All organizations are a reflection of their leadership.
Can people lead effectively without demonstrating emotional competence?
Many leaders unintentionally demonstrate behaviors that interfere with and jeopardize people feeling valued and supported.
A leader who demonstrates anger, condescension, avoidance, and verbally cutting people to ribbons, may not be fit to lead.
It is also clear as research suggests, that a rise in power often leads to a lack of empathy. This disconnects the leader even more from their personnel.
Many leaders talk about valuing their people, but often don’t do it.
Both non-supportive and disengaged leaders inspire turnover.
Effective leaders do not participate in diminishing people.
They hold others to high ideals and standards through supportive, reinforcing behaviors, tones, and attitudes.
But no leader can do that effectively without holding themselves up as examples of the desired behaviors, activities and conversations.
For how long will you work your heart out and give your best for a boss who treats you with negativity, or ignores you?
This is the top reason people leave an organization, and an uncaring mindset that creates mediocrity.
Competent leaders:
- Are emotionally fit for their roles.
- Can support, mentor and inspire performance.
- Demonstrate they genuinely care for their people.
- Are open and wiling to listen.
- Initiate trust.
- Are able to have the difficult conversations and are emotionally fit to do so.
Competent leaders are willing and able to facilitate those struggling and in conflicts, while working towards resolutions with dignity, instead of diminishment.
Here is an unwelcome truth: In order to reduce turnover; the leaders must change, or the organization must change the leaders.
While people may continue to leave for a better opportunity, they will no longer leave because of an uncaring, non-supportive, or dis-engaged boss.
Any organization where leadership is non-supportive or dis-engaged will result in greater turnover, more interpersonal conflicts, low morale and lackluster performance.
Setting more goals and having more meetings won’t help.
A workplace intervention is what’s needed. An honest assessment of the dynamics of the leadership must be done if turn-around is truly desired.
At the very core of all turnover an important truth is either unknown or ignored:
Do you have the right people in the right positions of leadership?
- Are they demonstrating competence?
- Are they demonstrating caring and support for their personnel?
- Are they willing to learn, and develop themselves?
- Are they emotionally fit for their positions?
- Do they the skills to mentor others?
- Do they actively model what the organization claims to want?
The spotlight of truth is the start of transformational change. Without it, no change is ever possible.
If you’d like my thoughts on improving leadership, reach out here.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. – Dr. Seuss
Please share.