The most successful leaders understand that the team with the best people is most likely to get to the top and stay there.  Recruiting, developing, and retaining the right team is their passion.

They are continuous recruiters.  They never miss an opportunity to get the right individuals on their team and grow and retain them.  They confirm which talent pipelines and pools produce the teammates they need to excel on the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives.  They offer the leadership, culture, team, and mission to attract and keep who they must have to consistently outperform their competition.  They pay close attention to the relevant talent market and study metrics and data points concerning their organization’s activities and achievements in recruitment and retention.  If they can make a change in their policies which will gain them an advantage in the talent market, they do it.

They see value and potential in individuals who others might miss.  They gather as much objective information and input from others as they need to be confident in their assessment.

They grow and retain the talent they attract.  They invest in the success of their team.  They take time to learn what each member of their team would like to see happen during their careers and work with them to enable them to experience it.  They provide mentoring, professional and leadership development opportunities, and supply every resource and tool to bring out the best in their teammates.  They focus on retention, so people join the team and stay for their careers.  They enhance motivators and try to remove or lessen demotivators.  They provide paths to the career goals each employee seeks and then they help them get there.  They want each member of the team coming to work thinking, “Both the company and I are succeeding.  We are both winning.”

Only when the employee gets an extraordinary offer this employer cannot possibly compete with do you see a member of this team leave.  When that happens, the employer congratulates this employee and expresses appreciation for all of his or her contributions.  They are elated to see and celebrate the success of every member of their team.  This employer views it as a compliment that a member of their team is going on to an amazing opportunity.

They won’t have a perfect track record because nobody does. However, when you compare their hires and promotions with actual performance and integrity on the job, they have a very impressive batting average. The worst leaders have an unimpressive or lousy track record on hiring and promotions and simply repeat their mistakes.

High performing organizations consistently outperform all others on this crucial function. Low performing organizations keep picking and retaining the mediocre, fair, or poor employees. It’s like they never learn or don’t want to change. Of course, as Maxwell notes, it’s also an issue of “we attract who we are.”

Focus on this priority. Devote yourself to becoming proficient and consistent at identifying and keeping the talent you need to succeed on your mission, goals, and objectives.  Invest a lot of time, energy, and effort in this role.

Have a team who is skillful at catching talent. Make sure everything in your organization aids you in winning in the competition for gifted individuals of integrity.  In the 21st century knowledge economy, talent is everything and integrity remains priceless in every century (Abrashoff, 2002; Blanchard, 2011; Collins, 2001; Drucker, 2001; Grant, 2017; Kotter, 2012; Lencioni, 2012; Maxwell, 1998; Welch, 2005).

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