Are you a people developer? Try this quick test. Take out a piece of paper and divide it into two columns. Label the left column “People I’d go to” and the right column “People who I would definitely avoid”. Now, consider the following scenario:

Your boss has just assigned you a critical project. This project has high visibility and can provide significant impact to the organization. You and your team will be under tight time pressure and scrutiny. You will have to interact with high-level leaders from across the organization. These people impressions of your project, and more importantly, your leadership ability will be based on the interactions and actions of your team.

Identify 3-5 people from your team (direct or indirect reports) that you would use for this project. List their names on the left side of the worksheet. Then, consider 3-5 people from your team that you WOULD NOT use under any circumstances. List these people on the right side of the worksheet.

Look at your list. Do you think it would be substantially different if you redid this activity in a year or two? How about if you did it one or two years ago?

Many of the leaders who have gone through this activity in my workshops find that the list really doesn’t change much from year to year. Their top people continue to be their best performers, and their bottom people, much to their regret, continue to plod along. That’s a problem.

Both of the columns on this list should be changing on a regular basis. The people in the right column should either be moving up or counseled out of the organization. Most people know that although it often doesn’t happen. Where many get surprised is when I offer the exact same advice for those on the left side.

Your top performers also should be moving up or out. Ideally they are moving up into new roles of greater responsibility. Often that might mean that they are no longer working for you but have found a new role elsewhere in the organization. If there isn’t a place for them to move in your organization, it’s time for them to leave. No organization should be holding its people back.

So why would you want to “lose” your top people? It’s simple. By creating an organization where people continue to excel and move ahead, you will attract strong, motivated performers. They know that giving their all for you will position them for success. While you might be cycling top performers out, there will generally be other strong performers ready to step in to their role. And, those people’s role will be filled by a pipeline of people wanting to join your part of the organization.

All living things have to move. If your organization is stagnant it will die. Your low performers will continue to pull down your performance and your high performers will eventually settle in to complacency realizing that there is no where to go and no reward for their effort.