How Micro & Small Business Owners Can Attract & Retain Good Talent?

Posted by JuJuan Buford @JSBUFORD 

Talent is Not Tantamount to Leadership 

Nine times out of ten, if you made the transition from a highly accomplished, overachieving professional to an entrepreneur, you may be overconfident in your own ability. In traditional work environments being exceptionally competent or having an invaluable skill set that is not easily duplicated, affords you recognition, perks, and material rewards (ideally). And of course we all know that birds of a feather flock together, and this creates cultural bias or blind spots. 

More often than not, overachievers assume that other people have the same baseline of knowledge and skill sets. They can become irritated when others don’t execute to their expectations or at the level they would expect of themselves: asking questions and offering critiques that dissuade others from taking initiative around them; ultimately behaving like idiosyncratic overseers, driving down morale and eventually fomenting decreasing levels of performance than previously experienced. 

Good leaders know that the more you learn, the more you understand what you don’t know. They are empathetic to the fact that even the most talented individuals come to the table at different places developmentally. Instead of asking why certain tasks aren’t being implemented to standard, they ask what systems can I put into place to help everyone one level up? Instead of asking “why aren’t you/they doing this?” They approach with “how can we accomplish this task…. let’s discuss how we can improve the situation.”

Leadership is a Skilled Trade 

For well over a two decades you endured organized schooling, attended an innumerable amount of training, delved into self education, and worked assiduously to chisel yourself into the fine oiled machine you’ve become today. If you are an exceptional writer, musician, world class athlete, salesperson, attorney, doctor, real estate agent, cook, celebrity stylists, etc., etc., this sounds familiar.

Becoming an excellent leader requires the same commitment. Not only do you have to become technically sound in your skilled trade and a subject matter expert in your industry, but you have to become exceptionally skilled at influencing people. At the end of the day, that is what good leaders do. Military leaders are able to induce people to follow them 50 yards against the hail of bullets. Football coaches can engender such respect and affection that grown men, earning millions of dollars (with accompanying colossal egos) to continue to play despite horrific pain and adverse physical effects.

In other words, you must become a student of how to motivate people, engender belief, inspire sacrifice, and influence people. 

Here is one caveat to remember though. Don’t expect your employees to want the success of your business, more than you do. However, if they believe in you, and see you running a hundred miles per hour, they may keep pace at 90 miles per hour.

Don’t Be a Butthead 

People are emotional creatures. We make decisions predicated upon gut feelings, our level of excitement and belief, or our level of distrust or discomfort. Then we use our cerebral cortex to justify our decisions after the fact. Ever hear of the axiom, people don’t remember what you said, but rather how you made them feel? Don’t be lazy with language.

Before you unleash your justified wave of indignation and self righteous criticisms, remember you were an ugly duckling at one time. You stumbled. Made mistakes. At a certain age most of us learn to flee from people who believe they can do no wrong. People are more receptive when you talk with them, rather than at them.

More Conventional & Non-Conventional Strategies and Tools

1. Golden handcuffs. Offering benefits such as key person insurance, identity theft and legal services, access to child care resources, the provision of transportation options, etc., etc., These types of benefits help to alleviate expenses that today’s generation of employees are becoming increasingly sensitive to….in other words there is more than one way to compensate an employee.
2. Take the time to hire a professional to help you identify the key performance indicators (KPIs are tasks and activities) that drive the most profitable outcomes for your business. Then gamify or simply find ways to incentivize employees that exhibit the ability to hone in and execute on these KPIs.
3. Host events that recognize peak performers, but more importantly, highlight the KPIs  (key performance indicators) that contribute to their achievements. 
4. Incorporate into the on-boarding process (invest in an employee hand book and/or operating manuals) an informal interview process whereas you help employees to identify what they’re taking aim at financially and personally. Find ways to marry their performance and success in your company, to their short and long term goals. If your employees can’t envision how working for you can serve as a means to achieve their goals, your business becomes just another job, pit-stop, or bus stop on the way to the next one.
5. Not to be redundant but incorporate an on-boarding process, and invest in an employee handbook, training, and or operating manual. The way you on-board an employee sends a clear signal about whether your business is built to last. Stop complaining about not being able to find "good" employees, when you don't have a "good", professional onboarding process. 
6. Don’t operate out of fear or jealousy, and be ok with others being more competent in other areas than you. If you truly desire to scale your business, you're going to need good leaders to hand the ball off to.
7. Resist the urge to be nepotistic!! Here is a checklist I adopted and refined for my purposes after reading a book on leadership authored by John C. Maxwell.

• What is this person’s value to the team: skills, talents, aptitudes?
• What natural abilities or energies do they possess?
• Are they self motivated, doers, self-starters, who take responsibility for their performance?
• Is the timing right for them to be a part of the team, or are they operating in a tempest?
• Do they have potential that can be identified via their performance?
• Are they a good mentoring fit and willing to be held accountable?

#entrepreneurshipisempowerment 

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JuJuan Buford is a Detroit native, entrepreneur, business development professional, and writer dedicated to helping families, entrepreneurs, and business owners establish thriving enterprises, achieve financial independence, and build lives of satisfaction.

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