Here’s some truth about why your best volunteers leave. It hurts when people leave…especially when they’re some of your best team members.
It’s been said that people don’t quit organizations, they quit people.
There are a million reasons why, over time, we can lose talented volunteers or staff members. Sometimes it’s circumstantial. Other times, it’s just a natural pattern of growth and development.
But not always, and probably not often.
In reviewing a recent article in Forbes magazine on why top talent leaves business, here are some trends that tend to surface as common reasons people become disenfranchised.
We Stop Leading With Vision.
Vision matters. It creates momentum and excitement. When we lead with vision and with “why,” we’re doing something that makes people move from renters to owners. Vision births passion.
We Don’t Allow People to Unleash Their Passions.
It’s vital to keep people engaged and to align their passions with opportunities. When people are passionate about something, they not only want to do it … they have to do it. When we miss the chance to align passion and purpose, we fail our best people.
We Control Rather Than Trust.
Great people want to be trusted. They won’t be capable of sticking around if they feel they need to be micromanaged. Will they mess up? Yes. Will they do things different than we think they should? Probably. But growth — for them and for our organization — requires sharing not just the responsibility, but also the authority. This creates leaders that will learn from you and your systems and help lead and coach other leaders.
We Lack Creative Engagement.
Creative people want to make things better. Our best people want to add value to our organizations. They love to challenge and ask questions. They seek opportunities to engage and innovate. We have to free our best people to soar and do their best work.
