Investing in Quitters

What if I invest in coaching for a key employee and they quit?

At the risk of sounding trite….my answer is “Great.” That’s a great outcome.

Why?

Because they were likely already on the bubble. And if coaching helped them to decide that this role wasn’t a good fit, then we just saved everyone a lot of time, heartache and money.

We’ve all been there. Either as an employee kicking the can down the road or as an employer suspecting that someone should leave but dreading the transition period.

Often times nothing has gone terribly wrong. The relationship is still pretty good. Performance is average. But everyone knows something is missing.

Coaching can go 2 ways.

The employee can discover a path to fulfillment and joy in the current role and really turn a corner. Or they may decide to leave.

Both are great outcomes.

We only want employees that are truly fulfilled leading our businesses. We know this.

So an exit via coaching can be a graceful and amicable ending that does not risk the health of the business and preserves the relationship.

I’d pay for that any day.

"When a cynic asks, What if we train them and they

leave?' winning organizations respond: 'what if we

don't train them and they stay?"

-Peter Drucker

While coaching is not the same as training I think this quote is highly relevant.

Coaching says “we value you and want to invest in your success.” When employees on the bubble get stuck in a rut they can become ambivalent or even toxic.

People will accept their current level of suffering over the unknown. So the worst outcome is doing nothing- and changing nothing.

Coaching results in change…..change that serves the employee and the business equally.

Are you concerned about a key employee?

Consider introducing an executive coach into your existing leadership development program.