10 Reasons Your Top Talent Will Leave You

Great post on Forbes by Mike Myatt, about why top talent will leave your company. He suggests that companies focus too much on process and systems for talent retention, and not enough on really engaging with people at a human level.

And if you have any role in retaining tallent, you should read on. Some killer stats in his post: More than 30% believe they’ll be working someplace else inside of 12 months; More than 60% don’t feel their career goals are aligned with the plans their employers have for them; More than 70% don’t feel appreciated or valued by their employer.

Here are some highlights from his post on why top talent leaves:

1. You Failed To Unleash Their Passions: Smart companies align employee passions with corporate pursuits. Human nature makes it very difficult to walk away from areas of passion. Fail to understand this and you’ll unknowingly be encouraging employees to seek their passions elsewhere.

2. You Failed To Engage Their Creativity: Great talent is wired to improve, enhance, and add value. They are built to change and innovate. They NEED to contribute by putting their fingerprints on design. Smart leaders don’t place people in boxes – they free them from boxes. What’s the use in having a racehorse if you don’t let them run?

3. You Failed To Develop Their Skills:Leadership isn’t a destination – it’s a continuum. No matter how smart or talented a person is, there’s always room for growth, development, and continued maturation. If you place restrictions on a person’s ability to grow, they’ll leave you for someone who won’t.

4. You Failed To Give Them A Voice: Talented people have good thoughts, ideas, insights, and observations. If you don’t listen to them, I can guarantee you someone else will.

5. You Failed to Lead: Businesses don’t fail, products don’t fail, projects don’t fail, and teams don’t fail – leaders fail. The best testament to the value of leadership is what happens in its absence – very little. If you fail to lead, your talent will seek leadership elsewhere.

In conclusion, as Tom says: "If leaders spent less time trying to retain people, and more time trying to understand them, care for them, invest in them, and lead them well, the retention thing would take care of itself."