People leave managers, not companies

If you’ve noticed that you have a high employee turnover rate, it’s maybe time to take stock and reassess your leadership style. We’ve shortlisted 6 recurring themes that employees consider to be ultimate reasons to abandon ship. 

 

1. Leaders taking the credit
2. Leaders with poor control of their emotions
3. Not welcoming feedback
4. Workload inequality
5. Not being receptive to feedback
6. Criticising often, praising infrequently

 

Leaders Taking All The Credit
When it comes to managers reporting back to head office, a terrible leader will be all too welcome to take the praise for themselves, but offload negative feedback as a result of their team’s poor performance. It’s important to allow your team to share in their successes. You’ll find that creating a dynamic that lets employees basque in their productivity will motivate them to continually strive for improvement, and allow them to be able to recognise when they’re not on top of their game.

 

Leaders With Poor Control of their Emotions
When working in any people-focussed role, it’s always important to keep your emotions in-check, and that responsibility only multiplies tenfold when placed in a managerial position. Being able to maintain an air of calm and level-headed thought when faced with stressful situations among your team is paramount, ensuring that your words and their delivery are professional. Being able to separate your personal emotions from your feedback delivery is a pinnacle skill for people management. 

Workload Inequality
It’s a great motivational tool to ensure that your team knows you’re taking on as much work as they are. A great leader is never workshy despite rising in the ranks, and always leads by example. A positive and productive work ethic is contagious.

 

Not Being Receptive to Feedback
Having an open-door policy for feedback from your workforce is incredibly beneficial. Ensuring that you form genuine connections with your team to maintain communication will aid in identifying problems quickly and finding solutions efficiently.

 

Not Incentivising Productivity
It goes without saying that dishing out incentives when team members perform well increases productivity and morale, but it’s not necessarily the “transactional” aspect. Ensuring your team receives recognition for their efforts is far more important than the reward itself. The reward is an additional bonus. If a leader stops to take stock of excellent performance, the chances of it continually happening is far greater, and a positive investment for the future.

 

Criticising Often, Praising Infrequently
Excellent leaders delegate praise specifically, but criticise generally. Poor work performance from your team is always a reflection of your own. It’s incredibly damaging to employee wellness to criticise too harshly, offloading it onto individuals, as opposed to saying ‘we need to improve OUR performance’. You’re a team when things are going right, as well as when they’re going wrong.