What’s a Leader to do to Create a Fantastic Work Environment?

Part 2: Know What Makes Each Team Member Tick

Below is an excerpt from an interview with Deb Boelkes by Tyler Gallagher, CEO and Founder of Regal Assets, featured in Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global.  This is the second installment in a 5-part series.

What is the second thing that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture?

One of the most important responsibilities a manager has, yet few seem to do, is to help each team member be the best they can be at whatever it is they love and want to do.

I can’t begin to count the number of times a senior executive has enrolled a “high potential” employee in my firm’s leadership development program, telling us the individual seems to have tremendous potential but, for whatever reason, is not living up to that potential. “I hope you can fix them,” the executive will say.

When I ask, “what is it you want us to fix?” they usually can’t quite define it. It’s up to us to figure it out.

More often than not, we will find the high potential employee simply doesn’t love what they were doing. They feel stuck in their role. We find some stay in their positions because the money is good, or they believe this position is their quickest route to the C-suite. But they aren’t enjoying the journey. When we ask them, “If you could wave your magic wand and do something else, something you would really love to do, what would that job look like?” The answer is often quite surprising.

One example was a director of an accounting function. By asking her this question, we discovered she had always wanted to be in marketing, but with a degree in accounting, she felt she had to stay there. She felt stuck and was clearly not happy in that role. It was amazing to watch what happened when we encouraged this individual to have an exploratory dialog with the VP of Marketing in her firm. Not long after, a new marketing role was created for her, doing something the company had never done before. Her new responsibilities were far better aligned with her personal desires and the new function enabled the company to enter a new, more profitable market.

Lo and behold, this “high potential” was soon thriving and her performance in the new role exceeded the sponsoring executive’s wildest dreams. Magic happened for both the employee and the company.

Just imagine what could have happened if the high potential’s manager had only had such a conversation with her months earlier. Her productivity and well-being, the well-being of each department, and the profitability of the company could have been improved much sooner.