The number one reason people leave a job is that they don’t like/get long with/feel respected by their immediate supervisor. And the number one reason managers leave a company is that they don’t like / get along with/ feel respected by the number one guy they work for.
So, if you have some good people, it makes sense that you’d want to keep a great relationship with them. It sounds obvious, but a leader needs to conciously ask himself the question – how is my relationship with my key people? Am I taking them for granted just because they have been here a long time or because I implicitly trust them so I don’t have to do anything to acknowledge them anymore?
Here are some ideas for improving relations with your key people –
Acknowledge their work (publicly). Write a thank you note. Ask for their opinion and listen to them. Take them out to lunch. Take them and their spouse out to dinner or a show. Tell them what you are thinking of doing and ask for their advice. Keep them “in the loop” on important decisions. When there is trouble, give them the benefit of the doubt first, and ask what happened.
Keep good relations with your people, and they will work harder and look out for the organization better.
Larry, I could not agree more. As parents we know the petulant child receives more attention than the exemplary one. In the work place supervisors tend to acknowledge newer less informed employees than the senior and experienced ones. We need to treasure the good employees and never take them for granted.