Simon T Bailey’s Blog

I recently heard a story from a friend who was considered a Hi-Po (High Potential employee) with his previous employer. I was shocked when he told me he had divorced his employer…he’d had such an incredible track record of high performance and stellar results with the organization.

My friend explained that every time he had the “where is my career going” conversation with his leader, the response was always the same: “Just hang in there. We have big plans for you.” Leadership recognized his contributions, but did nothing to help him move up the food chain, nor did they offer him juicer projects or growth opportunities.

Since he wasn’t feeling the love, his eyes started to wander. He began looking outside his professional marriage and initiated an affair, discreetly interviewing with various companies. He received several offers and was in the final stages with one company when he decided to make a last-ditch effort to save his current professional marriage.

 So, he went to his direct leader and told him about the offer that was on the table. In a panic that their star employee might walk out the door, the organization’s leadership threw him a bone – a $10,000 salary increase. One of the senior executives even called him to say that the organization valued his contributions and hoped he’d stay.

What a joke! Imagine receiving a call from a senior executive who barely knows you and rarely has anything to say to you, but suddenly is begging you to stay with the company. It’s like a father-in-law who barely talks to his son-in-law and then calls out of the blue to say, “Please try to work things out with my daughter…divorce should be the last option.” Right buddy – and you’ve been married how many times?!

The point is this: Employee turnover (i.e., Professional Divorce) looms as a major business issue for 73 percent of U.S. businesses, according to TalentKeepers, the global employee retention research and solutions firm. “Employee turnover is a business problem. No longer can the loss of talented employees be viewed as a people problem where responsibility and solutions reside solely with the HR department,” says Craig Taylor, TalentKeepers’ Senior Vice President.

Professional divorce rates are on the rise. If you’re unhappy in your professional marriage, don’t take the easy way out. There’s too much at stake – you’ve invested too much time and energy in this relationship to just walk away.

Employees, let me ask you: Is leadership fighting to keep you? Are you worthy of being kept? If you’re thinking about a professional divorce, consider the following:

Talk to your direct leader or manager – early and often – about the state of your career. Do you feel undervalued, unappreciated, unchallenged? Then tell your leader. He or she can’t help you if you don’t communicate.

If your direct leader is the reason you want to leave the organization, seek a transfer to another division where you can re-engage with a different leader, reconnect with your organization’s core purpose and renew your energy.

Sharpen your professional skills to prepare yourself for the next level. You must be ready when the leaders of your organization come calling with a new opportunity, project or promotion.

Visit with the HR champion for your area. Instead of complaining about your situation, offer a constructive plan for what you’d like to see happen with your career at the organization. Remember – it costs your company more to replace you than to keep you.

Find and build a relationship with a sponsor (this is different from a mentor) who has some status and influence in the organization. Your sponsor will leverage his or her credibility to keep you in the organization by opening doors, making contacts on your behalf, and looking for opportunities for your growth and promotion.

Leaders, let me ask you: Why is it that you only throw employees a bone when they’re fed up and ready to leave? If you want your high potential stars to feel the love and stay committed to your professional marriage, consider the following before they tell you they’re thinking about divorce:

Listen to your employees (listening is very different from hearing). What are they really telling you? Remember the wife who wants her husband’s attention more than his gifts.

Ask your Hi-Pos what they need in order to remain committed to the marriage (the organization). Then work to make it happen. Remember – it costs your company more to replace Hi-Pos than to keep them.

Challenge them with juicy assignments and projects that stretch their skills and abilities. Promoting Hi-Pos isn’t always an option, but there are always ways to capture and keep their minds and hearts.

Engage employees in career discussions on a regular, on-going basis. Having this discussion only during annual or semi-annual reviews simply isn’t enough.

Help Hi-Pos connect with and develop relationships with senior management – not because you have to, but because you want to. This will greatly enhance the “love connection” between employees and the organization.

 I have a genuine desire to keep today’s professional marriages strong and healthy.

 Simon Says…Work on your professional marriage before you consider divorce!

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Ten to thirty years of a person’s life is spent in a place of business. Simply put, your employer is like a marriage partner. Are you satisfied in your professional marriage? If not, are you having an affair behind your company’s back or just going through the motions?

Come on…I know you’ve been thinking about it. Go ahead and blush. And don’t be shocked when you find out the person in the cubicle next to you has been doing it — interviewing (going on secret dates) with another company. If there’s some chemistry during the date interview then they will meet a few more times before an offer is made to consummate the relationship.  

Recently a friend told me that her company was monitoring everyone’s computer activity and was fully aware that people were surfing www.hotjob.com  www.yahoo.com www.monster.com and www.careerbuilder.com However, the company has done nothing about it. She said the only time the organization seems to care is when it’s time for the employee opinion survey. Management will then host an impromptu pizza social to get everyone in a good mood prior to taking the survey. What kind of professional marriage relationship is this?   

The Conference Board recently released a report that said the following:

U.S. workers are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs

The decline in job satisfaction is widespread among workers of all ages and all income brackets

Half of all those surveyed are satisfied with their jobs — down from nearly 60 percent in 1995

Only 14 percent are “very satisfied”

25 percent of the U.S. workforce is simply showing up at work to collect a paycheck

Two out of every three workers do not identify with or feel motivated to drive their employers’ business

goals and objectives

(Based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. Source – TNS)

By now you are probably wondering if there is any hope for this marriage relationship between employer and employee.

A leader who wants to preserve the marriage relationship between employee and employer will focus on your value and brilliance until you see it for yourself. If you are dissatisfied in a going-nowhere professional marriage, then it’s time to stop “cheating” (playing the field hoping for a better offer while you give less than 100% to your current position) or hanging in there for the paycheck. It’s time to take steps to align yourself with an organization you can truly commit to. Or perhaps you have realized that your company really is worth your full commitment.

Simon Says… Remember that your job is where you spend most of your time – either find the one you love, or love the one you’re with.

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As I look around I continue to hear gloom and doom. Prices at the pump are heading north and some days south, corporations are tightening their belts, and when I look into the faces of people I see this blank stare – as if to say, I am just here, going through the motions. The lights are on, but no one is home. It’s what Scott Dilbert calls “Dead People Working.” Do you know anyone like this?

Snap out of it! Rattle the cage! Tip the boat!  Grab your life by the shirt collar and pull yourself forward in to your future! 

I must admit that for the last six weeks I have felt discouraged, disappointed, and negative. Are you shocked and surprised? Well, I am human and I believe in keeping it real. If someone tells you that every day they are always positive and never have a bad day then they are lying or smoking some New Age dope.

However, during this time, I realized that negativity, pessimism, and cynicism are contagious and you can feed into another person’s dismal outlook or you can stand up in your soul and walk the other way. Today, I want to extend an invitation to you to be contagiously optimistic about your future. Negativity is a pain. Negativity has a viral affect that spreads from the mind, to the lips, to the hands and feet. However, when the mind is exercised and stretched to believe that your adversity determines your capacity then endorphins (neurotransmitters) are released in the pain pathways of brain and spine. Ultimately, this impacts what you think, say, do and feel.

Optimism, as defined by dictionary.com, is a tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation. Optimism creates confidence, and guess what? Your confidence is under attack as a result of layoffs, hiring freezes, decreases in benefits, early retirements, cancelled contracts… the list goes on. These announcements from businesses and organizations impact your confidence level. Your confidence is tied to your courage and when you have courage you take risks. When you are discouraged by negative news you play it safe. Why?  You respond to what you hear, see, and what others say.

Is there a better way to live and experience life to the fullest? Yes and its called Contagious Optimism (C.O.). Individuals and businesses that subscribe to the C.O. mindset demonstrate the following behaviors:

When everyone is saying the same thing and moving the same direction, the C.O. mindset says go the opposite direction.

When others are tip-toeing through the tulips of self-preservation and “I need to be nice because I need this job or your business,” the C.O. mindset says let’s ruffle some feathers and shake up the establishment of comfort zone living.

The C.O. mindset individual will raise their hand and ask the right question to get everyone in the room moving and thinking.

The C.O. mindset refuses to settle for business as usual.

The C.O. mindset will rewrite their job description.

The C.O. mindset organizations do not employ they deploy people to release their brilliance.

The C.O. mindset infuses the organizational culture to rise to the occasion and seize the moment.

The C.O. mindset leaders don’t tell people what to do but invite them to become what they were meant to be

The C.O. mindset realizes that every day you are adding a sentence to the story of your life. Today is the day to be the exclamation point.

The C.O. mindset mistakes are celebrated and failure is rewarded.

The C.O. mindset individuals don’t work in departments but on teams.

The C.O. mindset people work to make meaning instead of just money.

The C.O. mindset people see themselves as the solution that they’ve been waiting for.

The C.O. mindset individuals are attractive people. Everyone wants to be around them and seek their opinion.

The C.O. mindset people complete their work and then ask others if they need any help in completing their work.

The C.O. mindset people are the match that sets their life on fire. Others come from near and far to watch them burn.

Simon Says…Release Your Brilliance and be Contagiously Optimistic!

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