Fumbling Top-Tier Talent: How to move forward in a New Terrain

"If a fumble goes forward and out of bounds, the ball is next put in play at the spot of the fumble by the team that was last in possession"- (NFL-Football Operations, Rule for Legal Recovery, out of bounds, items 2&3).

In Dr. Chad's car chronicle with my professional network, today's discussion talked about fumbling top-tier talent, having the ability as an organization to attract the industry's finest/most educated and experienced individuals but not being able to retain them due to mishandling and bureaucracy.?

Before I summarize this banter by putting research/theoretical context around this burgeoning dilemma as a universal healthcare culture issue: You should know that I am labeled the politically correct member of the group for my ability to be strategic, objective, and multidimensional in perspective/thought (Insert colleague eye rolls here).?

We have all been on the receiving end of this awkwardly transitive state in our professional careers. As an executive in the healthcare business, a research practitioner, and an operational expert: I tend to start with the data, develop a problem statement, and focus on interventions/solutions to create a compelling argument.

According to a new LinkedIn survey, more than half (61%) of US workers want to quit their jobs in 2023, and 4.2 million workers left voluntarily in November 2022 (Tan, H., 2023). The question remains regarding what healthcare organizations/executives need to do to avoid losing their best employees and how employees can move forward after fumbling. A thematic and prescriptive survey of health professionals and a synthesis of my esteemed colleagues reveals findings.

Healthcare executives need to create an environment that allows top-tier talent to thrive by seeing the opportunity for leveraging change or abrasion of norms as a value-add. That is to avoid stifling the creativity of those who offer new insights to practice, policy, strategy, and decision-making.?

Employees can feel an organizational focus on the bottom line, especially while grappling with searching for a new identity in this evolving healthcare landscape. Some organizations use compensatory motivators and provide discretionary benefit perks, better staffing ratios, flexible schedules, employee-related focus groups, and other appeal forms to increase engagement/satisfaction. At the same time, others focus on productivity, performance, and outcomes as measures of progressive markers. Some employees rely on labor union presence to advocate for their interests.??

Top-tier talent will not conform, oblige, adjust, and roll over as means to get along or adapt to status quo thinking. They will, however, tell the truth without being labeled polarizing, challenge normative behaviors, and use discovery-driven inquiry to support a compelling position/argument.?

Employees need a psychologically safe space to be authentic, which requires a release of the strong-holding chains of resistance that contest dominating cultures and reassessing how we are doing business. Organizations need to focus on organizing and planning employee steps so progressive growth opportunities are in clear sight. Measuring is a must, but micromanaging deactivates trust, and employees want to contribute in their way.??

Top-tier talent desires 1:1 meetings for feedback/coaching; they don't want to wait for the green light to move forward and instead seek autonomy to get it done. These individuals require a network, partners with whom they can build relationships, and leaders who will put them out front. Remember, these folks function well under pressure, so put them in the game while not forgetting to expose them to areas outside of their scope of practice.

How do you move forward after the fumble? You must first take yourself off the defensive line and play incredible offense to score the win. Move forward, putting your fumble in your rearview, and be careful not to let one experience bleed into your next. It is imperative to remove your ego from your experience by exploring takeaways, identifying learning opportunities, and clarifying how to avoid future mishaps.?

Consult with your internal and external mentors, and be open to hearing if you somehow contribute to your demise. Keep gossip to a minimum by journaling your thoughts on your experience and affirming them with facts. It helps to have a concrete understanding of what value you bring to your organization, thus revisiting your selected accomplishments.??

There are two theoretical considerations for research alignment to this potential business case. The human capital theory asserts that organizations can incentivize to improve their workforce and business by developing employee experiences and skills through education/training. The resource-based employee retention theory argues that employees who feel the most useful to their organizations, making them feel valuable, can expect to resolve problematic retention issues. The correlation to retention implies that the more organizations invest in development, the better their teams will perform, and both human capital and retention will increase.

Final thought:?Organizations, employees, and top-tier talent can co-exist; they must first embrace the value of change in their interactions and take a human approach to organizational development through cultural transformation. Fumbling forward is a skill of momentum, don't lose your most valuable asset, human capital, to the competitor who sees their worth.??

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