Having a great team of highly engaged, productive and happy employees is every business owner’s dream. According to research by Gallup, managers account for up to 70% variance in employee engagement. This means that if employee engagement is on your list of concerns, developing your leadership team should be as well. It is often said that employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad managers.

A recent article from Inc. shares the five types of leaders that make employees want to spruce up their resumes and find a new job.

  1. Leaders who fail to emphasize employee strengths
    Constructive or negative feedback from leaders should always be balanced with positive feedback. That doesn’t mean that you should be providing both types of feedback at the same time. According to research cited in the Harvard Business Review, feedback should be given at the time the behavior occurs. Don’t wait and try to “sandwich” negative feedback between positive feedback to lessen the blow. Instead balance the feedback you provide, ensuring that you are praising an employee, aa soon as a positive behavior is observed, at least five times as often as you are providing constructive feedback. Reinforcing positive behaviors has been shown to have a greater impact on employee performance than providing constructive feedback.
  2. Leaders who communicate poorly
    Leaders spend 70-90% of their day communicating with employees. That is a lot of time for a poor communicator to make bad impression. Employees also need to feel like they are being heard. Part of being a great communicator is being a great listener as well. Holding regular one-on-one meetings with employees is a great way for leaders to make sure they are effectively communicating with and listening to employees.
  3. Leaders who are not transparent
    Managers who withhold information from employees aren’t doing themselves any favors. Transparency increases employee trust. If employees are uncertain about the direction the company or their job is headed they will be more likely to leave.
  4. Leaders who micromanage
    You shouldn’t be hiring employee who require you to manage their every more. Setting clear performance objectives and then allowing employees the freedom to reach their goals in their own way, gives employees ownership of their work. This increased autonomy makes them more likely to stick around long-term.
  5. Leaders who don’t value employees
    Employees want to know that their contribution matters to the organization. They need to feel recognized by leaders in the organization. Recognition doesn’t have to be anything big. Dropping off a handwritten note or a favorite candy bar when an employee goes above and beyond can make a huge different. For more ideas, check out our Employee Recognition Toolkit.

You can throw all of the money and perks at employees that you want, but without a great leadership team, your great employees are still likely to leave. Make sure to invest in your leaders and help them to avoid these troublesome behaviors. Looking for ways to improve the leaders on your team? Reach out to our People Strategy team for suggestions at humanresources@helpside.com