Have you ever brought someone onto your team that didn't turn out exactly how you expected? Perhaps they showed great ambition at first, working hard and growing quickly. But then, over time, they started to plateau until they abruptly left for a new job. Situations like this can leave those of us in leadership scratching our heads. How can people who seem so interested in our organizations when they're hired suddenly lose interest and pursue other opportunities so quickly? What's going on?
Well, perhaps the problem isn't them—perhaps it's us. Think about what's actually happening when people lose interest in their jobs. What once was new and exciting becomes the same old, everyday routine. Now, is it really any surprise that the best employees—the ones who want to learn and grow and challenge themselves—grow weary of doing the same job after a while? Boredom is often not, as we might suppose, a sign of laziness. Quite the opposite: Boredom is often a sign of intelligence, passion and drive.
The most ambitious employees, then, will look for other opportunities when their current positions aren't fueling their passion and drive. Who's really responsible for the turnover, then? Of course, it's us. As leaders in the mortgage industry, we've got to be creative in keeping the work environment stimulating so that the best workers can thrive within it. Boredom is often the single greatest contributor to turnover. If the organization ceases to be a fun and interesting place to work, the best employees will go out looking for greener pastures and all that will remain are those who are content with complacency.
David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides transformative business strategies to owners and “C-Level” executives via consulting, executive coaching and various communications strategies. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News and hosts his own weekly podcast called “Lykken On Lending” heard Monday’s at 1:00 p.m. ET at LykkenOnLending.com. David’s phone number is (512) 759-0999 and his e-mail is [email protected].
