The article below mentions something we’ve all seen way too many times. The manager who gets promoted, but never developed any of their reports to do their job, and winds up having to continue doing it. In the worst-case scenario, since the culture was not to develop people to replace you, that person is probably also learning the new role from scratch while still doing a large chunk of their old role.
What a waste of time and talent.
Jim Calloway shared a tip about changing your cursor color and size on his Law Practice Tips blog, and it reminded me of a little bit of a pet peeve that I often have with people doing technology demos or training remotely. They move too fast.
Rather, they move as if we all saw the screen exactly as they do. When you’re doing remote learning like that, you have to account for two things when it comes to your cursor. One is video lag. The other is how small it may appear in the shared-screen environment.
Imagine having one thing you can do that would give you a 94% retention rate. There is one, though it won’t be as simple as doing one thing. It will involve figuring out the appropriate career development tools and paths for the people you are trying to retain, but having a program designed for that purpose gets you way ahead of most companies.
Yes, the thought that people aren’t loyal and won’t stay no matter what you invest in them is, in fact, a myth.
My point was that as a trainer, I do quite a bit of presenting and public speaking. I also do a fair bit of storytelling, but I didn’t learn that skill in business school or from my technical education. I had to learn those skills later in my professional life. So, I take every opportunity to encourage young people to learn those skills. You may not be looking for a career as a speaker, actor, or Improvisational Comedy, but the skills you learn there will make you stand out in the workplace when it comes time to do a presentation or speak up for your ideas.
I was reminded of this again last week when I listened to my friend and former colleague Laura Prael being interviewed on the Aussie podcast Two Drunk Accountants.
These people have watched companies “reward” the loyalty of Boomer and Gen X employees with layoffs, unfunded pensions, forced retirements, etc. They aren’t going to be loyal for the sake of loyalty to a company that will cut their job at the first sniff of an economic downturn. They will go to the place that benefits them the most.
If you’re not interested in providing skills and career development, don’t expect people to work for you. It’s not worth it.
Organizations that like to complain about not being able to find talent but also don’t bother to develop it are just leeches on their industry. Do you want more people skilled in cybersecurity or any other skill you’re having trouble finding? Teach it. Develop it. Grow it.
It’s not easy, but that’s how you address a lack of skilled workers. Educational and systemic changes are going to take way too long.
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