Elusive Talent in Large Companies

This Forbes article shows 10 reasons why talented people leave esp. large companies.

Open Mindedness: What a surprise to find that I’m not the only one annoyed by corporate policies, in particular specific business processes esp. when these are anything but fluid. That was one of my first observations upon entering a new company yet any attempt at making improvments merely hit a wall as I just got the run-around. The person making policies is either not taking responsibility or simply not interested in updating status quo. WOW – REALLY!!?

Leadership: For a long time, my simpleton definition of this concept revolved around ‘telling others what to do’. In some cases this may be true, however genuine leadership is

• leading by example and inspiring others to bring out their talents, hidden and overt
• showing an interest in the projects they’re working on (w/o being a monkey on my shoulder)
• being a support when e.g. difficulties arise
• being approachable, open-minded, …
• being part of the team yet true to your function …

Surveys: Does your company have you fill out an annual survey on “how are we doing”? Such a questionnaire usually encompasses subjects such as company vision, communication, job satisfaction, et al. The funny thing about these surveys is that they’re worded in such a way if you answer negatively, you feel like a black sheep, however if you answer positively, you feel like a mere “yes” wo/man. I have yet to remember as much as I need to schedule some time to write up an essay on these subjects so that when the next survey comes, I can copy/paste my thoughts into the freestyle feedback field …

Lastly, one of the first things companies need to lose from their vocabulary is the term resource when referring to its employees. I’m NOT a resource just as much as I’m not a widget, I’m a person. Write it down, learn it, do it!

In the end I feel that some corporations, as well as government, large and small, seem to be learning from each other <SNICKER; SIGH> —you can all see where that’s gotten us— and I’m not the most patient person when it comes to address certain things and people. But rather than looking for greener grass I take upon myself the mission to first improve my own impatience so that then I may find a more pleasant, if not diplomatic, way to address these things right where I am.

Cheers ~