Staff retention: Are Bad Managers really to blame?

Good Managers are a pleasure to work for, but bad managers can make your work life a misery for a number of different reasons. While they may not actually realise it themselves, these bad managers actually create staff retention, talent management and succession problems for companies, as well as for the individuals under their management.

So what exactly are they guilty of? (I am sure we have all experienced a number of these in our careers at some stage!)
So here are some bad management behaviours that effect staff retention, talent management and succession planning:

• Stifle enthusiasm through micromanagement, coercion and disrespect

• Reduce excellence by focusing on weaknesses

• Stop initiative by having all the answers

• Show aggressiveness, lack of emotional intelligence, lack of empathy

• Show no understanding by using partial, inconsistent communication

• Doubt commitment by setting individuals’ goals for them

• Punish all and any mistakes, therefore denying creativity

• Offer no vision of a better future

• No appraisals, or even worse, negatively focused appraisals

• Setting individual objectives that don’t align with group goals

• De-motivating performance by rewarding the wrong things and offering the wrong rewards

• Reduce trust through unfair recruitment or reward decisions

• Bad communication by using only letters, memos or email

• Creating bad relationships issues by focusing on individuals not all the team members

• Lose respect for continually blaming staff for difficulties and problems, and not addressing them

• Destroy team by creating a dictatorship

Unfortunately, nearly every manager exhibits some of these traits as we all know, but isn't it a treasured blessing when you work under a manager that exhibits none of these!!

Comments

[Larry Wenger]

A recent University of Florida survey amongst workers indicated that almost half of all workers do not trust their supervisors because:
-they do not follow through on commitments
-they violate confidentiality
-they blame subordinates for problems of their own making.

Larry Wenger
Workforce Performance Group