March 12, 2010
On helping your employees leave you
The other day, Lauren and I were discussing the roll out of some new software and we realized that quite possibly, we could complete a major project -- the complete overhaul of our clients' online press kits -- by her one-year anniversary start date with RIA.
"You know Lauren, you should aim for that date. It would be great for your resume to say that you started with RIA and within a year ferried the building of a comprehensive back-end system and a complete overhaul of the press kits themselves. We need to aim for that cause really, that would be a great resume-builder."
Lauren looked at me with a combination of deer-in-the-headlights and mortal fear. Did she need a resume?
Let me back up. The closest Lauren gets to a title at RIA is Consigliere. Probably, if she worked somewhere where titles were valued, she'd be Operations Director. But really, she is so much more than that. She organizes and manages most of the staff stuff, directs the web team, manages all the new client uploads, is a sounding board for all of us, tells me when I am wrong, reminds me that she told me I was wrong and should have listened to her. It goes on.
Lauren, really, is a Linchpin.
So the thought of her leaving RIA is nothing short of a horror movie I don't want to watch. She works so hard and so smart -- so passionately -- that I am not sure how I could replace her. But that doesn't mean I have a right to chain her to the company. And in fact, letting her know that I am thinking of her future most probably strengthens her commitment to our team.
People like Lauren, like amazing chefs de cuisine, have drive. The drive that makes them such good employees, such indispensable right-hand mans, is also the drive that fuels their desire to move up the ladder, make their careers fulfilling while reaching for the stars. Supporting them and their drive, no matter where it takes them, is an important part of being a good boss. After all, if you are so selfish that you don't want your people to succeed, they won't succeed for you, either.
The best employers know this, value this and end up using it to their own advantage. Where some chefs become toxic waste dumps of rage when an employee decides it is time to move on, others opt to actually help make the transition a smooth one. After all, the chef/underchef relationship really worked in the past, it could work again. Maybe that person would be perfect when it comes time to open a new restaurant or maybe they are essential a few months later when the chef is going to be featured at a big national event and needs a right hand he can count on and the new right hand just isn't there yet.
It's hard to think about linchpins leaving. I for one can't really imagine how I would function without my Consigliere. But I need to, for her sake and for mine.
"You know Lauren, you should aim for that date. It would be great for your resume to say that you started with RIA and within a year ferried the building of a comprehensive back-end system and a complete overhaul of the press kits themselves. We need to aim for that cause really, that would be a great resume-builder."
Lauren looked at me with a combination of deer-in-the-headlights and mortal fear. Did she need a resume?
Let me back up. The closest Lauren gets to a title at RIA is Consigliere. Probably, if she worked somewhere where titles were valued, she'd be Operations Director. But really, she is so much more than that. She organizes and manages most of the staff stuff, directs the web team, manages all the new client uploads, is a sounding board for all of us, tells me when I am wrong, reminds me that she told me I was wrong and should have listened to her. It goes on.
Lauren, really, is a Linchpin.
So the thought of her leaving RIA is nothing short of a horror movie I don't want to watch. She works so hard and so smart -- so passionately -- that I am not sure how I could replace her. But that doesn't mean I have a right to chain her to the company. And in fact, letting her know that I am thinking of her future most probably strengthens her commitment to our team.
People like Lauren, like amazing chefs de cuisine, have drive. The drive that makes them such good employees, such indispensable right-hand mans, is also the drive that fuels their desire to move up the ladder, make their careers fulfilling while reaching for the stars. Supporting them and their drive, no matter where it takes them, is an important part of being a good boss. After all, if you are so selfish that you don't want your people to succeed, they won't succeed for you, either.
The best employers know this, value this and end up using it to their own advantage. Where some chefs become toxic waste dumps of rage when an employee decides it is time to move on, others opt to actually help make the transition a smooth one. After all, the chef/underchef relationship really worked in the past, it could work again. Maybe that person would be perfect when it comes time to open a new restaurant or maybe they are essential a few months later when the chef is going to be featured at a big national event and needs a right hand he can count on and the new right hand just isn't there yet.
It's hard to think about linchpins leaving. I for one can't really imagine how I would function without my Consigliere. But I need to, for her sake and for mine.
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