How to prevent your best people from leaving 

When I step back and think about the most successful people I have come across in my career, they share a common theme. They all seem to genuinely enjoy learning new things and will challenge themselves to grow and develop.

Even at the peak of their career, they acknowledge there’s much to learn and actively seek out new knowledge to fill any gaps. For them, lifelong learning is a huge part of their fulfillment and happiness, both inside and outside work.

As a leader, consider this: if lifelong learning is essential for success, is continuous learning truly a priority for you? Are you the role model your workforce looks up to in this regard? If your answer is anything other than a definite ‘Yes,’ your top talent might start doubting whether they are in the right place to support their continuous learning and development. You don’t want to lose your best people.

You must be a role model for lifelong learning

I strongly believe that you are never too senior or old to learn something new. The best leaders I know are those who are always learning new things, always reading or exploring a lot, and above all, always making their development a personal priority. These people usually lead high-performing businesses. And this is not a coincidence. As I see it, if the leader of a business is committed to their own learning, generally their entire workforce can be too. And that can only lead to good things.

As leaders, it’s our job to teach our people that now, more than ever, continuous learning should be a priority for all of us, throughout our lives. We need to role model lifelong learning ourselves to get this message home.

Therefore, challenge yourself with the following: What have I learned in the past year? How did I achieve it? What do I wish to tackle next? Secondly, did anyone notice what you’ve done and how do you think they perceive the new, developed you? I think it’s important that you actively show your business that you are genuinely committed to your career development – that learning is personally important to you and your career, and that, essentially, the rest of the business should take a leaf out of your book. By doing so, a culture of lifelong learning will start to permeate.

People leave managers, not organizations

However, this role modeling should not begin and end with you alone. Your people managers must also embody this philosophy for it to really make a difference. Yet, this may require you to lead a shift in mindset. Your managers shouldn’t see learning and development as a cost, or a waste of time, but rather an investment in the long-term health and sustainability of themselves, their team members, and the wider organization.

Here are three ideas to help your people managers role-model lifelong learning in a way that will make their teams sit up, take notice, and replicate their behavior.

1. Managers need to be more self-aware

Encourage your people managers to take a step back and think about whether they are personally committed to their learning. Is there more they could be doing? When was the last time they went on a training course or attended a conference? Or simply spent 20 minutes reading a thought leadership piece they’d found on the web?

In my book, all these things make up what it means to be committed to lifelong learning. Are they constantly pushing themselves outside their comfort zone? Are they maintaining their curiosity? Are they aware of their skill gaps? Do they act as if they are on a development journey, or that the journey has finished, and they’ve checked out future personal growth and understanding?

I know from my own experience that developing your leadership style is a lifelong endeavor rather than simply the result of just going on a few training courses. Do your people managers consider themselves fully developed simply because they attended a training course last year and have not pursued further development since? They should not, and if they do, this presents a significant issue. They may be indifferent to their development, but if this attitude permeates through their teams, it will create substantial challenges.

So, your managers must realize that by not making their learning a priority (often claiming because they are too busy doing other ‘important’ things), not only are they doing themselves an injustice, but they are doing their teams an injustice by not setting a good enough example.

2. Actions speak louder than words

It’s not enough for your managers to ‘talk the talk’ without ‘walking the walk.’ They need to hear this message loud and clear from you. We all know that actions speak louder than words, especially in role modeling. So, your people managers need to openly and publicly communicate their commitment to lifelong learning, no matter how busy they think they might be.

It can be incredibly motivating for a direct report to know that their line manager also has a personal development plan they’re executing. It essentially helps the team realize and understand that it’s not just them who has to improve, it's everyone in the business who does, including the boss. This in effect builds trust and positively impacts the workspace.

Encourage your people managers to take some time out of their busy schedules to learn whenever and wherever they can. After all, there are so many opportunities for learning out there, many of which can essentially fit seamlessly into our day-to-day.

So encourage your people managers to attend industry events, join webinars during their lunch break, or recommend podcasts to listen to on their commute home. If we think about it, there’s lots of unproductive time in our packed schedules as we wait for trains and planes, sit in traffic jams, or relax over a coffee or sandwich at lunchtime. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all model for learning, so let your people managers choose the path that works best for them.

3. Failure is ok, as long it comes with learning

Innovation and advancement are what we are all striving for to remain competitive, and that simply cannot happen without occasional failure. So, in the new ‘lifelong learning culture’ of your business, let your people managers know that failure is ok. Just encourage them to fail fast AND take away every drop of learning from the situation.

I remember listening to an interview with Boris Becker many years ago when he had been defeated yet again by his nemesis, Pete Sampras. When asked how he felt about yet another defeat, he said simply “Every time I lose, I am learning how to beat him”. And eventually, he defeated him – many times. Boris was not failing. He was learning.

So next time you’re tempted to decline an opportunity to problem solve and learn something new, just because you think you’re too busy, grasp it with both hands. Stop making excuses and find the time to develop yourself and learn new things in a way that works for you. Your workforce will notice this change. More so, they will admire and respect you for it, and most importantly, follow suit.

For more advice on how to retain your top staff, contact us now.