Talent Are People Too

Of course, everyone on your team is talent. However, I’ve observed that many on-air talents aren’t getting enough attention and care from their leaders. If we expect on-air personalities to be vulnerable, creative, and give their best performance each day, they must be able to trust management. Trust is earned, not given.

I know the idea of building trust with your on-air talent sounds like common sense. It is not. Far too many leaders are walking around their stations like the emperor with no clothes. Personalities need to know you care about them. After all, who doesn’t want to feel valued and trusted at work?

An exchange about NFL quarterbacks and control between Colin Cowherd and co-host Joy Taylor on the sports radio show “The Herd” could just as easily translate to radio jocks:

Joy: “All people want is a superstar …”

Colin: “Strategy is crap. Stars are underrated. You win every business with better people.”

Joy: “You sacrifice a little bit of control when you bring in stars ... if you are a star, you tend to be more difficult because you have higher demands of yourself!”

Are you willing to give up a little control to the stars on your team? If so, I believe you’ll unlock new levels of creativity in your on-air talent.

Soft (people) skills are hard skills. In 2008, Google commissioned research, dubbed Project Oxygen, to determine what makes a great manager. The top skills identified were all “soft” skills. Being a good coach, empowering the team, having empathy, listening well, supporting career development, and discussing performance.

With these skills in mind, here are six specific ways to invest in your talent and show them you care:

1. Authentic Encouragement. Catch your jocks doing something great and tell them and others about it. Do it weekly.
2. Consistency. Ever known a family member who shows up once or twice a year with a grand gesture to show how much they care? No one is buying it. Show them you care by consistently spending quality time with them.
3. Reduce your blind spots. A blind-spot obstructs a person’s view. You can’t see what you don’t see, and you can’t hear what you don’t hear. Do a 360 review and ask your team for anonymous feedback about the leaders in your organization.
4. Invest in Coaching. If you can afford to hire talent, you can’t afford to not invest in a trusted coach who is not their boss.
5. Ask Them. Ask your people how you can show your appreciation well.
6. Apologize. When you treat your on-air talent more as a “worker” and less than a person, own it.

I humbly share this point of view, not as someone who has mastered people skills but rather as one who needs a regular reminder to treat everyone as a human being, not a human doing. We owe it to each other to apply the golden rule daily and love our people well. The by-product will, of course, be a healthy culture and better performing air staff.