How Understanding Your Team’s 'Why' Will Help You Retain Top Talent

Understanding your why will be your secret advantage in attracting great talent, but understanding your team's why will be the key to retaining exceptional talent.

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During my time as the VP of Sales at G2, I was very intentional about deeply understanding my team members' goals and aspirations which empowered me to successfully reward their work, as well as share constructive feedback in the most meaningful way.

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Here are some questions I’d ask my team right off the bat:

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“Where do you want to be in the next 2 and 5 years?”

“Can you paint me a picture of what that looks like for you?”

“Why do you see yourself there?”

“What do you value most?”

“How do you feel most seen and recognized for great work?”

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Once you understand their end goal, you can begin to reverse engineer your process in a way that tailors your leadership approach to help them grow within the organization. Start to conduct regular one-on-one meetings to assess their progress, provide personalized feedback, and help them align their personal goals with the company’s objectives. You can then weave in more responsibility, accountability, and well-deserved recognition for their growth — in whatever way resonates most with them.

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A good leader needs to be emotionally intelligent, which means equally understanding your own emotions and those of your team members.

By being attentive and delivering based on what they share, that’s how you can keep exceptional talent on your side.