As we enter into a new decade, despite a bit of a hangover from that last dreadful one, we enter into a realm of limitless possibilities. Our economy is on a slow and steady rebound. We seem to have increased our collective wisdom a tad regarding fiduciary responsibility. Though jobs are still scarce, a large pool of talented and tech savvy young people are ready to unleash their collective talents in search of the next break-through idea.
Now if we can only lead them.
I fear that the last few years of the great recession has helped to seed some bad habits on the part of business leaders. In the ongoing quest for productivity improvement and cost-out in the face of lower demand, too many leaders have come to think about their people less as human capital and more as expenses that need to be reduced. Despite how they might have felt about it, most employees had to suck it up because of a job market that presented other opportunities about as abundantly as hen’s teeth.
While the job market continues to be a gloomy place and likely will be so for the foreseeable future, there will come a time when the worm will turn and the worms will begin to look for less rotten apples. But if leaders continue to exhibit the great recession version of employee relations, the best they will be able to do is wave bye-bye to the very talent they need to capitalize on the economic recovery.
If you have not already done so, use 2010 as the reason to begin to pay attention to your people again. Especially your best and brightest, who always enjoy the greatest opportunity to ply their services elsewhere. Human capital remains the only asset that is capable of quantum leaps in productivity and performance. Lead your people in a way that recognizes and rewards this reality, or prepare to cede market share to your competitors.