A manager maps growth paths for top employees by asking what matters to them, showing them a clear advancement route, then making a retention offer that fits their needs. The goal is to keep your best people by proving you listened and acted in good faith.
It became a conversation and then I really listened to what mattered to them. And they said growth was a little bit unknown there, where I feel like here I have a growth path because I, because I took the time to actually map that out with this individual. So they felt confident that there was a path upward mobility. And through that conversation, I said, here's what I want to do, right? You know, because I value you and I want you to stay. And I said, here, I'm going to match in all these areas. But only do this if you really want to be here. And then I said, now you have all the information you need to make a good decision. And I said, I will feel good regardless of what you decide as much as I— and I was very clear, I want you to stay, right? But if in the end you don't, I feel good knowing that I have listened to what matters to you and I've put forth an offer that matches everything you wanted. So if you decide to leave, then at least I've done my best to retain you.
From Stuck to Leading, Episode 2 — Meet the 5 Inner Fears Destroying Your Leadership
