Why People Continue to Quit Their Jobs, Backed by Research

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In my line of work, I do a lot of?listening?to managers bickering about?losing good employees. It's understandable--turnover is costly and disruptive.

Many will point fingers somewhere, yet the data I gather from exit interview reports, feedback instruments, and?employee engagement?surveys has fingers pointing back at them.

This is consistent with leading research by Gallup. One study of 7,272 U.S. adults found that 50 percent of employees left their job "to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career."

We've all heard this tune before: People leave managers, not companies.

Gallup CEO Jim Clifton summarized in a succinct sentence the bottom line of why your company's employee turnover may be high. He said:

The single biggest decision you make in your job--bigger than all the rest--is who you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits--nothing.

Clifton wrote this in the summary accompanying Gallup's 2013 "State of the American Workplace" employee engagement study. That quote is the conclusion Gallup drew from decades of data and interviews with 25 million employees. But companies keep getting this decision wrong, over and over again.

Things haven't changed, even in the pandemic era. Clifton says decision-makers at the top of the food chain spend billions of dollars every year on everything but hiring the right managers.

Evolving the role of manager to leader

If you're an executive or CHRO concerned about low morale, employee satisfaction or engagement, or--at worst--a revolving door at your company, start by looking at who your current managers are. You have a choice to make: Develop their leadership skills or filter them out of their management roles.

In either scenario, you have something to shoot for as you identify current and future managers. To that end, I'll share four key traits you'll find in managers who've learned good leadership skills (full disclosure: these traits are taught in our leadership development course). The literature finds that these key traits will result in high performance for both your managers and the workforce.

1. Authenticity.

When you're authentic and vulnerable with your employees, they are more than likely to reciprocate and gain your trust. So if hard times are coming or the firm is headed into a valley for a season, tell your employees; let them know how--and if--this affects their role. Let them know ahead of time that they will not be receiving bonuses, pay raises, or time off. But compensate for that by ensuring that if they keep performing well and sales do go up, they will see those things reenter the picture. It holds everyone accountable and makes them feel like a team. The best leaders leverage authenticity and radical candor to influence and develop trust. It's always the best policy.

2. Provide care and support.

Good managers that I've coached have learned to support their people by showing an interest in their people's jobs and career aspirations. They will look into the future to create learning and development opportunities to make their people better. They find out what intrisically motivates their best people by getting to know their desires and what drives them. This is about emotional engagement.

This means being supportive of employees who are up for promotions, job changes or going through transitions or difficult circumstances in their personal lives. As the popular quote goes, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

When managers show that they care about their employees as human beings and support their employees' future career choices, it helps employees feel more confident in their position and career path, whether it means moving up or moving on.

3. Recognize the strengths of others.

Gallup's Jim Clifton?states?that "employees' strengths never stop growing throughout their career--particularly when they have talented managers who build unique development strategies around their individual, innate talents, and who make sure they are always in roles where they get to use those strengths every day."

People love to use their unique talents and gifts. The best managers will leverage close relationships with employees by finding out what their strengths are and bringing out the best in their employees.

In fact, when managers help employees develop through their strengths and natural talents, they are more than twice as likely to engage their team members.

4. Display empathy.

Global training giant Development Dimensions International (DDI) assessed over 15,000 leaders to determine which conversational skills have the greatest impact on overall performance.

The findings, published in DDI's "High-Resolution Leadership" report, are revealing. While skills such as "encouraging involvement of others" and "recognizing accomplishments" are important, empathy--yes, empathy--rose to the top as the most critical driver of overall performance: specifically, the ability to?listen and respond with empathy.

Unfortunately, the DDI report also revealed that only 4 out of 10 frontline managers assessed were proficient in or strong on empathy.

A manager who has evolved with the ability to display empathy may be your secret weapon. They will naturally foster strong personal relationships and promote productive collaboration. They'll think about their team's circumstances, understand their challenges and frustrations, and know that those emotions are every bit as real as their own. This helps develop perspective and opens team members to helping one another.

Summary

With technology, automation and globalization, the biggest human capital gains businesses will witness in the future will stem from the same smart practices we have seen--and continue to see--today: hiring and training the right managers, who in turn care for, develop, and maximize the strengths of every employee. This is what research has repeatedly confirmed will transform companies now?and?in the future.

Your turn: What do you consider to be a key trait to develop in managers today? Leave a comment and let's learn from each other.

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On episode 104 of the Love in Action Podcast, I sat down with Erica Dhawan, who was named #12 on the Top Motivational Speakers, alongside Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins and Brene Brown and on Thinkers50 list which ranks the top 50 management thinkers in the world.?Her most recent book,?Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance, educates and instructs readers on how to translate traditional body language to the digital world.

Listen on?Apple Podcasts?|?Spotify?|?Google Podcasts

6 Things You'll Learn from This Episode:

• The subtlety of body language: Body language is a hugely popular topic among leaders. They want to know how to communicate better nonverbally. There are many subtle things that leaders do or neglect to do that send messages, whether they want to or not. Erica uncovers the do's and don'ts.
• Effects of miscommunication: Erica talks about the current crisis of misunderstanding that the virtual nature of the workplace is creating, and how it impacts productivity, collaboration, and profits.
• The new rules: People read and interpret messages very differently, so we need a new set of common rules to root out miscommunication. Erica uncovers what research has shown to be good digital communication.

• On virtual meetings: Leaders should be mindful of the various personality types in their teams. The extroverts of the team may find it easy to speak up and contribute to discussions, but the introverts may face difficulties and will subsequently be spoken over. Facilitating accommodations like chat tools and small breakout rooms to combat this issue will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to let their voice be heard.
• Assume positive intent: “Listening [as a skill] today is not only being thoughtful and responsive, but it’s also being conscious and careful in the words…” Erica remarks. “Reading carefully is about taking the time to make sure you’re reading by assuming good intent, you’re reading for how you can add value and respond to them thoughtfully.”
• On inclusiveness in the digital era: “I think what is most exciting about leadership in a digital era is how much more geographically inclusive and less visually biased we can be,” Erica comments. “We can truly allow anyone into our space and I think that is the full extension of love and the human spirit.”

A great--and very important--conversation between two global thought-leaders. Hope you'll join us. Listen to the whole episode now. ????

Listen on?Apple Podcasts?|?Spotify?|?Google Podcasts

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An invitation for senior leaders looking to develop their management teams

I have created the ‘From Boss to Leader’ course to teach emerging?leaders and managers?the leadership skills they need to flourish in remote and hybrid work settings. Watch this?2-minute video?to see if it may be right for your management team. Then I invite you to?book a 15-minute call with me?so I can personally hear your organizational and leadership challenges and offer some free advice.

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About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes?is an international speaker, globally-recognized leadership authority, executive coach,?podcast host, and?syndicated columnist?with a worldwide following. He teaches emerging leaders the skills to build great work cultures where people and businesses flourish.