Growing up the daughter of a farmer\/rancher, I\u2019ve always been familiar with the term head\u00a0count, as it signified the size of my father\u2019s herd. \u00a0He took great pride in this number, in fact I remember each of the milestones he celebrated, 25\u202650\u202675\u2026100\u2026200.\u00a0 All are comparatively small by today\u2019s standards, but to my Dad those latter numbers were a symbol of his success\u2026his KPI so to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perhaps for this reason, I\u2019ve always found the term head count or heads out of place when referring to people.\u00a0 I recently read a book by Simon Sinek titled, \u201cLeaders Eat Last\u201d where Simon shares the story of Bob Chapman, the CEO of a $2B US manufacturing company who was pressured by his board to lay-off 10% of his workers during a downturn in 2008. \u00a0\u00a0Chapman refused and rallied his team, “It’s better that we should all have to suffer a little, than a few of us suffer a lot”.\u00a0 As a result, a 4 week unpaid furlough for all employees was crafted that could be taken at any time throughout the year in various increments. \u00a0The focus on \u2018heart count\u2019 within his company was born.<\/p>\n
Sound familiar?\u00a0 US Leaders at Etech with more than 8 years of tenure \u2026remember a similar time.\u00a0 Etech, like many businesses had suffered a downturn.\u00a0 Our team came together with an eerily parallel tactic which resulted in a 10% cut in all onshore leadership compensation.\u00a0 As a sign of good faith, leaders were encouraged to take a day off, every other week, to compensate for the reduction in pay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The irony is \u00a0\u2013 most people did not take that time, in fact most doubled down on both their time and effort to build our business back up…and so it was.\u00a0 \u00a0Today, although not without opportunities to improve, we are stronger than ever before, with our best days still ahead of us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we continue to work on improving retention in our industry, my call to action for anyone reading this article is to focus not on head counts, but on heart counts.\u00a0 Not on numbers and %\u2019s but on making meaningful connections, building relationships, and growing and developing all those hearts & minds that are a part of your team!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every person matters, every heart matters\u2026YOUR heart matters!\u00a0 Wishing you the best in your journey as a servant leader today and every day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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