When you lose your best performers for no reason

“Smiling has always been easier than explaining the reason behind your sadness.”

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These words tell the story of a leader. There’s so much going around when you are leading a team. Running a business is like participating in a war - it can be grueling at physical, mental as well as emotional levels. This is the reason I say that a leader is a fighter. In the end, it’s all about smiling during the pain and making it through the battle.

What looks like a perfectly fine working organizational structure is not always the same on the inside. You know why - because a company is made of real people. And, real people have problems, have dreams and aspirations, and real people move on from one thing to the other. That’s not always bad, but sometimes understanding why they moved on is beyond understanding. This is what lays the foundation for my article.

So, how does a leader cope up when the best workers leave for no reason? Well, here are some effective ways that can help -

“Transform the way you manage your projects.”

Talk it out

The first thing that comes to mind in such a situation is - why you choose to leave? And, the best way to discuss it with the person leaving is to talk it out.

Schedule an exit interview to know their opinion and views about the current state of affairs at office. Do they have any feedback? Even when you know your team is doing great, it’s always good to ask for suggestions on what else could be done.

Instead of keeping any hard feelings about it, use it as an opportunity to make your processes better, and see how you can improve as a business unit.

Create a plan

Obviously, you had a plan with your best performer in mind. Now that he or she is gone, what next? This is the big question that starts to lurk around when your best employees leave.

You need to get on with an action plan. Here are some things you can do to handle the situation in an efficient manner -

Don’t keep the news behind the curtains for too long - keeping it hidden could give rise to rumors, gossip and conversations that could disturb the trust of the team, which you would not want.

Ak for inputs from team members - it’s always good to reach out to the people on your team in such situations. Talk to them to discuss what could be done now, and how to handle the situation without bearing a loss.

Use this as an opportunity to find the hidden talent - situations like these are perfect to find out the hidden talent in your company. Do keep an eye on how others in the team react to the situation, you never know the jewel that was hiding all this while could come up shining during this phase.

Spread positivity

Watching the best person on your leave the company can be heartbreaking. But that’s not all - it could spread a vibe of negativity in the organization and amongst the team members as well.

This is the true test of leadership. This is where you, as a leader, need to step up your game one notch and keep the atmosphere positive. Don’t leave any scope of confusion, and keep the reasons behind the person leaving the team in the open. This will make sure that everyone has the right information, and no one is relying on their so-called ‘reliable resources’ that are spreading false rumors about the exit.

Get on with the game

In the end, it’s important to remember that road to entrepreneurship might have its cracks, roadblocks, and setbacks, but the important thing is that you have to move on.

You have to make sure that things continue to happen at the same pace. Keeping things positive, and pick up things from they have been left by your best performer leaving. It can turn out to be a tough time for you and your business, but remember tough times don’t last, tough leaders, do.

Have you been through a similar situation? Would you like to share your side of the story about losing your best employee? Do let me know in the comments section, I’d like to know your story. 

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