There’s an old saying that says, “Employees don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” And it’s often true. Throughout my career, I’ve talked to hundreds of employees who love the company and their work, but they can’t stand their manager. So they leave. Sometimes they will just transfer to a different department or another location. Sometimes they will leave the organization all together.
Now sometimes, when an employee says they’re leaving because of their manager, that’s okay. Because the manager is doing all the right things and the employee just doesn’t like it. In those instances, we can’t do anything but wish the employee well.
However, sometimes it is the manager’s fault. Which is a shame. The organization spends a lot of time and resources to select a manager. You’d like to think that they would make sure the manager is successful by providing onboarding , training, development, mentoring, coaching, etc.
But when an employee leaves, it’s not always the manager or employee’s fault. Sometimes the organization needs to accept responsibility. Here are three examples:
Managers have many responsibilities. I certainly do not want to imply that they have no control over work design, compensation, and promotional opportunities. Because they do. The question is, do they have enough?
In my experience, I’ve seen managers try to create new opportunities for employees, fight for pay increases, and suggest new ways for employees to do the work, only to have their ideas shot down by senior management. From the employee’s view, it looks like the manager doesn’t care. Now, yes, the manager can tell the employee that they tried but senior management said “no” – effectively throwing senior management under the bus. But that’s not really the best approach.
So many managers simply take the hit. The employee leaves and says it’s because the manager isn’t supportive.
I certainly hope when those situations happen that organizations step back for a second and ask themselves, “Was it really the manager?” or “Was it us?” If it truly was the manager, get them the tools to become better. But if it wasn’t, then find a way to create a culture that doesn’t blame managers for things not under their control.
Image taken by Sharlyn Lauby on the streets of Chicago, IL
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