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	Management Consultants for the Arts 400 Main Street, Suite 400 Stamford, CT 06901 Phone - 203-353-0722 FAX - 203-353-0893 "Ten Illusions About Retaining Good Staff" by David Mallette 1) Leadership 2) Team 3) Mentoring 4) Empowering Others 5) Money 6) Mission 7) More is better 8) Mutual, lifetime commitment 9) Good interview 10) Listening INTRO The title is ten illusions about retaining good staff. Perhaps more accurately, *ten illusions that keep you* from retaining good staff. The GREAT employee. The Container Store – ranked as the ten best companies to work for; their philosophy is that ONE great person equals three good people. Will refer to these employees as the GREATS throughout remarks. Ten illusions that I’ve observed that work against keeping the GREATS. 1) The illusion of leadership AKA, the illusion of not being a jackass. One of the primary reasons that GREATs leave sooner than later is the lack of a GREAT boss. To keep great people, be a great boss. It takes time and discipline to hone the skills needed to manage May require outside counsel / coaching, not just a book or two. How can you tell – how can you know – if you need to get better at managing and leading people?** Here’s an easy test that will probably indicate the answer. Just now, when you heard the question, if you told yourself, “nah, I’m good,” then… 2) The illusion of TEAM Much said and written about getting the GREATS on the bus, in the right seats, creating the roadmap for the place we want to go. Journey leads to unknown and difficult challenges. Our team of GREATS attack the challenges, some of which they will screw up At this point, bus door opens; they get thrown under. Bus backs up – just to be sure. First point: Back up your people, don’t back over them. Second, to keep the GREATS, lose the losers. GREATS want to work w/ other GREATS. Salvage employees whenever you can, but admit when it’s time for people to go. GREATs want to be part of front-end process, not just the back end. Part of the planning and decision making, not just the execution. Effective on execution in same proportion that they were involved in planning. 3) The illusion of mentoring. You don’t have to be a mentor. Your jobs are demanding enough; mentoring is difficult. GREATs are universally coachable people. It’s one element that makes them GREAT. They want a mentor and they will look for someone to fill that role. Mentoring requires allowing the GREAT to see the messy dynamics (dual leadership; board/staff), but giving them a chance to interact in those arena. AND to be in the spotlight. Humbleness on your part is required in mentoring. Servant leadership. Leading from the back as well as the front. Mentoring - not just telling people what they did wrong. It’s the capacity to tell them what you did wrong. Another illusion works against keeping the greats: the illusion of being the smartest guy in the room. 4) The illusion of empowering others You cannot empower others. Empowerment is taken, never given. People empower themselves. (repeat!) Beware of the person coming to “empower” you. Most likely, coming to delegate a task - something that they don’t want to do and/or don’t want to be accountable for. Focus on expanded responsibility and channel GREATS’ energy into area that are beneficial for the organization. The caution here is two-fold – I hear both of these a lot: 1)Giving accountability but neglecting to overlay the commensurate authority. 2)Giving added responsibility but not the training and the know-how. Nordstrom’s motto for their employees: You have the authority and the expectation to solve problems that come your way. Just use two rules: good judgment and common sense. Professional development training tends to be one of the first things cut in tough financial times. It’s hard to justify w/ layoffs and furloughs. In environment of doing more work with fewer people, it can be an investment in keeping the GREATS longer. 5) The illusion of the power of money Money is funny. Funny strange; funny weird. Last taboo. People can go on talk about self-destructive, addictive, criminal behavior – perfectly fine. Next time you’re at a cocktail party, ask someone,” How much money did you make last year?” and see what the response is. *Keeping* good people is usually not about the money. Except when it is. When it’s about the money, it usually involves something or someone else. Here’s what money *can* do. Can help GET good people, but almost never #1 priority. Good for acknowledgment of a job well done. Even a little money can go a long way in this regard. But money tends to be a Lousy motivator, ineffective in getting people to work harder. *Money can be a really terrific DE-motivator. Especially when the greats compare their salaries to others’ salaries, and the” other” is a crummy or burned out or lazy or ineffective employee. Highly demoralizing force. Not fun to deal with, but not dealing w/ it is a terrific way to lose the GREATS. When someone is approaching their financial ceiling in your organization, TELL THEM, and then stick to it. Better to be forthright, lose them vs. seeing them become bitter. Another illusion: supply and demand. Supply and demand isn’t a two integer ratio. Supply minus demand, divided* by Institutional memory loss plus lost opportunity costs absorbed while the chair is empty, the focus needed to find a new person and getting new person up to speed. Sometimes the hardest positions to fill well are not the highest paid on the staff. Some institutions – esp. smaller / mid-size organizations –would do well to invest more on positions w/ greatest impact on budget management and product delivery. Recruiting better talent often will more than pay for the difference in the higher salary. 6) The illusion of Mission. Question: Is an organization’s mission malleable and evolving…a living, breathing thing? Or is mission – if it’s truly mission – is it unchanging, the foundational bedrock that never moves and against which every decision is made? BOTH!!! Mission is four part (James Phills): Primary purpose – why you exist. Good for 100 years Core values. Usually only two or three. Non-negotiable. We adhere to these or we shut it down and go home. Long-term organizational vision – five years, 25 years. Primary goal. The big thing; When we’ll know to pop the cork? The first two don’t change; the second two change as the organization grows and matures. People leave when there isn’t a clear picture of who you are and where you’re going. Having a clear and compelling organizational vision and core values – best recruitment / retention tools. *GREATS want-crave-demand-being part of a thing that’s going somewhere.* 7) The illusion that more is better, especially at the top We have a tendency to throw more and more people at a task. Create boards of trustees of 25, 30, 40, 50…100. Good governance is about making good decisions; decision making pretty ineffectual with 50 voices at the table. More is better also partially drives the belief that the two-headed monster is a logical structure, or at least better than a one-headed model. In our idealized, bifurcated model, two brilliant heads and envision staff as the heart and lungs and muscles. More often, they feel more like the liver, kidneys and intestines There are pros / cons of a CEO model vs. a bifurcated structure. Reasons to do both. *But a bifurcated model is more difficult to manage and govern.* One major issue: accountability not being aligned properly. Example: AD always want to be involved in the marketing and branding – external communications of the company. Quite often has veto power said campaigns. Managing director has accountability of those personnel and for making the revenue numbers. Marketing / communications personnel get caught right in the middle – the intestines just south of two digestive systems. Production managers get caught in the same trap. There are ways of making these alignments, a lot of organizations don’t’ do it well. The GREATS you’re trying to hold onto – they don’t like being intestines. For two people. 8) The illusion of a mutual, lifetime commitment We know it’s not a lifetime commitment but often act like it is. The rub isn’t the beginning or the middle of the relationship, but the end. Making the employee’s departure the most beneficial or at least the least harmful to the organization. First – must be safe to leave. Employee’s often petrified of what you or the AD will do when you find out they’re interviewing. Sometimes their fear is WAY out of proportion; sometimes not. Create a culture where it’s alright (expected) that talented people talk to other employers at some point. The GREATS are often are developing their capacity faster than the organization is developing its capacity. If you don’t have a place for them higher in your org., do you really want to encourage staying in a job they’ve outgrown? Paradoxically, being more open often leads to a longer relationship. People LIKE working in an environment of trust and confidence. Second, create an exit strategy clear to everyone. Make it safe to leave but not punitive for the organization. EX: employee gets vacation approved; hands in two weeks notice the day before. “Golden (or at least bronze) handcuffs” –preclude that type of nonsense. Finally, admit when the time is coming to end the relationship. Before GREATs go stale or outgrow their jobs or hit a salary ceiling. Have the conversation before it’s past time to go. It’s about building a culture of trust. If you do that, some people will take advantage of it. But overall this will serve you and the organization in keeping the GREATs for the longest period of time. 9) The illusion of the good interview. Most people are lousy interviewers. Ask good, probing questions and then shut up and listen to the answers. Earlier point of vision and values. *Every* person must be filtered, judged, vetted, evaluated not only on their skills and experience for the job, but also against their ability to buy-in to your vision and values. Every employee, every trustee, every volunteer. People are even worse at conducting reference interviews. Actually more important than the candidate interview –you’ll find from others than from the candidate. No “three easy steps” to honing your interviewing skills. Suggestions: Ask “Why” a lot. Why was that important to you? Why did you choose that school, that job? Ask about failures in their past and what they’ve learned. Ask what they think others say about them. Then call the others to see if the candidate has a sense of self. BTW, the GREATS can be enormous asset in being part of the interview process. Effective recruiters/ filters. BTW, the GREATS can be enormous asset in being part of the interview process. Effective recruiters/ filters. 10) The illusion of listening People need maintenance. Being present, listening to – actually hearing – what someone else says is one of the most important things that we can do. And YOU need information. Group Listening Exercise. Reds and Blues – each tells one minute story. Lots of details. The other repeats back and gets a grade. Step Two: each tells a story at the same time. Then repeats back; gets a grade. In second example - this is about the amount of attention that we provide when we try to do two or three things at once. *Multi-tasking is a fallacy. And unfortunately, we make a lot of decisions based on the amount of information you just gathered in the second exercise. SUMMARY:* Get clarity on vision and values Recruit well. Establish the dynamics of leaving; make it safe and OK Align of accountability and authority. Take time to listen Skill development – for everyone. Recommended Reading : Integrating Mission and Strategy for Nonprofit Organizations , James A. Phills, Jr. The Invisible Gorilla , Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons Outliers: The Story of Success , Malcolm Gladwell Authentic Leadership: Courage in Action , Robert W. Terry Selected List of Recently Completed Searches Actors' Equity Association Executive Director Search http://www.actorsequity.org/ Boston University Director of the School of Music http://www.bu.edu/cfa/music/ Catawba Science Center Director Search http://www.catawbascience.org/ CenterStage Baltimore Artistic Director Search http://www.centerstage.org/ Columbus Symphony Orchestra President Search http://www.columbussymphony.com/ La Jolla Playhouse Director of Development http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/ Miami Art Museum Director Search http://www.miamiartmuseum.org/ MCA Denver Director Search http://www.mcadenver.org/ Milwaukee Repertory Theatre Managing Director Search Artistic Director Search http://www.milwaukeerep.com/ Mint Museum of Art Executive Director Search http://www.mintmuseum.org Monterey Symphony Executive Director Search http://www.montereysymphony.org/ The Playwrights' Center Producing Artistic Director http://www.pwcenter.org/ Poets & Writers Managing Director Search http://www.pw.org/ Public Art Fund Director Search http://www.publicartfund.org/ Seattle Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Search http://www.seattlerep.org/ Virginia Tech - Center for the Arts Executive Director http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/ Walt Disney Family Museum Director Search Director of Communications CFO Search http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/