedback that is both constructive and supportive. Candid feedback may be tough to give but so powerful to build your best people’s skills and career. Seek their feedback. They want to help you too, as long as you are open to receive.
• Caution: Feedback is not an ‘Atta Boy/Girl’ slap on the back. It is well thought out, providing a crisp accounting of what's working and where to make change, from a helpful perspective.

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Lesson 7

• Stay in touch. Your high potential employees need a different type of leader than the “newbies” or the “steady Eddy's”. Don’t just look for status updates, check in on what is working well, where they have struggles, what help they need from you, what is getting in their way, ask them questions, actively listen…and then, most importantly, follow through!

Engagement Counts
The best leaders demonstrate they care about each and every team member by taking an interest. They pay attention, particularly during stressful times, leveraging potential vs wasting it. They make it a practice to develop potential, all the time. They allocate work in a way that plays to their people’s strength and they keep them connected to the bigger picture. 
 
When you demonstrate YOUR engagement, harnessing the potential of your best and brightest, you are guaranteed better results for highly engaged employees.
 
If you have a disengaged team (or team member) or are leading through stressful times and need support, I’m only an email away! I help leaders grow and develop by working with them through the toughest of times.

I want to hear from you, tell me about your own experience in the reply section below.

Image: CC0 Creative Commons/Pixabay