9 Things Managers Do That Make Good Employees Quit

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249903
9 Things Managers Do That Make Good Employees Quit
September 09, 2015

It’s pretty incredible how often you hear managers complaining about their best employees leaving, and they really do have something to complain about—few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.

Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.

The sad thing is that this can easily be avoided. All that’s required is a new perspective and some extra effort on the manager’s part.

First, we need to understand the nine worst things that managers do that send good people packing.

1. They overwork people.
Nothing burns good employees out quite like overworking them. It’s so tempting to work your best people hard that managers frequently fall into this trap. Overworking good employees is perplexing; it makes them feel as if they’re being punished for great performance. Overworking employees is also counterproductive. New research from Stanford shows that productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and productivity drops off so much after 55 hours that you don’t get anything out of working more.

If you must increase how much work your talented employees are doing, you’d better increase their status as well. Talented employees will take on a bigger workload, but they won’t stay if their job suffocates them in the process. Raises, promotions, and title-changes are all acceptable ways to increase workload. If you simply increase workload because people are talented, without changing a thing, they will seek another job that gives them what they deserve.

2. They don’t recognize contributions and reward good work.
It’s easy to underestimate the power of a pat on the back, especially with top performers who are intrinsically motivated. Everyone likes kudos, none more so than those who work hard and give their all. Managers need to communicate with their people to find out what makes them feel good (for some, it’s a raise; for others, it’s public recognition) and then to reward them for a job well done. With top performers, this will happen often if you’re doing it right.

3. They don’t care about their employees.
More than half of people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate an employee’s success, empathize with those going through hard times, and challenge people, even when it hurts. Bosses who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. It’s impossible to work for someone eight-plus hours a day when they aren’t personally involved and don’t care about anything other than your production yield.

4. They don’t honor their commitments.
Making promises to people places you on the fine line that lies between making them very happy and watching them walk out the door. When you uphold a commitment, you grow in the eyes of your employees because you prove yourself to be trustworthy and honorable (two very important qualities in a boss). But when you disregard your commitment, you come across as slimy, uncaring, and disrespectful. After all, if the boss doesn’t honor his or her commitments, why should everyone else?

5. They hire and promote the wrong people.
Good, hard-working employees want to work with like-minded professionals. When managers don’t do the hard work of hiring good people, it’s a major demotivator for those stuck working alongside them. Promoting the wrong people is even worse. When you work your tail off only to get passed over for a promotion that’s given to someone who glad-handed their way to the top, it’s a massive insult. No wonder it makes good people leave.

6. They don’t let people pursue their passions.
Talented employees are passionate. Providing opportunities for them to pursue their passions improves their productivity and job satisfaction. But many managers want people to work within a little box. These managers fear that productivity will decline if they let people expand their focus and pursue their passions. This fear is unfounded. Studies show that people who are able to pursue their passions at work experience flow, a euphoric state of mind that is five times more productive than the norm.

7. They fail to develop people’s skills.
When managers are asked about their inattention to employees, they try to excuse themselves, using words such as “trust,” “autonomy,” and “empowerment.” This is complete nonsense. Good managers manage, no matter how talented the employee. They pay attention and are constantly listening and giving feedback.

Management may have a beginning, but it certainly has no end. When you have a talented employee, it’s up to you to keep finding areas in which they can improve to expand their skill set. The most talented employees want feedback—more so than the less talented ones—and it’s your job to keep it coming. If you don’t, your best people will grow bored and complacent.

8. They fail to engage their creativity.
The most talented employees seek to improve everything they touch. If you take away their ability to change and improve things because you’re only comfortable with the status quo, this makes them hate their jobs. Caging up this innate desire to create not only limits them, it limits you.

9. They fail to challenge people intellectually.
Great bosses challenge their employees to accomplish things that seem inconceivable at first. Instead of setting mundane, incremental goals, they set lofty goals that push people out of their comfort zones. Then, good managers do everything in their power to help them succeed. When talented and intelligent people find themselves doing things that are too easy or boring, they seek other jobs that will challenge their intellects.

Bringing it all together
If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully about how you treat them. While good employees are as tough as nails, their talent gives them an abundance of options. You need to make them want to work for you.

A version of this article first appeared at TalentSmart.com and was inspired by a piece authored by Mike Myatt.

Five Leadership Practices For Improving Customer Service

      Serving the customer is often a topic that focuses much on the person at the front desk or the person who takes the call and very little on the leader who supports and manages the operations of the department or office. Often support personnel taking the calls either are not empowered to make decisions, don't recognize the value they contribute to the organization or don't think they can make a difference.   In most instances, when current and potential customers feel they received substandard service, they automatically blame the person they are interacting with. However, the reality and the accountability ultimately rests with the leader.

For more information, please read the article titled FiveLeadership Practices For Improving Customer Service from LEAD ON PURPOSE Blog.

Traits of a Good Leader

Traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, while character is the sum total of these traits. There are hundreds of personality traits, far too many to be discussed here. Instead, we will focus on a few that are crucial for a leader. The more of these you display as a leader, the more your followers will believe and trust in you.

Traits of a Good Leader
Compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group:

◦Honest — Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust.
◦Competent — Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings.
◦Forward-looking — Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values.
◦Inspiring — Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary.
◦Intelligent — Read, study, and seek challenging assignments.
◦Fair-minded — Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others.
◦Broad-minded — Seek out diversity.
◦Courageous — Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress.
◦Straightforward — Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time.
◦Imaginative — Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!

Leadership vs. Management

The biggest difference between managers and leaders is the way they motivate the people who work or follow them. As a Supervisor or Director for an organization, sometimes one must determine which one to use as they both have their benefits.

By definition, managers have subordinates - unless their title is honorary and given as a mark of seniority, in which case the title is a misnomer and their power over others is other than formal authority. Leaders do not have subordinates - at least not when they are leading. Many organizational leaders do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers. But when they want to lead, they have to give up formal authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.

For more information, please see Leadership vs. Management article.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School's Dave Hofmann, Leadership and associate dean of the MBA Program, shares his thoughts on how not to fall victim to the above pitfall or make these other top five new leader mistakes:

* Doing rather than leading
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* Not gaining support from above
* Not delegating effectively
* Failing to establish or project credibility

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Having titles like “Chief Executive Officer” or “Executive Director” are not always linked with “respect” and “credibility” – the former come with the position, the latter must be earned. If you are in a position of leadership (or wish to be in the future), do not mistakenly associate being a leader with having power. Without credibility, power is virtually worthless.

To gain and maintain credibility while building your effectiveness as a leader, read the following article: Trust Me: Credible Leadership Delivers Results by Douglas J. Matthews from Chief Learning Officer – February 2010.

Attention 2008 NILDP Participants - How has this program benefited you?

2008 participants, now that you have had a chance to take the program out for a spin, tell us what your thoughts are... Please structure your reply with the following questions in mind.

1. Which skill or skills taught during the Non-Instructional Leadership Development Program do you believe are helping you the most in your current position?
2. How has your performance improved since participating in the Non-Instructional Leadership Development Program?
3. Have you applied for a new position, been given an interview or promoted to a new position during and/or since participating in the Non-Instructional Leadership Development Program?
4. What words of wisdom would you give to those participants in our 2009 Non-Instructional Leadership Development Program?