How to help your team feel valued so they don't leave

Recently I had this dialogue with a leader that was facing an issue – ok, it was a big challenge. 

The question was asked of me…

“David, you’re a pretty easy-going guy but what pisses you off?”

I had to admit that the question took me by surprise and had to think for a moment.

It seems like the older I’ve become and the more awareness I’ve gained, there’s not too much that gets me really fired up. 

However, as I thought about the question, I recalled a situation with a leader who had another leader on their team who wasn’t demonstrating care for people.

While I was listening to this situation being described, I could feel my body responding.

My heart rate quickened and I wanted to just shout –

“Don’t you get it?  Your people need to feel valued!”

So at the end of the day, the thing that really makes me frustrated and angry are leaders who think that people are expendable.

It’s treating people like “resources” rather than human potentials.

It’s no wonder that our labor market is experiencing the “great resignation” because people don’t resign from companies…

They quit bosses.

In particular, bad bosses who lack emotional intelligence to realize the impact of their communication style and sole focus on metrics at the expense of the human element.

And to be honest, I don’t even like the term “boss” because it refers back to the command and control type management style. 

This topic resonates with a lot of people because when I wrote about it to my subscribers, I got a lot of feedback and response.

“Spot on” said one.

“Hit the nail on the head” was another.

So how do you help people feel valued?

Give them meaningful acknowledgement and appreciation!

This is a favorite cultural behavior with a number of my clients.

We call them Fundamentals.

The key word here in this Fundamental is meaningful.

It has to be honest, specific and impact related.

Obviously, we can’t make stuff up so be sure that the acknowledgement is true and you mean it.

Next, be sure to get very specific with your appreciation.  We all know how the general “hey great job” is so meaningless.

So say something like, “hey you really helped Tom over on the XYZ Account to be sure it delivered on time.  Thanks for the extra effort and time you put in to make it happen”. 

Then the last part is how you need to top it off.  Tell the impact.

With the prior example, you could add “because it shipped on time, we really saved our credibility with the account and I know that will make a difference when the contract renews.”

See how it relates to the bigger impact of the effort?

Meaningful means honest, specific and impact related.

So let’s go give meaningful acknowledgment and appreciation to those around you in your organization this week.