VAA Spring/Summer 2020

22 SPRING/SUMMER 2020 Tom & Melissa Laughon THE COMPANY YOU KEEP Keys to Attracting, Growing, & Retaining Talent When we started our leadership development firm, generations in the workforce, innovation, talent, culture, and dis- ruption were some of the hot topics. And, twenty years later, we’re still asked to share the “silver bullet” on these same topics. So, we begin this article with a couple of disclaimers: • The strategies to building a company that attracts, grows, and retains the best talent are quite simple to understand but so very hard to do consistently because the strategies across all of these areas share one thing in common—people. • When we say these are the keys to attract- ing, growing and retaining talent, we’re not saying the keys; we’re really saying some of the keys, some of the things that matter, some of the things that will pro- vide you with return on investment if you approach them with authenticity, vulner- ability, courage, discipline, commitment, and accountability. Before we get too far down this road, think about why you’ve chosen to read this article. Are you seeing the bottom line impacted adversely by not being able to attract and retain talent? Are you feeling responsible for a culture that is out of alignment? Maybe the right words are on the website and printed on posters in the hall, but you sense people aren’t consistently feeling the love for you, other leaders, teammates, and the company as a whole? Are you just biding time waiting in the carpool line? Or, are you like us and always searching for best practices? We’re always on the lookout for exemplary leaders. We’ve been fortunate to work with clients across North America; to facilitate from boardrooms in Times Square with their impressive views and accoutrements; to stand roadside and talk with an asphalt “slinger” in 90+ temps about the importance of mutual respect; to observe generational dynamics at play in our courses at FSU and VCU’s da Vinci Center for Innovation; to speak at the same conferences as Jim Collins and Maya Angelou and others we admire; to ride along with a hospice music therapist and learn the true need of caring for the caregivers; to design a leadership camp for foster teens and to be inspired by alumni of our leadership programs who are the kind of leaders that are so rare and yet so needed, and who we are proud to call our friends. Many years ago, we met Jason, a leader of a car wash that consistently outperformed the other locations across all metrics. His location was experiencing high morale and low turnover with young adults, working minimum wage, year-round, outdoors, at a time when other clients were telling us, “Young people just aren’t willing to do manual labor and work hard these days.” We started asking questions of the team from the greeter to the person polishing To make great hiring decisions, you need options. You need people lined up, willing to jump ship from your competitors.