What happens after you’ve identified who your leaders are? You have to make sure to keep that talent inside the company so that it can grow.

1. How to prevent leaders from
abandoning ship
By David Kiger Image courtesy of Wang at Flickr.com

2. Companies depend on a number of factors for success in their
given industry. They need to have an excellent product or
service to offer. Capital is important in order to make
investments that will help the company grow. A company can
have the best product and the most financial resources
available, but they are all for not if the company doesn’t have a
group of people willing to work hard for the company’s success
and do it so with a smile and proudly. Among those who make
the company run efficiently are its leaders. It’s important to be
aware of who within the company can be a leader and who is
already one; great leaders usually have noticeable qualities and
companies should definitely be on the lookout. But, what
happens after you’ve identified who your leaders are? You have
to make sure to keep that talent inside the company so that it
can grow. David Kiger is here to give you some tips on how to
ensure your leaders don’t go running to the competition.

3. 1. The power of empowerment.
One of the best things companies can do for their leaders is
showing that their decision making skills are valued and
trusted. Empowerment does exactly that, it gives the
leaders of a company the trust they need to take initiative
and come up with new strategies that will ultimately be to
the benefit of the company. Leaders who are empowered
to make decisions and step up to the plate cherish the
opportunity and more often than not will meet or exceed
expectations.

4. 2 Appreciation can do wonders.
Leaders need to be recognized. A phone call or an email
thanking them for their effort and hard work shows them
that you truly value what they do. Not just that,
congratulations every once in awhile when they do
something that helps the company are also recommended.
People like to see that their efforts are being noticed.
Having appreciated employees, among them leaders,
makes for more productive ones.

5. 3. Develop and fine tune their skills
Leaders got to where they are in the company because
they have a certain set of skills which makes them stand
out from the rest. Nonetheless, there is always room for
improving the skills and abilities they already have and for
developing new ones that company requires from all their
leaders. Coaching sessions, training seminars, and
financing some courses are great ways to develop leaders
within a company and have them live up to their potential.

6. 4. Give them a chance to grow in the company
One of the main reasons leaders leave a company is because they
don’t see any real chance of growing and having a career in it.
Leaders need to grow and face new challenges. There comes a
point where he or she realizes his talents can no longer improve the
department where they work any further. When this happens you
can bet they will look for something that will put their skills to the test
once again. Denying them the chance to prove themselves in a
better position is to deny them their essence and just flat out unfair
to them. This is another way of showing leaders appreciation and
that you trust them. Some department heads refuse to let go of an
asset as valuable as a good leader and they will refuse any chance
for advancement, even going as far as making up rumors and
downplaying their abilities. Company culture should be against this.
Don’t hold leaders back, let them shine in more challenging
positions.

7. 5. Don’t overuse them
What happens to a machine that is running 24 hours a day for
a continuous timeframe and without any time for maintenance
or to cool down? It will probably give out at some point, almost
always unexpectedly. The same thing happens when you go
overboard with the amount of work that you assign to leaders.
While they may be able to last longer than your average
employee, the heavy workload will eventually break them. It’s
easy to understand that you want your best employees on the
most important tasks, but give them time to breath.
Overworking your best employees will definitely lead to a
fall in productivity all around. Your leaders are often the ones
who motivate everyone else, they are models to follow within
the company. When others see that a leader stops caring, it’s
likely your regular employees will follow suit.

8. Leaders are by far one of the greatest assets a company
can have. They must be taken care of appropriately. Do
this by:
· Giving them rational amounts of work to do.
· Appreciating their efforts.
· Providing opportunities to advance in the company.
· Empowering them to do head processes their way.
· Train and develop their skills and abilities.
Finally, showing that you care for your leaders could rub off
to those who have not had the opportunity to shine. All
everyone needs is just a little incentive.