This is Part 2 in our series on why your people are leaving.
If you missed Part 1, it covered the circumstances that lead to turnover (isolation, anonymity, lack of development) and how to fix them. You can find it here.
But even if you haven’t read it yet, we can all agree: employee retention is a big deal, especially when it comes to keeping your all-stars.
The costs of losing great people are steep…financially, operationally and relationally. A great goal would be to pick one fix from below and apply it in your workplace this week.
What Are They Leaving?
In Part 1, we covered external circumstances. Part 2 focuses on what’s often more personal and harder to see: management style.
You’ve likely heard the saying:
“People don’t leave their company…they leave their manager.”
So, what are the management-style issues that quietly drive your best people away?
1. Poor Communication
This one is pervasive, so much so that I cover it in every single coaching engagement.
Poor communication shows up in many forms: too little, too confusing or too toxic. According to Gallup, only 46% of employees clearly know what’s expected of them…a 10-point drop in just four years.
The good news: communication problems are fixable with intentionality and follow-through.
Ask yourself:
How well do I communicate and set expectations for my people?
2. Intimidation
Even top performers can feel intimidated by those higher up, especially when those leaders control access to opportunity.
You might be intimidating in one (or more) of these subtle ways:
- Activity: Too busy to listen or connect
- Knowledge: Overexplaining or talking in circles
- Demanding: Using words like “should” or “need to” that sound directive instead of collaborative and you tend to point a lot
- Passion: Becoming overly animated, positively or negatively, when triggered
All of these reduce your approachability and increase disengagement.
Ask yourself:
In what ways might I be unintentionally intimidating to my team?
3. Lack of Purpose
Everyone performs better when they understand the why behind their work.
At St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, for instance, every employee, from the oncologist to the maintenance worker, knows their purpose: to help cure childhood cancer.
Some organizations have a more obvious purpose than others, but with creativity, even routine work can become meaningful.
Ask yourself:
How clearly can my people articulate the purpose behind what they do each day?
The Fix
Manage by Walking Around
This may be the simplest and hardest habit for busy leaders.
It can feel inefficient to walk around and connect casually, but presence builds trust. You’ll learn more about your people (and your culture) in 20 minutes of informal conversation than in a week of reports.
One of my clients spends the last 30 minutes of every day doing this. The impact has been tremendous.
Revisit Your Mission and Values
Every few years, review your mission statement and core values. Are they still relevant, inspiring and actionable?
If purpose feels distant from your daily work, bring it closer. Survey your employees about local causes they care about and adopt one as a company.
You might:
- Offer paid volunteer days for that cause
- Donate a percentage of profits to support it
When people see their company doing good, their own work takes on deeper meaning.
Create a Dream Manager Program
Based on The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly, this idea helps employees connect their personal dreams to their professional life.
Provide access to someone, often with a financial background, who helps employees make monthly progress toward their life goals.
This program is especially powerful in roles where the daily work itself isn’t inherently inspiring. When people feel their job helps them move closer to their dreams, retention and productivity skyrocket.
(If you’d like a practical outline for starting a Dream Manager program, just message me and I’ll share it.)
Do a Working Genius Workshop
Patrick Lencioni’s Working Genius assessment has become one of my favorite tools for helping teams build awareness and appreciation for each other’s strengths.
While I often use it in one-on-one coaching, the real transformation happens when teams do it together. It helps people:
- Discover the type of work that brings them joy, energy and fulfillment
- Understand why some tasks drain them
- Appreciate how much they need each other’s strengths to succeed
(I’m certified to facilitate these workshops…reach out if you’d like more information.)
Final Thought
No one likes losing all-stars. But when they leave to expand their horizons, not because your leadership style drove them away, it hurts a lot less.
Addressing poor communication, intimidation and lack of purpose take courage and consistency, but the payoff is enormous: higher engagement, stronger teams and leaders people want to follow.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are some ways you’ve tackled these issues in your own organization?
Comment below, and let’s keep the conversation going.
