It’s often said that great leaders credit their teams for success while taking personal responsibility for failure. This is good advice, and fortunately, I see this demonstrated more and more.

Most would assume that the first part of that formula is the result of humility which could be either authentic or feigned. Sometimes leaders can appear like an actor giving an Oscar acceptance speech. There are lights, cameras, and celebrities giving you their undivided attention and admiration. Then out of courtesy, you mention a few names and teams that helped you achieve your success. It’s nice, but nominal.

Real leadership looks a bit different.

I’ve seen other leaders receive recognition for success on behalf of their team, and it looks nothing like an Oscar acceptance speech. I’ve seen leaders go out of their way to clearly state something like this: “No, really folks. It’s not me. It’s the team. They are amazing. It’s my privilege to lead them. I’m just here as a representative of all of their amazing work.”

I’m not writing this article, so leaders learn to say the right things. As leaders, we need to think the right thoughts, then what we say will follow.

If we think the right thoughts and If we truly believe that our team members are the secret sauce that makes everything happen, then how should we view ourselves? In what small but important way are we as leaders involved in this success?

I’ve pondered that question and have come up with an answer.

It’s incumbent upon me to be the kind of leader who attracts and retains top talent. That’s it. Top talent is in-demand. They have options and can work anywhere they want. How do I ensure that top talent wants to come work for me, then keep on working for me? If I can do that, I’m set.

Attracting talent

It’s been said that top talent knows top talent. It’s true. If you have some top-talent individuals in your organization and want more, ask these people who they know.

It’s also true that top talent doesn’t usually want to work alone. They don’t want to exclusively carry the burden of the team but want to share that burden with other top performers. Use your top performers to bring in other top performers.

Build a personal brand

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. One of the reasons I publish this weekly blog and podcast is to get my name and my company’s name out there. One of the reasons I write the content I write, is so that people will read it and think, “Wow, I’d sure like to work for Zach Hughes at CHS.” It’s not rocket science, but it is hard work. Also, it’s not just a hypothetical. I’ve had blog readers become high-performing team members at CHS.

Screen rigorously

If the previous step works well, you’ll have plenty of people knocking on your door. Unfortunately, only a subset of them are right for your team. I’ve learned how to screen candidates the way we all do: by hiring people I wish I hadn’t. It’s excruciatingly painful, but in the end, we learn how to be a better screener next time around.

Developing talent

You don’t always need to look outside for top talent. You have future top talent in your own organization. Give them the proper development and they will blossom nicely. I love giving people a chance to level up their performance. They not only surprise me, but they often surprise themselves. This is a real joy.

Now that you have top talent, how do you keep them?

If you’d like to read a book on the psychology of motivation, I highly recommend Drive, by Daniel Pink. I’ll summarize his three main components:

1. Autonomy: Top performers need freedom to explore and find their own path. There is one particular leadership style that is best for this. It’s called servant leadership. I’ve written about it before here. Take a look. If you micromanage your top performers, they will leave.
2. Mastery: Top performers need to be challenged to learn new things, then master them. This never ends. Always be on the lookout for the next challenge to place in front of a top performer or they won’t stick around. Yes, it’s possible to be busy and bored at the same time. Pay attention.
3. Purpose: This one is two-fold. First, your organization has a purpose. Ours at CHS is a noble one: We create connections to empower agriculture. That’s work worth doing. Second, this purpose needs to feel real to the individual. Ultimately, top performers need to feel like what they do makes a real difference. The larger the organization, the harder this is, but it’s always possible to figure out. Never let your top performer feel like a meaningless cog in a giant corporate machine. They will leave.

Sometimes, people leave.

I’d like to say that I’ve always done everything above perfectly, but that’s simply not true. I’d also like to say that I’ve never had a high-performer leave me, but that’s also not true. Unfortunately, it happens. But fortunately, not very often. I’m pleased that I’ve been able to inspire the loyalty of many high-performing team members.

I’ll end this article how I started it. Attracting and retaining top talent is the most important thing I do. These team members are the ones who make it all work. My accomplishment is that I got them to join and kept them here. End of story. All of the credit for our joint success rightly belongs to the team.

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