Hey, this is Meridith Elliott Powell. And this week I want to talk about something that’s probably pretty
clear about leadership, but I want to make sure that you’re following it. So I had a client. I’ve just started
to work on this contract. One of their biggest problems is retention of talent. Young people coming through the pipe building that next level leadership. That’s what we’re going to go in there and work on.
And I asked what the challenge was. And the CEO told me. He said, there’s this perception that you have
to work long hours. You have to be available 24/7. And he said, I don’t want that type of atmosphere. So
I’ve told the team, if they think they need to work 80 hours a week, they’re wrong. We want them to have work-life balance, he said I’ve said that over and over. But still, these young people are working so hard. And after a couple of years, they leave us. What is the executive leadership team doing? How are
you role modeling it? I understand what you said, but how are you role modeling it? And the CEO said,
what do you mean? Well, I said, are you striking this work life balance? Or are you spending weekends
doing some things that put energy back into you? And still he look confused. And I explained it like this. I
said, your words are important, and I don’t mean to diminish that. But if you want talent to stay, you
need to see that they are looking at what the executive leadership team is doing. Your actions speak far
louder than your words Because what your actions are doing, are telling your team. What it’s going to
be like to work there? what you have to do in order to get promoted? So through the actions, if your
executive team is working 24/7, sending emails at 11:00 at night, it doesn’t matter what you say. Your
talent is looking at what you do. So make sure that no matter what initiatives you’re putting into your organization, there is a leader. Your actions speak louder than your words because your team will follow
what you do far easier than what you say. All right. That’s this week’s tip. I’ll see you next week. For another leadership strategy. And together, we’re going to turn all of this uncertainty into a major
competitive advantage.
