Are You a Good Boss?

Aug 02 2017

boss kidYou’ve heard it before: “people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” At 4.3%, the current unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in 10 years. This is great news for job seekers (and our economy), but bad news for employers because it means employees have more options. In short, don’t take your team for granted by making assumptions about their commitment. Here are 5 reasons your employees are circulating their resumes:

1. You don’t notice if they are overworked and/or unhappy
The world is full of passive aggressive communicators. People on your team will expect you to notice the subtle ways they express their frustration, and yet your role does doesn’t always offer you the time and energy to be tuned in to these cues. This is what separates a good manager from a bad manager. Good managers make time to take a pulse check on their team, they’re observant and assertive. If you’re known for being clueless about whether people are happy or frustrated—you need to ask someone with this gift to help you.

2. You take credit for an employee’s work or ideas
Taking credit for someone else’s work is never ok and it’s a fast way to ensure an employee’s resume is posted on the job boards. Proudly sharing great work that was done by someone else demonstrates your ability to bring out the best in your team. Go out of your way to give credit to the right person and to recognize top performers in front of their peers.

3. You promote people based on relationships and not results
Use promotions to set an example of the benefits of hard work and a great attitude. Promoting or hiring someone for any other reason will not sit well with other employees. Treat promotions with care and know that you’ll quickly lose favor with your employees if you make a habit out of promoting people who haven’t earned it.

4. You’re a micromanager
Give your team the tools to be successful and then take a step back and let them get to work. Don’t schedule unnecessary meetings or check-ins that cut into valuable work time. When you trust your team to take the right actions and make smart decisions, you’ll give them a sense of independence and control that makes them feel trusted and valued. Let them make mistakes and then support them as they learn. They’ll stick around if you help them grow.

5. You’re not invested in your employee’s financial professional growth
Do you want to be in the exact same position you’re in now a few years down the road? Of course not, and neither do your employees. Just because they’re not bringing up a raise doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking about it. And when your competitors come knocking with promises of a bump in salary, exciting projects, or a chance for career growth, this will be a hard offer for most people to refuse.

Your team’s overall engagement warrants your time and attention. Help yourself be successful by setting calendar reminders to help you remember when to sit down with an employee to talk about how things are going, find out what’s going well (and not so well) for them, and make sure they have a high level of professional satisfaction. They’ll thank you by sticking around.

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