Are you the reason your best people are leaving?

Is your team still on side?

Below, we’ve listed some signs that suggest that the difficulties lie with the employer, rather than their employees.

Slack schedules
If your employees are slacking when it comes to punctuality, breaks and wanting a speedy home time, you need to take action as their leader. It’s your responsibility.

No sounding board
You need a mentor, coach or human resources partner to advise you on business decisions: self-reflection is unreliable as we tend to be our own biggest fan club. There’s no reason to feel uncomfortable about seeking help, as this is how you grow.

Spend time on your team
Consider how you spend your hours. You probably ignore management responsibilities a lot of the time. Shift from being a sole player to heading the team doing the work – spend more time ‘leading’ and less ‘doing’.

Robotic staff
The faces of your employees tell the truth. If they are stiff, stone-faced and robotic, this could signal unhappiness with your organisation and a motivation issue. Create an enjoyable, energised culture where people can smile and laugh together.

Unwanted behaviour
Look at your management style if there is a trend towards unwanted behaviour – perhaps the quality of workers’ output is falling, or employees are turning up late. Frequently calling in sick is another behaviour that needs to be tackled by management.

No defined work culture
Millennials need collaborative leadership to do well. If you have a weak or poor work culture, you are probably the reason. Stimulate your workforce to drive business success.

No influence
Leadership is influence. If you can no longer influence the behaviour of your team, you are the problem. Connect with your staff and find out what they need from you. Then you can begin to change and lead the team to deliver results.

Customer complaints
You may have blind spots when it comes to employees – high turnover and bad morale are less-than-desirable behaviours that bosses may miss. Ultimately, customer feedback is the best indicator of poor leadership, and bosses must be prepared to take note and respond to such contact.

Nobody disagrees
If no one disagrees in meetings, this is not necessarily a healthy sign. It may be that people feel they lack a safe environment where they can call you out as team leader.

Negative feedback
Genuine, positive leaders typically receive enthusiasm back, but negative feedback and lack of motivation or morale can signal problems with your leadership. Be sure to address this problem before employees start leaving.

Making complaints about your whole team
Business owners who complain that none of their employees are hard working, or know how to manage, are the problem themselves. If you find yourself saying, ‘All my people . . . ‘, you need to examine yourself in the mirror.

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The British Institute of Recruiters is the Professional Body operating The Recruitment Certification Scheme

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