Second, that their work is an important part of the strategy — that each employee plays a part in achieving that future vision.
So, if you want your people to exercise all their discretionary efforts, one of the best things you can do is to give them something to believe in — a compelling vision and a leadership team that clearly knows what they want to accomplish and how they plan to get there.
This isn’t just leadership, it’s also internal marketing.
Taking the lead in transforming the business through decisive actions such as overhauling processes and changing roles of key people.
Exploring external partnerships and opportunities.
Taking risks where prudent and allocating resources in-line with strategy.
High-performers who are excited about opportunities and getting results. They need to see leaders who have a compelling vision of where they want to take the organization, and the ability to communicate it and put in place the plans to make it happen. If they don’t see this, they’ll disengage by degree until they leave.
Steady-performers who like their jobs, have friends at work, and consistently perform at a good levels. They need to know that their jobs are valued and that changes are communicated in a way to reassure. Without good communications, they get stressed and don’t perform well, but they rarely leave.
Vocal employees who tend to criticize, question, or stonewall any sort of change. They are usually insecure about any sort of change to their roles. Often, they are valuable. They need help understanding specifically what their roles will be going forward.
People who do not fit the culture. You can discern this not by reading their minds, but by their actions. If they can’t change, and many cannot, then they must go. This is true even if they are high performers, because the longer they remain, the more people believe that management condones their behavior.
Look for these types in your organization, particularly when you are driving change.