We recently conducted exit interviews for one of our clients when two employees resigned on the same day. Both were quality players in this organization and had each put in four and five years respectively before moving on. Our best people will always be marketable given either good times or bad. And when they start to exit it calls for a review of how we are doing and what we need to do to most effectively attract and retain our top talent.
Over the past eighteen months our coaching business has experienced slow but steady growth. I would like to credit this growth to our brilliant work as coaches and possessing the best resources of executive coaches at our ready disposal. And I know that this has been a success factor for us since we started Leadersearch way back in 1991. Therefore, we continue to espouse the belief that companies are realizing the need to use coaches to partner with them through the economic reset we are experiencing.
Our workshop business has been a harder sell as this economy settled into reality. We run half day, full day and multi day workshops coaching participants through a variety of leadership development topics. As I’ve talked with other friends in the training and development business it seems consistent that business is off for them in the range of 40% or more. I’ve often heard how training is one of the first things companies take off the table when trying to shave costs. It would be interesting to know from companies what their experience has been during past downturns, what productivity impact they had when they either cut or maintained training budgets.
In a recent workshop I had a participant say, “I hate it when we train them and they leave.” referring specifically to younger generation professionals. I said, “What happens if you don’t train them and they stay?”.
When our best and brightest are always marketable, given good times or bad, what are we doing to develop them and keep them? Recently, the Wall Street Journal posted an article titled – “Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders”. The article suggests “Despite layoffs and recession-starved budgets, many employers are investing in leadership-development programs, hoping not to be caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers.” Bret Furio from Philips Electronics North America said, “Identifying and grooming leaders is important in good times. In times of crisis when the economy is struggling, it’s imperative.”
We have witnessed an increase in the coaching side of our business since this economic downturn has gripped the world, particularly, the relationship coaching work that has become an integral part of our practice. It seems that the issues that were overlooked when we were running hard, making money and being successful, become critical when times get tougher.
I have enough grey hair to have experienced a couple of recessions. A key learning from any of these previous experiences is that we learn more about ourselves, and those around us, when times become different, particularly, tougher times. The best tests of true leadership show up when our people get scared. And we’re not talking problem solving, doing or project managing skill sets. We’re talking about the ability to have the conversations that are necessary in order to build the relationships that produce the most effective productivity. The Journal article continued on to state “executives believe that without capable managers, their ability to come through the recession in a healthy fashion is diminished.”.
Sage leaders will look at this recession and define it as our new reality, our new economy and our economic reset. A recent survey by a San Francisco marketing firm revealed some quality characteristics for these leaders and companies during this time of economic reset:
*They know and value their core strengths.
*They recognize new opportunities quickly.
*They demonstrate flexibility and persistence.
*They show speed in executing plans and strategies.
*They provide extreme customer service.
*They create powerful and vibrant teams.
There is not a better or more necessary time in a company lifecycle than now to lead effectively. Are you stepping up to the plate or are you one of the statistics that contribute to the #1 reason people leave organizations – their manager sucks? It is definitely a time to run with our winners and cut our losers. We need to be dynamic enough to manage this economic reset and come out the other side with a herd of running horses!
