“Can you coach
one of my direct reports, too?”
asked the founder.
“Only if
you’re willing to accept the possibility
that they’ll feel empowered
to leave your company.”
I replied.
Author: Seung Chan Lim
Retaining Employees
“How do I retain
my best employees?”
asked the founder.
Equally important is to choose to take responsibility in seeing that your employees are not for us to “retain.” They have a life journey they’re on and it is not up to us to “retain” them. No matter how much progress, meaning, and choice they feel there will come a time when your employee will want to leave. It’s worth reflecting on the deeper fear that is giving rise to the question of and address that more fundamentally.
Push vs Support
When we push someone
against the direction of their weight
we feel
resistance.
When we support someone
we push them
against the direction of their weight
and we feel
resistance
There lies
a delicate balance
betweeen
pushing someone
and supporting someone.
Proving I’m Right
“I need to prove that they’re wrong.”
said the CEO.
“Why?”
I asked
“Because I don’t want him to think I’m making an arbitrary decision.”
she responded.
“What do you think will happen if you prove them wrong?”
I asked
“He’ll probably trying to prove he’s right.”
she responded.
And then what?
I’ll prove him wrong again.
Then what?
I guess we’ll go around in circles.
You do realize
that you cannot guarntee you’re right, right?
Yeah, I do.
But nor does he!
True
But you have the power
to make the decision
What have you got to lose
if you simply said
“I may be wrong, but I’d like to make this decision for the following reasons.”
Challenge of Leadership
A major challenge
of leadership,
is making the effort required
to realize empathy
first
in relation to people
who may not do the same
with us.
It is a challenge
that can easily build within us
feelings
of resentment
and vengefulness.
Making us wonder why
the world is filled
with such ungrateful people
and how unfair
the world is.
It is normal for us
to deeply
Beauty
It is easy
to judge beauty
as lacking
function.
Unaware
of how his behavior changes
when faced
with beauty.
Just because the function isn’t clear
doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter
it just means, it’s versatile
The Big Misunderstanding
The big misunderstanding
is that we’ll be happy
once we have
“it.”
Perhaps
briefly.
Then
it’ll be the same.
The challenge
is to be happy
now.
Not always.
But now.
Then pursue “it,”
simply because it’s fun
to pursue.
I May be Wrong
While one may misunderstand them
to mean the same,
there is a world of difference
between
“I may be wrong,
but I’m willing to take responsibility
if I am.”
vs
“I am right,
and I will prove you
wrong.”
How It Feels
When we find ourselves
particularly judgmental
of others
It may be worth shifting our focus
to articulating
how they make us feel
about ourselves
less
about them.
Appreciating best
To appreciate our best
sometimes requires us to let go
of our tendency to judge our best not by I our best
by external best.