Are Your Leaders Driving Employees Away?

In a recent article by Forbes discussing yet another list of the top 10 reasons why people quit their jobs, only one spoke specifically to income. The other 9 all pertained to “tired of being ignored” and “tired of arguing their positions” and “they are exhausted.” I often have individuals referred to me who want to change jobs. In exploring why, the above list is an accurate representation of their frustrations. The most common feedback that I receive is that the position is not how they described it to me during the interview. In digging deeper into what exactly occurred during the interview process to get them excited, many individuals tell me about how they felt as though they were heard and listened to. They felt great about accepting the offer because they saw eye to eye with how the company does business.

What we are really talking about here is company culture. This has been a major focus, leading many companies to go as far as to have onsite mental health services, even a spa or masseuse, weekly meetings to voice opinions, onsite and offsite team building exercises (I once went to a horse therapy ranch), and many other benefits that, hopefully, demonstrate how much they care about their employees. Many companies pay tens of thousands of dollars for consultants to help them craft their company culture.

Here’s the thing, very few have ever said they quit their job because they have enough team bonding sessions. The frustrations noted above are what come up time and time again because no matter what benefits you are offered, struggling to do your job, repeatedly pointing out the struggles and being ignored, and the frustration of ‘pushing a rock uphill” cannot be cured with a massage.

Through my experiences with DiSC Work of Leaders, I have witnessed situations where leaders simply believe they have all the answers, and when they use data to back up their answers, why would anyone argue? Most of us are wired, to one degree or another, to identify and then remove hurdles from our job. We also have data to back up why we should do things differently, so why wouldn’t my boss listen to me? The strongest company culture is one where leaders invest time and energy into listening to their direct reports. Not every problem can be solved, however, fighting a battle with your boss by your side is very different from fighting a battle against your boss.