Leaders who lack self-awareness do a lot of things that alienate their employees and then shake their heads and wonder why things got out of hand when the person leaves the organization. One of the key elements of inspirational leadership is to remember that you’re there to interact positively and make things easier for the people around you. The less challenges and obstacles your employees have, the better you’ll look and the less time you’ll spend trying to put the pieces back together. Here are ten ways that leaders lose employees:
- Treat people uncourteously or disrespectfully.
- Don’t recognize or put to use people’s talents and abilities.
- Put people in jobs they hate and give them no opportunity to grow.
- Don’t listen to people.
- Inability or refusal to fix things when they go awry.
- Regularly get into a conflicts.
- Insist you’re right and they’re wrong.
- Read the employee the policy handbook instead of working with them to resolve an issue.
- Not knowing how to communicate effectively.
- Lack of follow-through.
The secret to enlightened leadership is to do the opposite of these things. Treat people like they really matter and show them you care deeply about their well-being and growth and you’ll create a workplace where individuals feel important and work accordingly. If you currently do any of these things, think of ways to replace the behavior with one that leads in a more positive direction and you’ll be on your way to creating a more positive workplace. What will you do to keep your employees happily working for your organization?
Cheers,
Guy