Employees Don’t Quit Companies They Quit Managers… Or Do They?

Having a bad boss in your face every day takes its toll. The classic maxim “Employees don’t quit companies--they quit managers” has staying power because it gestures at an important truth. ?Yet it isn’t the whole story, and if we want to jump-start our arrested corporate development we need to be honest about what’s really going on.

Let’s say your manager doesn’t have your best interests in mind, refuses to develop you or is plain incompetent (or worst case, frankly abusive). ?Even if you love the products or the mission or the colleagues with whom you work, eventually you will leave rather than continue to answer to a boss like that.

The converse is also true. ?I have seen it happen: people in a so-so company may stay for a long time and perform at a high level when they have a tremendous manager. ?And occasionally when a high-performing manager leaves, employees will follow him or her to the new company--sometimes even for lower pay.

Ah, the power of good leadership. We’ve established that—to a point—people will stay for their manager or will eventually “quit their manager” based on the quality of leadership.

So we need good leadership. ?Got it. ?Over the past three decades companies have consumed untold numbers of management training programs. Engagement surveys are ubiquitous and there has been a huge increase in a variety of culture improvement initiatives. ?Yet the sad truth is that most organizations still suffer low engagements scores and a dearth of quality managers. ?Meanwhile culture programs come and go like the flavor of the day.

So I think it’s important for us to consider why these efforts have mostly failed to effect the positive change we would expect.?

After all, in my experience most training programs are at least solid and are offered in many delivery options: in-class, online, video-based, gamification, webinars or self-study. ?And while training cannot be seen as a single event, the better training programs have met this challenge though improved follow-up that reinforces the learning back in the office environment.? Thus, there must be something more going on.

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There are manifold factors limiting the number of quality managers in organizations but I think there is a deeper issue at stake and a culprit to rule them all.

And the issue is the systemic leadership culture, which tends to be most conspicuously expressed by executive leadership. ?

Let us tell the truth on this: managers emulate their executive leadership. ?They take their cues from them. ?They also figure out very quickly what their executives really want versus what they say they want. ?They see who is promoted and rewarded and can quickly discern if it because the person lives corporate values, performs well and is a great leader or if they brown-nose, play the game politically and will be a lapdog for those truly in charge. ?Let us not be na?ve enough to believe that employees in general cannot distinguish between stated values in an organization and the actual way it works. ?What you reward is what you get. ?And actions, not words, tell the story of who you are.

Sorry to sound so gloomy on this but can you deny this is the case? ?While there are some companies whose stated values align with their actual values too many other companies do not meet this criterion and this inevitably impacts the quality of leadership in them. ?Have you ever gone to a leadership training program, got all inspired and recommitted yourself as a manager only to come back to work and have your legs cut out from under you by the very people who sent you to the training and supposedly espouse the lessons you just learned? ?This hurts. ?It is a minor tragedy.

Too many senior leaders have their own rules for themselves. ?They may take a 2-hour version of the leadership class that their managers are required to attend in a 3-day format. ?This is the real disconnect. ?

Now, great leaders—people of character—will tend to be great leaders even if it’s a countercultural act. ?For a time.? However, eventually the incongruence and cognitive dissonance exacts a price. ?Chronically getting beat up will wear on a high performing manager in a poor leadership culture and the story will generally play out this way:

Option #1- They draw deep from their well of personal resilience and stay at the company, committed to be a great leader and shining example of leadership. ?Hoping that it will be noticed and replicated. ?These are the most valuable players and true change agents in companies. ?They know that change takes time and they are in it for the long haul. ?Over time either their example will be imitated or they will get beat up and then move on to option 2 or 3.

Option #2-They leave! ?After being beat up for so long and most likely having to report to their less-than manager, they will quit their manager who is usually arm-in-arm with the leadership culture and the company overall.

Option #3 They stay and capitulate. ??After an extended period of time reporting to a bad manager and being around overall less-than leadership, some people give in. ?I have seen this throughout my entire career as an executive coach and business consultant: they give up and become infected. ?I have met many great human beings who simply fell in-line with their company out of sheer survival, or a sense of having to provide a certain lifestyle for their families.

?If an organization has a poor leadership culture, eventually most if not all managers will fall in line and reflect this culture despite any and all of the trainings they complete, TED talks they watch and books on leadership they read. ?Despite knowing better, the powerful influence of the overall system grinds them down. ?

As W. Edwards Demming said: “Put good people in a bad system and eventually the system will win.” ?So when we recall the old adage “People do not quit companies they quit managers” we need to acknowledge that this is true on the surface. It is a simple but powerful leadership lesson for the individual. However, we also need to ask the question of whether the manager is a lemon or if the organization itself propagates and promotes that bad leadership through its system-wide culture.

The good news is that a system that grinds down good people and produces bad managers can be undone and redesigned. ?You see, executive leaders ultimately are the architects of the operating systems and can design the ones they really want. ?Remember that over time the system eventually wins--- so set up the system to produce great managers that employees will stay and work hard for.?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this article. ?The purpose is to create a very open and honest conversation about Leadership in the Real World and how organizations can become truly positive, passionate and prosperous places. ?As always, please feel free to share your comments and insights below. ?