The stay interview, wellness retreat for workers, role of leaders & the problem with best practices
27th March 2022 Evolution Partners Newsletter
“Lead from the back and let others believe they are in front” -Nelson Mandela as quoted in Fortune
Hope you’re Thriving!
It’s been a busy week, getting used to the new COVID normal and having all meetings on Zoom. Two CEOs who hadn’t been in a full day or two-day Zoom workshop before said they were surprised at how good it was, one even saying it was better than in person.
I’m off to Heartbeat Retreat (details below) in Dunsborough tomorrow to host a corporate retreat, with people flying in from all around the world – however, like many West Australians, my head still isn’t ready for flying again yet!
Wellness retreat for workers
Like the corporate retreat I’m attending this week, something that Salesforce has done in the new work from home era, is leasing a ranch to be the company’s new corporate-culture epicenter, rather than the office.
Salesforce plans to use the property, 70 miles south of San Francisco, to onboard new hires and conduct off-site team meetings for social bonding and leadership training. The Salesforce “Trailblazer Ranch,” as it will be known, is one of the first experiments by a big employer with building a culture for a workforce that is no longer coming into an office five days a week.
Most of Salesforce’s employees will work in a hybrid model once the pandemic is over, coming into the office between one and three days a week. New hires are among those at the top of the list to visit the Salesforce retreat, and the company is using survey data to determine who most needs to connect with the company’s culture, with onboarding new hires and strategic planning at the top of the list.
Read the article here: Forget the Office—Salesforce Is Making a Wellness Retreat for Workers
Here’s a photo of their retreat.
Role of leaders
I’ve been re-reading the book Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders this week, and I wanted to share an interesting insight I gained with you.
First though, about the book – Turn the Ship Around! is the true story of how the Santa Fe skyrocketed from worst to first in the fleet by challenging the U.S. Navy’s traditional leader-follower approach. Struggling against his own instincts to take control, author David Marquet instead achieved the vastly more powerful model of giving control.
Here’s what struck me from the book this week: Officers (equivalent to our executives or leadership team), ensured we did the right things. Chiefs (equivalent to our mid-management team) ensured we did things right.
This made me think about Peter Drucker’s comments that the job of an executive is to be effective, and the job of a manager is to be efficient.
Stay Interviews
This week, I came across an interesting concept: a flip on the exit interview – the stay interview.
I’ve spoken about the Start Stop Keep before, but this is a different take on employee discussions. Rather than asking questions about the company when a person is leaving, you can ask when they are still there, so you can identify any issues and help them stay. This also demonstrates that you care.
Here are some sample questions:
- What is your current thinking on the business?
Why: Problems surface below the founder or exec team. This can show issues that are beginning to emerge. - Who are you most connected to at work?
Why: People don’t leave companies; they leave a community. If no meaningful connections exist, it’s easy to walk away. - What do you want to learn next?
Why: Top performers need to learn and grow. Understanding learning desires helps understand long term personal goals. - What obstacles are in your way?
Why: Unmitigated frustrations cause departures. Help them perform better by removing the source of those frustrations
Talent Review
This week, I worked with a team doing monthly Topgrading talent assessments, which has transformed their company! Everyone is getting evaluated every month. All those who need help or need help getting out the door are receiving attention.
This week on The Growth Whisperers podcast
The problem with best practices, and what to do about it
There’s a problem with best practices. People often talk about needing to implement best practices and what they really mean is common practices.
And the problem is that common practices might not be best for your business, and in fact, common practices might weaken your business.
In this episode, we talk about the problem with best practices and what you should do about it.
Episode 102 – The Growth Whisperers
Listen to The Growth Whisperers
Apple podcasts
Spotify
Or watch it on YouTube
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Keep Thriving!
Brad Giles
Live event with Pat Lencioni: Teamwork and High-Performance Cultures In the Post-Pandemic Environment
Pat Lencioni is speaking about building high performance teams at a virtual event for The Growth Faculty on Wednesday 27th April 2022.
Some of Pat’s fantastic books include;
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
- The Ideal Team player
- The Advantage
- Getting Naked
- The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary executive
- The Motive
- Death by Meeting
The clarity that Pat provides on organisational team health and culture is outstanding.
Many of Pat Lencioni’s concepts are central to the people work that we do, and I encourage you and your team to attend this event.
Importantly, the event starts at 9am Sydney time, which is 6am Perth time and it won’t be recorded. The agenda is slated for 2.5 hours.
Tickets are $295 as we have secured $100 off the ticket price (of $395) but only by using the unique link below.
