Performance Punishment: The cause of BURNOUT, LOSS of TALENT, and TURNOVER.

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Every leader has been in this position at some point for some reason or another. Maybe you have a short suspense deadline, a complex task, larger than expected work load, or maybe just out of habit. Every leader has turned to those one or two tried and true, absolute killers to help make it happen and happen to standard.

Don’t feel bad! That’s natural, expected, and exactly what you should do in those situations. You are a leader and how you lead your team to accomplish the mission is crucial. Bottom line, it’s got to get done! Leaning on those individuals is key in getting the job done in those instances. So what’s the disconnect? Why is it so often that those are the exact ones who wind up leaving an organization? One of the biggest reasons is “performance punishment”.

So, what is performance punishment? In short, it’s continuing to lean on those select individuals with no reward system. Now let me be clear. I’m not suggesting you celebrate the completion of every single tasks they complete, unless of course you want to. I fully understand that everyone is being compensated for their work and their time, however is everyone being compensated or working appropriately?

It’s happened to me plenty of times. It’s probably happened to you as well. I can assure you, anyone who made it past the pay grade of E-4 in the military has certainly experienced it.

Think about it. Those folks you count on all the time certainly aren’t the only ones you’ve got working, are they? Yet they are always expected to go beyond what their contemporaries are doing in order to accomplish the mission. Think about when you were coming up through the ranks to the role you have now. Were you one of those clutch few that always did more than your share? Did it strike you as fair then? Probably not.

When it was you, you didn’t expect your leadership to pat you on the back for every single thing and yet if you think back, I’m certain you can remember with great clarity, the times they took to say thank you. Sometimes that’s all those individuals you’re relying on now need, just a little acknowledgment. It takes less than 30 seconds of your time and can make all the difference.

Now let me challenge you with a question. How easy would your life as well as those apex predators that you lead lives be if every single person on your team could execute at that same level? Pretty incredible, right? That’s the real fix right there! If you can identify those that are overachieving and why then you can also identify where the rest of your team needs to improve. That’s where you as a leader need to step in and correct the issue. Retrain as necessary and clarify tasks so your entire team is functioning at the same level as your killers.

What does this accomplish? Where do I begin? You’ve more than likely saved yourself from losing those that you maybe leaned a little too heavy on. You have increased the skill set of your entire team, thereby increasing their overall productivity. If you need a ME reason, you’ve just alleviated all that anxiety and worry about how you are going to deliver results. What’s more is you have distinguished yourself as a true leader and mentor. You’ve taken the time to identify problem sets, coach your team towards improving, and been that oh so important sounding board for the way ahead.

So, I challenge you as a leader. The next time you catch yourself rallying those same few people to make it happen, really dig in as a leader. Do a little root cause analysis and find out what’s really going on. Then TAKE ACTION! Train, train, and retrain to make your team the best they can be!