A leader named Chris recently shared with me that he hired a great 24 year old named Damian into a coordinator position, and he was “crushing it.” Chris went on to say that unfortunately, Damian had told him that it was a job he would probably only stay at for a year or two as a stepping stone to what he “really” wanted to do.
Of course Chris was bummed and a little surprised at how forthright Damien was about his plans to leave.
But as I told Chris, at least he was honest!
Because the truth is—people won’t stay forever. And that’s okay.
What matters more is how they feel while they’re with you. If employees feel truly connected, when they leave they might become a customer, a client, a lifelong brand ambassador, or even a boomerang employee!
I shared with Chris these three things that every Great Human Leader (GHL) can do, and this is what happened.
- Connect people to purpose: Chris made sure that even in an entry-level role, Damian had a clear sense of how his work connected to the company’s mission. No guesswork necessary!
- Connect people to others in the organization: Chris made sure that Damian worked on projects where he could build relationships with other team members. And Chris began bringing the team together IRL for meals that weren’t “just” about work. Damian (and everyone else) began to feel part of a community.
- Connect people to themselves and how they want to develop: But the thing that had the biggest impact was that Chris asked Damian how he wanted to grow. Damian shared two things: First, that he wanted to learn about other parts of the business and second, that one of his real passions was photojournalism and that he was “saving every penny to travel the world.”
Chris immediately decided to give Damian opportunities to explore other areas of the business. This wasn’t after work or on weekends. Chris created an apprenticeship model where essentially Damian got paid to learn other parts of the business by being with and watching others. And, Chris told Damian that he could take four consecutive weeks off to travel and pursue his passion.
So, how do you think this made Damien feel? I would say he felt seen, heard, valued, and pretty excited!
Last week, I reconnected with Chris to see how things were going.
Chris smiled as he shared that Damian had recently told him:
“As long as I’m growing and developing, I could see myself staying four to five years…maybe even indefinitely!”
Chris didn’t need golden handcuffs to keep Damian around, because let’s be honest, those rarely work.
Instead, by connecting Damian to purpose, to others on the team, and to his own growth, Chris created a culture that was good for Damian and great for business.
So, if there’s someone on your team who might be thinking about leaving, before they walk out the door, ask yourself: What would a great human leader do?
2/4/25
