4 Management Behaviors That Drive Away Good Workers

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I've done my fair share of?listening?to managers?(many of whom are?current or former coaching clients) complain about their employees and losing good people, which adversely affects their ability to perform well.?

Diving deeper to assess?their company culture?and morale?to "get the full picture," typically I've found them to be the culprit. As the famous saying goes, "People don't leave jobs; they leave managers."

The majority of these managers are good, honest people. Many realize later that, while they can effectively "manage the work," they're not so effective at "leading people."

That's really where it starts and ends. To whoever is privileged enough to hold a manager's title, the?first step is realizing your blind spots in the often neglected human skills area of leadership.

Here are?four?blind spots that keep good managers from becoming really good leaders:

1. Inability to recognize?the worth of their people

A big blind spot for managers is to?dismiss the value of their people. They see them merely as cogs on a wheel in a series of daily transactions rather than as worthy colleagues and human beings with their own dreams, goals, and aspirations.

2. Inability to slow down, process, and seek feedback

I speak of the type of manager who steamrolls ahead with important decisions without soliciting input and getting buy-in from team members. They're typically short-sighted and often?fly by the seat of their pants. The end result may be burned bridges, decreased trust, low morale, and disengaged workers.

3. Too much control over people

One of the biggest blind spots for a manager is creating an overbearing work environment where all decisions must go through them. Such managers distrust the team, so tasks rarely get delegated to others. There's hardly room?for group discussion or input?because the management?style is autocratic, which limits creativity and the team's desire to learn new things.?

4. Big egos

People in management?have egos -- that's a given. Sometimes it's necessary,?to an extent. But unhealthy egos running amok are obstacles to success and the performance of both the manager and of the team members. You'll see it in action by the amount of time such managers spend protecting their position, status, image or reputation. To them, feedback is deemed a threat to their power and sense of self-worth, especially if it's negative. Great leaders, on the other hand, value truth and honesty and see feedback as a gift to improve upon their leadership so they can serve others and their mission better. Even when feedback is negative, it prompts an exercise in curious exploration to find out where things went wrong?so that it doesn't happen again.

Your turn: My hope is that managers can be uplifted and empowered to perform better. What sincere advice would you give to those in management roles who seek to be better leaders? Leave a comment and let's learn from each other.

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Ways I Can Help Managers Be Better Leaders

Thanks for engaging in the conversation! One of the ways I can help those in management roles achieve even greater success is via the top-rated?From Boss to Leader course. This is a skills-based hybrid immersion into Servant Leadership with top-notch content and live coaching calls.?Start here?with a free 15-minute discovery call to learn more. Serious inquiries only.

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About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes?is a global speaker whose keynotes and workshops spotlight the human side of work and how cultures of care, connection, and belonging outperform the competition. He's an executive coach, syndicated columnist, and the creator of the highly-acclaimed "From Boss to Leader" course. Marcel has been recognized as one of the "Top 101 Global Employee Engagement & Experience Influencers." His work is regularly featured in?Inc., Business Insider, Fast Company, and CNBC.