Distorted Reality at a Time When Clear Thinking is Needed

The coronavirus is having an effect on people that no one is talking about--a distorted sense of reality.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

I’ve got some neighbors who keep touting how careful they’re about remaining socially distant. While at the same time, their teenage son is out every night hanging with different groups of friends.

See what I mean?

Look, no one wants to tell a teenager, who's been locked in his room for four months that he can’t go out. As the mother of two college-age students, I get that.

But don’t kid yourself and the people around you.

When someone invites you to their home and asks ahead of time, what you’re doing to minimize your risk, they deserve to know the truth. 

These days, I’m seeing a lot of leaders struggling with a similarly distorted sense of reality. 

Over the past week, I’ve heard leaders say:

 “No one on my team would dare to leave right now. Not with the current unemployment rate.”

“We’re working our strategic plan and staying the course, even though that plan no longer feels right.”

“I can offer this person substantially less than what they’re asking and they’ll still accept the job.”

Last week, a friend of mine’s wife called asking for advice. She’s currently employed and was not looking for work. Out of nowhere, she received calls from two companies asking her to interview with them. By the end of the week, she had two offers in hand. Both came with a significant bump in pay.

Bet you didn’t see that coming! Neither did her current employer.

Here’s the reality.

 Great people are still in demand. They’re also still being paid well. 

Sure, you could keep your head in the sand and pretend this story is merely a fluke. It’s not. If it hasn’t hit you yet, it will. 

With that in mind, here are three things you can do today to ensure your talent is still with you tomorrow:

1. Identify your keepers. Gather your senior management team together on Zoom and ask them to identify who on their team, they’d miss if they were gone tomorrow. Share ideas on steps people can take to strengthen their relationship with these team members. Examples of this might include weekly check-ins, quarterly conversations around career development, and a commitment to surveying the market to ensure salaries remain competitive.
2. Determine which team members are most at risk for leaving. Perhaps someone has recently been passed over for a promotion, or you’ve heard through the grapevine that they’re being heavily pursued by one of your competitors. Schedule time to have a conversation with these individuals and listen for opportunities to correct situations that may prevent them from departing.
3. Invest in the development of your leaders. A week doesn’t go by when I don’t hear horror stories from people regarding how they’re being managed. Stories of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and just plain lousy leadership are all too familiar. Now’s the time to assess which leaders need to go and which people you should be investing in. Get serious about your leadership development. Invest in coaching, create a mentoring program like the one that I helped launch at General Motors, and create a learning culture. Whatever you decide to do, do it well.

I’m here to help. I’ve put together The New Talent Roadmap for the Post-Pandemic World for leaders interested in attracting, engaging, and retaining talent now, and well after this pandemic is gone. 

It’s about a four-minute read. I’d like to send you a FREE copy. Email me at [email protected] and put “Roadmap” in the subject line.

Talk soon!

Roberta