EXIT STAGE LEFT 

April 13, 2023

By Mark David

Why are individuals leaving your firm today?  

Here are 3 main reasons in order of importance: 

  1. Their immediate manager 
  2. The company’s culture 
  3. The lack of investing in their growth and development

1. Their immediate manager 

The immediate manager makes or breaks the loyalty factor. If the manager creates a relationship built on trust, respect, transparency and always thinking of the individual and their family, their loyalty is a very strong bond.  

This manager has no problem saying no and delivering tough feedback when appropriate and needed. These individuals depend upon the manager to ground and anchor them.  Everyone on the team is also having fun at work, especially during the toughest, most challenging times. This is the juice that they’re all addicted to. 

Everyone also knows their role and the role of all their teammates. The manager makes sure everyone is on the same page and there is a common vision, strategy, and execution that becomes the team’s focus.  

Manager, boss, coach, leader…it doesn’t matter the title, but what does matter, is the actions they do with the team that facilitates the growth of the trust factor. They get the correct results and in turn, these results drive the company’s continued success.  

2. The company’s culture 

The culture! This is the easiest to accomplish. The only thing that management needs to do is be connected to the front lines. That’s it! 

So, what does that take: 

  • Include the front-line employees when making companywide decisions, especially during a reorganization.  
  • Have all corporate like organizations truly support the front lines vs. setting them up to fail.  
  • Reduce the layers of bureaucracy so that it makes going from A to Z easy.  
  • Have upper management be accountable for the decisions they make. 
  • Reward all the people that deserve it! 
  • Allow the culture to easily remove the individuals who don’t want to be part of the company’s future. Don’t make it an almost impossible task. 
  • Lastly just let everyone know you truly care about them. How? By listening to them and acting on their great ideas. 

3. The lack of investment in the growth and development of their people 

Today people want their managers to invest in their growth, development of their behaviors, talents, gifts, etc. People also want to have agreed upon career track that is aligned with their growth and development. They’re counting on their immediate manager to be their coach, guide, leader in this vertical career process.  

People want their manager to block, tackle, fight, and knock down any of the hurdles they face with them to move up within their career track.  

Lastly, as you grow and develop your people, keep giving them more challenging assignments, that will continue their career path advancement. It will empower people to want to fill a vacuum that you created. By developing their talent to move up within the company everybody wins. Especially your company’s customers! 

Appreciate the Day,

Mark David

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