Two weeks I was talking with a client (we’ll call him Sam) who was struggling with a dip in his confidence as a leader. A couple months ago Sam had made a serious error of omission, and the result was going to be a heavy fine for his company. Sam takes pride in his work and he took this “ding” in his record personally. Rather than brood, Sam decided to take action to help get himself ouf of his “funk”.
The action Sam took was to conduct “Stay Interviews” with all his direct reports. Management consultant Richard Finnigan defines a “Stay Interview” as “A structured discussion a leader conducts with an individual employee to learn specific actions the leader can take to strengthen the employee’s engagement and retention in an organization.”
As a result of the interviews, Sam found himself well on his way to regaining his confidence and momentum. His people were positive and affirmed how much they enjoyed working for him. The team members also gave helpful and consistent feedback on what Sam could do to make their jobs easier. (What do you need from me?)
Sam’s decision to conduct “Stay Interviews” proved to be just the right action to give both Sam and his staff a boost. It is important to note that Sam had already built a high level of trust with his team and he also had a very supportive boss. Sam had put together the right team atmosphere to make the “Stay Interview” effective. If you are proud of your team and committed to continued professional growth, I recommend you consider the “Stay Interview”.
