Recently I had a CEO complain to me loudly that he’s tired of his employees moving on to competitors after his company spent time and money training and developing talent. This perspective always strikes me; what hiring managers seem to miss in this logic is the employee exit is actually the last chapter to this particular story, not the first.
Study after study for decades confirms that employees leave for three reasons: loss of interest in the job, loss of respect for their boss and disagreement over the company’s direction. Note money is not a top three, it’s typically toward the bottom of the top ten list.

I was with a group of folks the other day and the question was asked, “what was your worst job ever?” While tempted to list the horrible positions we’ve all held at one time or another, one of the thoughts that I was left with was centered around the boss, specifically those who recognize and lead from the place of being either a steward or a king. If you’re wondering if you work for which one, look for these tell tale signs.
Who takes the credit? A King tends to talk about himself. A lot. Especially when something is achieved or goes well, regardless of his own role in the accomplishment itself and it isn’t unusual for him to sign his name to someone else’s effort. A Steward cares very little on the self-promotion aspects to work, he just wants the team to succeed and inherently acknowledges when the team or individual contribute in meaningful ways.

Every company wants to be the one who hires the best talent. In the current job market, top candidates are in the driver’s seat and will move on if a company doesn’t pay attention to important details during the selection process. If you’re growing your team, follow these three tips to make sure your company stands out compared to the competition.

It starts every July with my friend. He makes these little comments here and there about how his job doesn’t offer much challenge anymore, his boss is kinda impossible and the company politics have only become worse. By December, he typically hits his limit and swears after the holiday he is going to get serious about looking for a job. And by this point in January, he starts to negotiate with himself that it all isn’t really that bad.
Until July rolls around again.

I was at a client site analyzing system reports with members of the Operations and Audit teams and asked a few questions regarding the data on a pay on foot location’s daily summary report. I couldn’t get the numbers to tie out completely, and this raised questions. I learned that the team was only focused on a few numbers to report the revenue and transaction activity and that the rest were largely ignored. I followed up with the equipment supplier, and they were unable to explain the numbers either.

A few months ago my nephew shared a clip of Admiral William H. McRaven delivering a commencement speech to the 2014 graduating class at the University of Texas. In his talk, he provides 10 lessons on how to move your life forward, based on his 36 years as a Navy SEAL. The first one he shares is the importance of making your bed. He described the task as simple; mundane at best but the value gained was that once complete, it gives a small sense of pride and encourages one to take on another task. And even if the rest of the day proves to be difficult, you’ll be reminded before you fall asleep that you got one thing right.