CEO Corner: Attracting and Retaining Top Talent Begins with Leadership

By Shannon Kavanaugh

The Washington State job market is tight. Very tight. In a Seattle Times article this year, Robert Half district president Megan Slablinski was quoted as saying, “The war for talent is immense. In Seattle specifically, you’ve got large employers — we all know who they are — with massive amounts of openings in the tech space.”

So it’s no secret that attracting and retaining top talent remains a big issue for Washington State employers—especially those in the small to medium size sector!

Recently, I got the opportunity to hear Howard Behar, former Starbucks president, speak to the Seattle rotary about Servant Leadership. His message is powerful and I believe the key to what it takes to attract and retain top talent! It starts from the top. Here are some highlights:

1. Put other people first. Not everything we do, is what we get paid for doing.
2. Values are just words until they turn into action. Be conscious about that and you will go from being good at something but unable to teach it, to being good at what you do AND able to teach it.
3. Only the truth, sounds like the truth. Trust your people. They can deal with just about anything, if you tell them the truth. What they can’t deal with, is if you lie to them.
4. Show you care. It’s the small things that matter. Take the ‘we’re in it together’ approach...and mean it. Take care of your people, before you take care of yourself. “My day job is the people, my night job is the business.”
5. They remember what you do, not what you say. You’ll make mistakes. Own them…and then fix them.

If you’d like to see the full interview, check it out at youtu.be/pql0HUYvoDA. It’s worth the time! And I think you’ll agree…if you lead with these principals, you will become quite the attractive place to come to work!