By Jim Bouchard
There’s no way to soften the blow. One of the biggest reasons people leave organizations is the lack of opportunity for career advancement. The percentages vary by study, but it’s always looming in the top five.
Credit unions have a peculiar struggle with this issue. In working with CUs for more than 10 years now, I’ve noticed what can be a tremendous asset and a serious challenge. CU leaders tend to stay!
I very often ask for a show of hands for how long leaders have been with their organizations. No doubt you’ve been in some session that asks for a similar demonstration. I’m always amazed when CU leaders raise their hands for 10, 20––even 30 years or more. I met William Guadeloupe of Trinidad at CCCU in Cuba. Amazing man. He’s been involved in CUs for more than 60 years! And he’s still at it!
If not at the same organization, people stay in the CU world. And I’ve heard dozens of stories of people leaving the CU community only to come back a few years later––often at a reduced salary.
Of course, the problem with leaders who stay a long time is that this often leaves little room for others to advance––unless you clearly define advancement and find creative ways for people to learn, grow and develop––to “advance.”
Bombproof Research
The research is absolutely bombproof. People work harder, produce more and stay longer when––and only when:
- They know their leaders care
- Their work has meaning
- The have a real opportunity to learn, grow and develop.
Now let’s be clear. Some people will be perfectly happy without titles. Some people don’t want a traditional promotion. They might not want the responsibility of management. They don’t want a position of authority.
Not About Title
Leadership has nothing to do with rank, title or position of authority. Don’t you have terrific leaders right on your front lines? I hear the stories all time. You have tellers, assistants and janitors who are terrific leaders. They rally the troops. They show peers the ropes and lead by example.
And let’s face it, we all know people with plenty of power and authority who are just plain lousy leaders. We’ll save them for another day!
Other Ways to ‘Advance’
You can provide opportunities for advancement regardless of vacancies in titles and traditional management positions.
For the purpose of this discussion, I’m going to assume the first: You and the other leaders in your organization care about your people. Again I can share from experience that CU leaders rank very high in this regard.
Meaningful Work?
Now for any particular person in your organization––does their work have meaning?
Again, research shows us that clear purpose and the sense that one’s work is appreciated and contributes in a meaningful way is one of the most important factors affecting performance, productivity, engagement and satisfaction. Keeping it simple, when people know their work contributes something meaningful to others, they’re likely to–– work harder, produce more and stay longer.
Real Opportunity to Learn, Grow and Develop?
Notice I said “real opportunity.” Not everyone is going to want to take advantage of training and development opportunities––at least not all the time. The very fact that the organization has these opportunities available for when they are ready is a powerful and motivating statement.
Staying focused––people work harder, produce more and stay longer when they know the organization is willing to provide them with the training and development they need to be ready for advancement when the time comes, or to do their jobs better right now.
Not So Fast
So, we solved the problem, right? And we haven’t even talked about paying people more!
Not so fast…
People will still leave. And the plain truth is that most of the time, you can’t do anything about it.
There are people who want the title and if it’s not available here, they’ll go there.
Some just want a change of scenery. Some want to move closer to family––or farther away from home. Some want new adventures. Others need distance from personal issues.
The key is to focus on what we can control and worry less about the things we can’t control.
Developing Human-Centric Leaders
We can continually develop and support human-centric leaders who earn and maintain the respect, trust and loyalty of the people they serve.
We can cultivate and share a strong vision and sense of purpose for the organization. This purpose will attract and engage individuals who find meaning in supporting this vision.
We can provide opportunities for learning, growth and development.
And we can provide opportunities for advancement––even without formal promotion.
Advancement can take on many forms…
You can increase someone’s scope of responsibility––if they want it––within their current job description or title. They can mentor and train others, they can take on special projects or take the lead on community involvement initiatives.
Give Them the Tools
You can provide opportunities for training independent of advancement. Just give them the tools to do their jobs better. This can be training on new advances in equipment or process, cross-training in other areas and even opportunities for strictly personal development, health and wellness.
You can provide recognition. One of the most powerful drivers of the human psyche is status––the social position we occupy within our groups. This is too often overlooked. People do appreciate recognition as much as, sometimes even more than an official title or even monetary rewards.
Get Over It
The key is to think of advancement in a more expansive way. Focus on the advancement of the individual as a person rather than advancement as a position in the formal organization structure.
The biggest argument I get when I share these ideas is neatly summarized by a meme that made the rounds on LinkedIn a few years ago. I’ll paraphrase:
“What happens when you invest a lot in someone and they leave?”
“What happens when you don’t and they stay?!”
People will leave. We’ve got to get over that fact.
Let’s focus on what we can do for people while they’re with us. What can we do to engage them, inspire them and help them perform at their best?
Focus on that and people will work harder, produce more and stay longer!
Summary
- Expand your definition of “advancement.”
- Develop and provide creative opportunities for advancement independent of traditional promotions.
- Focus on the advancement of the individual as a person, not just on promotion.
- Make sure leadership expresses genuine caring.
- Cultivate and maintain a strong vision and sense of purpose that engages individuals and unites the organization.
- Provide genuine opportunities for learning, growth and development––both professionally and personally
Jim Bouchard is president and CEO of Black Belt Mindset Productions, is an internationally recognized speaker, leadership activist, and founder of The Sensei Leader Movement.