Recently I picked up a new coaching client and he left his previous employer because his newly promoted boss went from being collegial and consultative to being demanding and autocratic. The company lost a great executive and now has to find or promote a replacement and deal with that individual’s learning curve.

What’s interesting is that most managers don’t even know that they are ticking off the best performers.

Of course not every disenchanted employee decides to leave the organization. Sometimes they stay and just stop trying so hard. Their will broken and their motivation low.

Here are some of the top reasons employees get turned off and either give up caring for the organization or leave in search of something better:

1. Not being treated with respect

Probably the number one reason that a good employee gets turned off is that his or her manager talks down to them, is demeaning, or yells. Often this is the result of the manager being insecure, under stress or promoted beyond his or her capability. Managers need to realize that there is likely very little difference between their own capability and the people who work for them. Remember to treat people with respect at all times. Managers are expected to be in control of their emotions and actions. Slip ups can really turn off employees.

2. Making promises that aren’t kept and not backing up or defending his or her team

Good employees will report being lied to as a significant demotivator. Most managers don’t set out to lie – usually they are actually trying to keep people happy by telling them what they want to hear. Even making an innocent promise like, “I’ll get back to you,” or, “Leave it with me and I will look into it,” can turn into a lie if the manager does not follow through. If a manager does not defend the team when its warranted, they appear like a push over. Managers should say things they intend to follow through on and defend the team in front of other managers.

3. Letting people get stale – lack of challenge and encouragement

Good employees expect to have opportunities to grow and develop and the manager who lets them stagnate for too long risks having the employee’s eyes wander for a more exciting opportunity. Look at each of your employees and determine what they need in order to reach the next level of performance, or what new task or project you can give them to keep them excited. Employees get disappointed when the manager provides no real feedback until the performance review. Tell employees what they are doing well and thank them for their contribution on a regular basis.

4. Ignoring and avoiding the need to address poor performance

Managers still have a tendency to heap more work on top performers and less work on poor performers. Initially a good employee may appreciate being given more work and responsibility only to become resentful when they see their own workload increase and their colleagues getting away with doing less. This is especially a demotivator when both top and bottom performers are being paid the same. Perhaps especially in a unionized environment, managers can gain greater respect and lift overall performance by addressing unacceptable performance and behaviour.

How to avoid being a victim of demotivational factors and take ownership of your situation

Employees who work for a manager who exhibits the negative qualities listed above can take ownership of making things better. If you feel stagnant in your career, take the initiative and ask for a special project to work on. Managers are just as open to positive reinforcement as employees, so let your boss know when he or she does something positive that you appreciate. In the case of a manager who forgets to follow-up be bold enough to ask again. When you feel that you are a better performer than others, suggest some training that could benefit the group and if you think your performance deserves a reward, present your case to your manager on why you deserve a raise.

Recognizing that this is happening in your organization or work team is a good first step. We can provide the leadership skills needed to create a positive, performance-based culture.

Imagine if your organization could take the best attributes of the best employees and replicate those behaviours throughout the organization. Chances are that a small percentage of your workforce generates a large percentage of your results. They sell more, screw up less, waste less and raise the bar for those around them. If you had only top performers, what would happen to your efficiency, productivity and profitability?

Benchmarking within your organization

Benchmarking has long been used by leading corporations to see how they measure up to world class competitors from around the globe. In the same way, it is possible to benchmark the performance of individuals performing the same task and close the gaps that hold the organization back from achieving its full potential.

Pecking order of performance

As you look around your workplace it is usually apparent the pecking order of performance. Most people know who the top, middle and bottom performers are. Many managers just accept the fact that they are stuck with this distribution of performance and they tend to heap more work on the good performers and less work on the poor performers. Accepting below-potential performance drives down profit, drives up costs and tends to keep wages flat because as a whole group, performance is average. The top performer doesn’t get the increased wages they deserve and to bottom performer uses up valuable financial resources without creating enough value.

Instead of just accepting average as good enough, what if you really examined the top performers and looked at the DNA – the attributes that make them great performers. You will discover that there are a few big differentiating factors and a number of little behaviours that contribute to their success.

When companies ask us to facilitate this process, it includes spending time with the top performer and his or her manager to identify all the specific behaviours that make them great.

Cloning top performers

Some managers mistakenly believe that the top performer is ‘Born with it’ and therefore their secret cannot be transferred to others. Chances are the top performer worked hard, over a long period of time to master his or her job. If you break down what they do into smaller pieces you will likely discover that there are key things top performers do. It may be in the way they prepare themselves for the task. It may be a sense of judgement or intuitive feel they get. If asked, they can reveal why they get this ‘gut feel’ and how they think differently about their task. You can get an even more vivid picture by studying the behaviours and characteristics of bottom performers and contrasting that with the top performers.

Distil the information into a set of expectations or benchmarks that can be used to groom more top performers. Build it into performance measurement, job descriptions, training and reward systems.

Training programs can be much more focused on building skills and behaviours demonstrated by top performers.

Expect the best

Once top performance is understood and finds its way into job descriptions, training, performance appraisals, and reward systems, management has to become relentless in the pursuit of top results. A culture of top performance is maintained when top performers are rewarded and bottom performers are confronted, corrected and removed from the organization.

Get in touch with us to see how to discover and clone the DNA of your top performers.

Family owned and managed companies are responsible for the majority of economic output and pay cheques in Canada and around the world.

For family members working or managing in a family business environment, there are some special challenges and opportunities.

What are the things family members need to be aware of in their leadership role?

The biggest thing to address is having an attitude of entitlement. Family members can sometimes be given a position of authority because they are in the lucky sperm club. So its important to act with humility and earn your way in the organization. Other non-family employees will anticipate that family members will be first in line for promotion so there is no need to flaunt it. Treat people with respect and you will gain their loyalty.

What about non-family members who want to get into management at a family-owned company?

There are almost always opportunities for non-family members to rise into leadership roles – even at the most senior level. It usually requires a slightly different skill set than in a non-family company. The key difference is being sensitive to the family dynamic and how it impacts decision making. It is wishful thinking to think that family issues and business decisions will be kept totally separate, even if that is the goal. It’s like the politics that you might find in any other organization – just with family bonds and baggage attached.

Is there any organization to help people in family business?

Yes, the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise has a thriving chapter in Southwestern Ontario. I am a member myself. For more information visit my website at http://www.leadershipwizard.com/ or visit http://www.cafecanada.ca/

You would think that in times of uncertainty, people from different departments would be even more cooperative than usual to make the organization successful. Instead people can become more defensive and difficult because they want to protect their turf. The result is bad for customers and the company’s bottom line.

Potential profit dollars end up going down the drain when different areas of a business don’t work together. As an example, a delivery person might notice that a customer purchases an item from a competitor that your company could provide, but instead of mentioning it to the customer or to the sales department, he keeps it to himself. “Not my job.” When asked why, he might complain that the sales people look down on the delivery drivers as second class citizens. A customer service person might also treat customers poorly because they don’t get respect from other managers in the organization.

What is the root of the silo problem?

There are two main sources of silos – one is a lack of common purpose, vision and mission that ties everyone together. In the absence of a common purpose, each team or individual looks out for themselves and doesn’t think about the needs of other departments. It is the manager’s responsibility to keep reminding people of the common purpose “Put the customer first”, “Growth is everyone’s responsibility”. “We all work for the customer.”

The second cause of silos is a competition when managers either accidentally or purposefully pit one department, division or employee against another employee, division or department. Sometimes is may be a cynical or sarcastic comment. Sometimes it might be in the measurement or reward system. Employee of the month is an example that can cause resentment. A team goal might be more helpful. It is okay to benchmark performance as long as its used to help lift everyone’s performance. When used properly, people will be more willing to give and get constructive feedback from one another because they realize the other person or department has his or her best interest at heart.

Employees take the lead from managers so the first person who needs to change is the manager.

Communicate the common purpose and be positive about other departments and see how you can be of benefit to them and they to you.