A Rare Leadership Skill: Dealing With People Who Want Out By
Offering Crowns For Convoy
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Word count: 660
Summary: Most leaders eventually have to contend with people who
want to leave their team or organization. How you deal with such
situations can be one of the most important things you do as a
leader. Here is a simple but powerful process, taught by
Shakespeare's Henry V, that will help insure you do the right
thing.
A Rare Leadership Skill: Dealing With People Who Want Out By
Offering Crowns For Convoy by Brent Filson
As a leader, you'll inevitably be faced with people wanting to
leave your team or organization. Dealing with the challenge is
critical for your leadership success. Your response will have
ramifications far beyond your immediate circumstances. One of
the best ways to respond comes from Shakespeare's Henry V.
The stirring speech of Shakespeare's Henry before the battle of
Agincourt contains many leadership nuggets. But commentators who
recount the speech usually overlook a particularly valuable one.
They focus on the speech's "band of brothers" aspects but
neglect the fact that Henry also said that if any of his
soldiers would rather not fight, he'd give them passport and
"crowns for convoy" back to England.
Henry was aware that some of his soldiers were reluctant to
fight; for he led a rather bedraggled army. History recounts
they had marched 260 miles in 17 days. They were short of food.
They were drenched by two weeks of continuous rain. Many of them
were suffering from dysentery contracted from drinking fetid
pond water. And they were facing the flower of French
knighthood, knights who were rested, better equipped and eager
for battle. So there were probably many soldiers who wanted to
avoid battle, get quickly to the coast and board ships for
England.
Shakespeare has his Henry respond to these leadership challenges
in a telling way. Instead of trying to cajole those who wanted
to leave into remaining with him, or on the other hand, punish
them, he did something much more effective: He actually offered
them passports and money to go.
"Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he
which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his
passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his
purse; We would not die in that man's company That fears his
fellowship to die with us."
Now, apply this lesson to those people who tell you they want
out. You may find yourself reshaping your relationship with them
in positive ways and boosting your leadership effectiveness with
the people who remain.
Here's how you do it. Offer them "crowns for convoy." Have them
draw up specific leadership actions that they will take to
leave. Provide milestones and ways that you and they can monitor
their progress. Support them in their taking leave as you would
any cause leader who is staying.
One might say that if somebody wants out ... good riddance! But
let's examine this. When somebody wants to leave, two facts
apply. One is that, clearly, that person - for whatever reason -
is dissatisfied and is looking for satisfaction elsewhere. And
two is that you have a relationship with the person. It might be
a good relationship. It might be a bad relationship. But here's
the point: You don't want to get the two facts mixed up in a bad
way. Because that relationship will continue in one way or
another even if you don't set eyes on each other again.
A bad relationship with an employee that left your organization
can come back to haunt you in many unforeseen ways. For
instance, it may poison your relationship with the people who
remain behind. By supporting that person in taking leadership of
their leaving, you are creating an opportunity for you to change
your relationship with them, to work together in a positive way.
This may help redress any bad feelings that might have otherwise
grown worse.
When CROWNS FOR CONVOY are not offered in spite or rancor but
out of a genuine desire to help, you'll transform a potentially
bad situation into a beneficial one. And who knows? Maybe, like
Henry, you'll achieve an unexpected upset win.
2005