Don’t Let Lazy Managers Drive Away Your Top Performers

Management is not easy, and it takes effort to develop and retain a highly motivated workforce these days. When retention issues crop up, organizational leaders should consider whether lazy management is contributing to the problem. When employees are disengaged, rather than asking what is wrong with them, leaders should instead start by considering the possibility that management is doing something wrong. After opening their minds to this possibility, managers can determine whether this is the case by collecting data. For instance, quick, frequent “pulse surveys” may be useful for keeping tabs on how employees feel about their own jobs and the job that management is doing. Managers need to take the uncomfortable and effortful step of gathering evidence from others to inform what they can be doing to re-engage their employees. Those who are willing to make the effort will find that there are ongoing advances in the practice and study of management which offer an ever-expanding set of tools for diagnosing and addressing employee retention challenges.