Do People Leave Leaders, Not Companies?
A sentiment with which
I strongly sympathise is that people leave leaders, not companies. However, should we always blame the leader?
Just as the leader can set a positive tone, they can set a
negative one. It may not actually be the
fault of the leader that this is happening.
We often “appoint” people into leadership positions without training
them for it, so it is just as much the business’ fault that they find staff
leaving.
Ironically, one often hears companies saying “People are our
most valuable assets), but never really acting in such a way to prove this is
the case. The “people” are both the
leaders and those whom they lead.
It’s not a case of paying more or giving more benefits to
make up for deficient leaders. American
psychologist Frederick Herzberg found that there were two groups of drivers
that affected people. These he
classified as “Hygiene Factors” and “Motivators”. Interestingly enough, when you look at the
list of what are considered “Hygiene Factors”, they bear a close resemblance to
the usual “tools” that businesses use, namely:
- Salary
- Work conditions
- Status
- Policy
- “Perks” (e.g. company car)
- Security
“Hygiene Factors” are the more “intangible” reasons that
make people want to work for a
particular business and or leader, such as:
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Responsibility
- Interesting & rewarding work
- Advancement
- Personal Growth
Looking at these, it seems to me that leaders are
responsible for the motivators and HR for the rest…
So when staff leave for “motivational” reasons, what does
that tell us? It means they’re not
getting enough recognition/responsibility/opportunities for personal growth,
etc. They may say that they’re leaving
for a better salary and/or a better position in another organisation, but what
this tells you is that your business or their leader or both haven’t been on
the ball in terms of motivators. There
are plenty of cases of people who have been offered higher
salaries/promotions/both but have turned them down. Why?
Because they felt that they wouldn’t get the recognition/responsibility/advancement,
etc that their current organisation or leader provides.
Some people will quit for a few dollars/pounds more
somewhere else, but it suggests that they value their own needs as humans at a
low price.
Businesses need to understand the theories of Abraham Maslow
(another American psychologist) who identified a human “hierarchy of needs”
which consisted of:
- Physiological (food, clothing, shelter)
- Safety (freedom from physiological & psychological harm).
- Belonging & love (feeling valued, positive relationships)
- Self-esteem & confidence (achieve, gain approval & recognition, trust others…)
- Self-actualisation (develop talent to full)
Notice any similarity between the final three and Herzberg’s
“motivators”? For me, they seem
remarkably similar. Once a human decides
that they’re physically safe, they look for the higher things in life. Why do you think that “vision” is such a
powerful tool?
Leaders need to understand this and to be trained as
leaders. Some are “naturals”, others
will need more support as they settle into a role. Otherwise, people will leave the leader, but it will be the business' fault...
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Career, Leadership, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 13:55
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