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FIGURING OUT FREE AGENTS

Posted by on Dec 4, 2007 in Leadership | 0 comments
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Mentally note the top four performers on your team.

  • Three of them would be open to leaving your company if the right opportunity arose. 1
  • Two of them will leave during the next 12 months. 2

In a post for Harvard Business Publishing, Marshall Goldsmith helps leaders make sense of a job market in which career employees are extinct and free agents abound. He offers three tips for leaders wishing to avoid the revolving-door disorder that is symptomatic of high turnover workplaces.

1) Help free agents build a win-win relationship with the company.

Gone are the days when employers had clout and could easily control workers who felt lucky to have a job. Now, it’s up to the employer to appeal to their people. Money talks, but other enticements speak just as loudly, if not louder. Companies can market skills development, networking opportunities, and participation in a social cause as incentives to attract and retain free agents.

Goldsmith goes so far as to suggest companies welcome free agents into, "Mutually beneficial relationships in the organization that may last beyond the term of employment." Realistically, leaders understand the temporal nature of free agency. As such, they are not averse to promoting benefits that continue beyond a free agent’s tenure of employment.

2) Flexibility is key to working with free agents.

Forcing people into cubicles, rigid office hours, and one-size-fits-all policies no longer flies in the world of free agents. As Goldsmith observes, "Companies offering benefits that can be tailored to individual needs will have a huge competitive advantage." Put simply, the future belongs to the flexible.

For most of human history, business owners have required workers to conform to their rules. These days, forward-thinking leaders are more solicitous of their people’s needs. Although core guidelines may be non-negotiable, companies increasingly extend liberties to their free-agent workforce.

3) Leading free agents requires candor.

Free agents aren’t content to drift along with the corporate current. They want to be clear about what’s in it for them, and they won’t tolerate doublespeak or insincerity. While their level of self-interest may seem distasteful, free agents are less likely to disengage or underperform. After all, if they wanted to be somewhere else, they’d go. In the mind of a free agent, there’s no sense collecting a paycheck at a job you despise when outside opportunities await.

As Goldsmith writes, "Successful leaders of free agents realize that loyalty and mutual respect will [be] earned – and cannot be taken for granted." At a time when employees have little or no inherent loyalty to the boss, leaders cannot ignore the motivators that drive their people. When a free agent’s default setting is indifference to their place of employment, leaders have to make the difference in the way they manage.

TO GO UP, REACH OUT

The World’s Tallest Skyscraper

Upon its completion, the Burj Dubai will dwarf all other buildings in the world. Some have dubbed the architectural wonder a "cloudbuster" rather than a skyscraper in an effort to describe its height. When fully constructed, the immense structure will reach over 60 stories higher than the world’s second tallest tower (Tapei 101), and it will stretch nearly a half-mile into the sky.

Climbing the Burj Dubai

For the sake of a leadership illustration, let’s assume Burj Dubai’s builders, as part of the grand opening celebration, chose me as a contestant to win a $1 million prize. The $1 million would be placed in a briefcase on the top floor (the 164th) of the skyscraper. To claim the prize, I would have to reach the briefcase in 30 minutes, without using the building’s elevator.

Immediately, two constraints are apparent: time and ability.

With unlimited time, I’m sure I could climb all 163 staircases to reach the top of the Burj Dubai. I would need frequent rest breaks on the landings, time to saunter through halls to locate the nearest water fountain or restroom, and maybe even access to a comfy office chair to spend a night or two. Yet, however long it took me, at some point I would climb all the way to floor #164. Unfortunately, this contest only allows me 30 minutes, which brings us to my second constraint…

Ability. I’m sure there are Olympic athletes, marathon runners, and workout warriors in physical shape to race up 163 flights of stairs in 30 minutes. I, however, do not possess the speed, fitness, or insanity to risk a heart attack racing up an endless staircase.

Clearly, I could never reach the money on my own. To get it, I would have to rely on people. Maybe I could phone for a helicopter to drop me off on the roof. Perhaps I could clear a landing area, and convince someone on the top floor to drop the briefcase out the window (probably not a good idea). Whatever the case, by myself, there’s no way I could get up the stairs to win the prize.

Three Leadership Truths

My hypothetical contest at the Burj Dubai points to three fundamental truths about leadership:

  1. Time is limited to achieve the vision.
  2. Our natural ability is likely too small to achieve the vision.
  3. We cannot achieve the vision alone; we need others.

With these truths in mind, how can we improve our leadership capacity?

Moving from Doer to Developer

Early in our career path, we gravitate to the spotlight. We bust our tails in order to demonstrate our talents, position ourselves for promotion, or earn a pay raise. At this stage, it’s common to approach extra assignments with a "bring it on" attitude. We welcome new tasks as a means of showcasing our responsibility and trustworthiness.

However, as we ascend the staircase of success, we bump into constraints. First, we recognize the limitations imposed on us by time. We cannot accomplish everything we desire – even by working nights and weekends. We juggle the demands of leadership to achieve as much as possible, but, at some point we can’t put another ball in the air without dropping one.

Second, we reach the boundary of our natural giftedness. Our wisdom and inborn talent cannot take us everywhere we want to go. Regardless of our devotion to personal growth, in our own strength, we’re powerless to fulfill the vision inside of us.

From Spotlight to Flashlight

When we trade the spotlight for a flashlight, we turn the corner in leadership. When this happens, our refrain changes from, "Look at me!" to, "Where are you?" Instead of proving ourselves, we search for proven partners.

We flip the switch from doing to developing as we shift focus from tasks to people. Rather than deluding ourselves into believing we can do it all, we recruit, equip, and motivate talented performers to link up with our vision. By reaching out, rather than digging within, we ultimately climb the highest.



On this day...



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