Is your leadership flawed?

Is your management style hurting your career?
Eighty-six percent of companies say developing new leaders is an “urgent” need, according to Inc. Are you your company’s downfall? Does your company suffer from high turnover and low employee engagement?
Studies show companies with poor management perform lower than average. Happy employees equal better business and increased revenue. It is often said that employees don’t leave companies; instead, they leave poor bosses. Here are four things to consider when evaluating your leadership style.
The main factor in workplace unhappiness is the boss
The majority of employees say their boss is the worst and most stressful part of their job. When there’s no satisfaction among employees, there’s no motivation, which leads to employees not caring to perform well. This can impact the company as a whole.
The lack of happiness and motivation causes a ripple effect where other employees have to pick up the slack, resulting to more stress and possibly an even higher turnover rate. Workplace unhappiness is related to job stress, which can result in increased rates of heart attack, hypertension and other disorders.
This may sound drastic, but be aware of how your leadership can impact your employees. Studies have shown employees would rather go to companies that pay less than to continue working for a manager they dislike.
Twenty-five percent of employees leave organizations due to lack of recognition, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study.
People want to know they’re on the right track. Even if they know they’re doing well it’s nice to be acknowledged.
Recognition is a real ego booster, with more confidence comes a better employee. It’s free to do and doesn’t take much time. Giving recognition is key for your company. Lack of recognition causes unproductivity among unhappy employees and ultimately, high turnover. Simply expressing that an employee is doing great builds their confidence, which allows them to perform better.
Companies with happy employees outperform the competition
We know better performance leads to higher revenue. An environment where employees are paid well, have great benefits and feel valued may be a direct solution to higher earnings for your company.
Employee engagement may be what’s needed for your company to be prosperous and profitable. Studies show higher employee engagement also leads to customer loyalty, which ultimately leads to higher revenue. High engagement protects your business from bad employee reviews weighing down your talent management efforts. Customers will see this and have a favorable outlook on your brand.
Employees leave their job to get away from poor management
A Gallup study showed 50 percent of 7,200 adults left a job to get away from their manager. An anonymous quote says, “A bad manager can take a good staff and destroy it, causing the best employees to flee and the remainder to lose all motivation.”

Losing great employees can and will lead to the downfall of your company. You may push away the employee that’s needed in your company’s success to another organization. Even though paying employees well is imperative, if management is unsatisfactory, compensation will not be considered. Many won’t compromise their happiness and you will regularly be conducting new job interviews.

 
Michele Cuthbert is the CEO and creator of Baker Creative, a global WBE-certified creative brand management firm based in Ohio.