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“We have to let you go. We are getting complaints about your work.”

It was hard to say, and even harder to hear.

This is especially true because, in prior assignments, John had been a stellar employee. He knew how to get results and was personally responsible for setting records that translated straight to the bottom line.

Now, suddenly, he found himself without a job for the first time in his career. His confidence was shattered, and he began to question every decision.

Did it really have to come to this?

Was it really John’s fault? Or was there something else at play?

The Cause

To a degree, yes, John was responsible for his work. And he knew for some time that it just wasn’t working. He tried to do his best, but it just didn’t fit. It didn’t fit his strengths.

But it was also a fault of leadership because they had not taken the time to learn John’s strengths and discover his greatest contributions. He had enormous potential and proven results, but they did not seek ways to set him up for success. And they did not maintain open lines of communication and feedback that would have allowed them to address the issue together earlier.

Instead, they put a very task- and results-focused person in charge of people, with no training for how to communicate with and lead them.

This is where leadership failed one of the company’s best employees.

Unfortunately, this is not a story unique to John or his company. It happens in companies every day. While this story ended with great personal impact and financial impact on the company, there is a way to write a better ending.

The Solution

Hire Well

First of all, hire well. Have a job description that clearly defines the work and your expectations. And, then, interview in such a way that you and the potential employee can determine if this is a best fit for both the employee and company. There are tools that can help with these discussions (click here). Hire based on values and strengths, in addition to skills and experience. Learn their best work environment, and this will help determine if the company culture is a good fit.

Train Well

When you hire someone well, that is a good start. But it doesn’t stop there. If you want long-term employees with less turnover, you will want to invest time in training them well. Your goal should be to set them up for success. Clear guidelines are a must. And communication is key. Timely two-way feedback allows for process improvements and course corrections before everything goes off the rails.

Grow Well

This is where a lot of leaders fail. They promote from within without preparing the team member for that next level. So, they may have someone who is very good at quality control and analysis and promote them to a management level IT position. This is great. But it could also lead to failure if the team member is not prepared to lead people or if they want to stay focused on analysis instead. Development of skills is great; but just as important is development of leadership strengths.

The Reward

Many leaders hire well but drop the ball in the areas of Training and Development. In the end, this affects the employee, the team, and the company in adverse ways.

If you have a good employee, take the time to help them define a strengths-based development plan that will allow them to grow and further develop their expertise and leadership skills. With the high cost of turnover, it is worth the investment.

From a leadership legacy standpoint, there is no greater reward than seeing your team members grow and develop into leaders themselves.

For valuable resources on Leadership Strengths and Tools, click here.

Deb Ingino is a highly sought-after executive coach, mentor, consultant, and speaker worldwide. Deb is well versed in business operations and in the importance of asking key questions most business leaders won’t ask themselves. She brings deep experience in leadership development, strategy, high performance team building and effective communication. She has a passion for leading people to discover and maximize their strengths as well as those of fellow team members, while offering advanced strategies to achieve high performance. Deb is the perfect fit if you’re ready to take your leadership and impact to the next level!