How do you develop, attract and keep high capacity, young leaders? In this episode, Carey interviews Sarah Piercy and Dillon Smith, two amazingly gifted young leaders he hired at ages 22 and 19 respectively.
They have an honest, candid and insightful dialogue on the highs and the lows of developing young leaders, what didn’t work, what did, what motivates young leaders and why both are still on the team when they have a lot of options to go elsewhere. If you want to attract and keep young leaders, this interview can help more than you think.
Welcome to Episode 306 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Guest Links
Sarah on Twitter | Sarah on Facebook | Sarah on Instagram | Sarah’s Blog
Dillon on Twitter | Dillon on Facebook | Dillon on Instagram |Dillon’s Speaking Page | The High Impact Workplace
Episode Links
What if, in 40 days, you could grow your small groups in your church by 40%? Based on Pastor Zach Zehnder’s book, The Red Letter Challenge is a 40-day turnkey church campaign that centers around making more effective disciples of Jesus. Go to RedLetterChallenge.com/Carey to find church packages ready to go for you.
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YouVersion Bible Reading Plans
3 Insights from Sarah and Dillon
1. Employees want to know their bosses care about them
So often in the workplace, we try and separate work life from personal life. But, let’s be honest, oftentimes we our personal life issues can seep into our work and affect productivity. We just can’t help it. But, there is freedom in knowing that we can talk about it, or mention it, appropriately. And, it’s comforting to know that our bosses care about us when we DO bring it up.
Sarah said to Carey, “I think for a while, I didn’t realize you actually wanted to know how I was doing. I don’t know how long it actually took me to realize that, but you just kept asking, ‘So, how are you doing? No, really, how are you doing?’ When you try to separate the two, or you feel like you have to hide or can’t talk about that, I just don’t think that’s as healthy or helpful.”
2. Actually following cultural values is motivating
Carey asks Sarah and Dillon, “What motivates you?” For Dillon, the answer was simple: “Our company values. Not just company values, because everyone has values, but whether we follow them or not. We actually do. We talk about them all the time.”
You can create company values and never follow them. But when you create values, and repeatedly talk about (and implement) them, then most often, your employees will be motivated and model them.
3. Freedom is the next generation’s new currency
Carey says, “Lead people the way they want to be led, and replace suspicion and misunderstanding with caring coaching. Those are some of the principles that I think are going to define the next generation workplace as you try to attract and keep high capacity leaders.”
What would happen if you gave your employees more freedom? For both Sarah and Dillon, freedom has resulted in increased productivity. They’ve been entrusted with stewarding their time wisely, are able to freely manage personal lives, but also know they’re responsible for doing their own work and meeting deadlines.
Quotes from Episode 306
I had a lot of head knowledge, and I knew all of the information, but I had no clue how to get the results. @Dillon_M_Smith Click To Tweet It doesn't matter how many attempts I get. It's the results that happen that is the end goal. @Dillon_M_Smith Click To Tweet If you look at the words of Jesus, almost always he was saying something that was in conflict with somebody else. @Dillon_M_Smith Click To Tweet You pay us well, and that communicates to me that you respect and appreciate the work that we're doing. Knowing that I'm respected and appreciated is actually motivating. @Sarahvpiercy Click To Tweet Having a team that you like working with is huge, because it affects the culture. If the culture is poisonous, it's easy to walk away. @Sarahvpiercy Click To Tweet We're always navigating the tension between grace for each other and these results that we want to get, like we're on a mission. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet Sometimes you have high standards and low grace, and then sometimes you have low standards and high grace. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet Attack the problem, not the person. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet 70% of employees are disengaged. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet I think older leaders have no idea the talent they're missing. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet There is meaning in every position in our society. It's just making sure that people know that. @Sarahvpiercy Click To Tweet Most people settle short of what's great, and then eventually, something is good enough. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet I couldn't do this job if I didn't have freedom and autonomy. @Sarahvpiercy Click To Tweet Don't underestimate replacing suspicion and misunderstanding with care and coaching. @Sarahvpiercy Click To Tweet 5 minutes of curiosity and caring conversation can diffuse a situation. @Sarahvpiercy Click To Tweet I think we need another level of healthy conflict management. @Dillon_M_Smith Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 306
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Next Episode: John Ortberg
John Ortberg has a brand new podcast, What Were You Thinking? Today, we flip the mic, and John interviews Carey Nieuwhof about workaholism, how to be appropriately vulnerable about your story, and finding God when things get tough in life and leadership.
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