I did a little mental exit interview for myself today. To just clean the cobwebs of my mind. And I felt so good by just listing all the things I needed or wanted to succeed. I am generalizing it for leaders across organizations. Just my way of giving back –

1. Give a new employee some time to lay their foundation in a role before announcing organizational changes
2. Give a new employee benefit of doubt with the first round of strong feedback. Change takes time.
3. Be interested in his/her growth. Show him/her the gaps they need to fill to go from good to, better, to best. Give him/her examples of what success looks like.
4. Give him/her time to hire, grow, stabilize his/her team, so they can start to delegate. Don’t allege his/her lack of intent to delegate. He/She is also dealing with changes. Pace it out.
5. Support him/her on tough decisions, or lead the way if there is a better way to do.
6. Give him/her signs of expansion of scope. Don’t marginalize his/her impact, especially without giving a reason.
7. Coach him/her on how to overcome their weakness. Speak directly.
8. Trust their capabilities and accept they for who they are.
9. Support their passion, don’t belittle it.
10. Don’t just critique. Be a coach. But also don’t prescribe. Let’s the employee choose their approach.

I have led 3 distinct teams, and many in consulting, and I have never lost an employee on my team. But I know that one day it will happen to me, and that day I will ask my employee what I could have done to help them succeed. It’s a promise to myself.