8 ways to develop top talent — and keep them around

Man, this is a tough time for recruiting and retaining talent. Let’s see:

1. The Great Resignation has unsettled almost every company, although that seems to be slowing down.

2. The looming recession (or is it here already?) threatens downsizing.

3. The increased emphasis on DEI rightfully pushes recruiters to explore new channels to find qualified candidates.

4. The pandemic seems to have increased employees’ focus on finding meaning and value in their work.

5. The fast-changing business environment requires leaders to meet rapidly changing demands for specific skills, both hard and soft.

And there are probably several other factors I have left out.

So what’s a company to do? While you’re navigating all of the above challenges, don’t forget that one of the best ways to gain great leaders is to develop the top talent you have. And that doesn’t start at the director or VP level. A truly effective leadership development program includes employees at every level of the organization. As my colleague, Parissa Behnia, recently wrote:

“If we want transformational leaders at the top of an organization, it starts by creating and nurturing the talent at the bottom of an organization. We have to share with each new leader the fundamentals and the benefits of understanding the fundamentals. Let's be clear, however, that leadership isn't a boxed cake mix. It's a custom recipe that each individual creates for themselves so that they can stand in their best expression. Once they have the fundamentals, they can add their own flavors.” 

8 fundamentals for developing top talent

Here's a great example of how to do that. My first job out of college was “mental health technician” at Quinco, a community mental health center in Columbus, Indiana. I had a BA in psychology and absolutely no experience as a clinician, so I was definitely at the bottom of the professional hierarchy. I worked at Quinco for a year before going on to graduate school. And in that year, I had a phenomenal growth and learning experience which set me up for the rest of my career. I realize now that the leaders at Quinco informally created a great leadership development program. The elements included:

1. Formal training
   I was invited to case conferences and other professional development activities with the psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and nurses at the clinic.

2. Technical experience
   My main task was to gather intake information from new clients. This fostered my interviewing skills and exposed me to the wide range of mental health challenges.

3. Shadowing
   I was invited to watch clinicians in action and to co-lead a support group.

4. Stretch experiences (with support)
   I was given several clients of my own to work with. As I said, I had no clinical experience so this was both exciting and daunting. The clients were carefully selected to be appropriate for a beginner, and the clinical professionals provided close supervision of my work.

5. Career counseling
   I knew I wanted to become a therapist, but I wasn’t sure which path to pursue – social worker or psychologist? The professionals helped me decided that psychology was the right path for me.

6. Community involvement
   I was invited to participate in a program for pregnant teenagers, which helped me understand the context of their lives.

7. Opportunities for innovation
   I started a Quinco newsletter. I created a pictorial guideline for medications so when clients said they were taking a “little yellow pill with an R on it” I could identify the medication. I initiated a research project on the types of clients we were seeing and their outcomes. All of these projects were encouraged and supported by the clinic leaders.

8. Passionate role models
   Quinco was a great place to work. The employees were happy and collaborative. The work felt meaningful and important. When I went off to graduate school and had a miserable time, it was the experience at Quinco that inspired me to get through the program and move on to the work I knew I would love.

Quinco did all of this knowing that I was not a candidate for retention. Regardless of which path I chose, I would be going back to academia to complete my journey, ending my tenure with the company. Still, the professionals at Quinco set me up for success — as a professional and a leader. Without a formal leadership program, they offered many of the experiences which accelerate the development of a high-potential employee.

If you would like to know more about how to help your people maximize their talents, contact me.