Have you ever had one of your employees fill out an internal application for a position in another department only to discover their position could not be easily back filled if they were selected? If the answer to that question is “yes”, SHAME ON YOU! Yes, I shouted that. Shame on you for being in a position of leadership and not ensuring you have a pool of talent to choose from when this, very likely, situation occurs!We oftentimes become so comfortable with the people we have in place, that the thought of them leaving to seek another position does not factor in to our narrow view of the day to day happenings in the workplace. When they do accept another position, the challenge that comes with back filling their position is more costly than if we had properly invested in training associates to prepare them for such an opportunity!

A lack of leadership is the reason for this vacuum that occurs when talent leaves a department. If Directors and Managers do not have developmental training in place to maintain a pool of applicants for this reason, they show how short sighted and possibly threatened they, themselves may be by sharing information and training. This author has always been of a mind set that if I “work myself out of a job”, that will make me more promotable for additional responsibility and opportunity.

Weak managers are those that feel they must withhold training, development and sharing of the vision they want the department take. This is because they fear they may not be able to find the same level of talent to back fill the position.What this really exposes is the reality the managers have a lack of confidence in their ability or their trainer’s ability to develop the talent pool. If this is the case, the trainer or the manager should be replaced, or both! A company’s lack of commitment and leadership with regard to ongoing training and development will eventually catch up with them. It may not be exposed until tough times come, and people start to jump ship and leave key positions open.

So, you find yourself or your department in this position, what do you do? The answer is quite simple. Train, train, train. Utilize the key talent already in place to mentor those team members who show an interest in upward mobility. Continually inspect the ongoing training in departments and not just in the new hire training classes. Do not put yourself in the position of not being able to release your associates to other positions they have accepted in. The bitter taste in their mouth will not be soon forgotten. Overcoming their poor perception of your management style and lack of leadership is not a problem you can afford to have.