Do you know the number one reason why people quit a job? It’s not for more money or better benefits or advancement opportunities. People may cite these factors as a reason for leaving in an exit interview or casual conversation, but what most likely led them to look elsewhere in the first place is because of a bad boss. As a Harvard Business Review article stated, “Studies have consistently shown that having a bad manager or a poor relationship with one’s manager is a top reason an employee quits.” Yep, most likely your number one reason for turnover is bad
Over Memorial Day weekend, my family spent some time at the river. Trying to stay true to actually getting some exercise, even while on vacation, I was pushing my kids in the stroller down a windy and hilly river road when we came upon a man chopping firewood, transporting in on a wheelbarrow, and putting it in a spot beside his house to store. It’s May in Alabama. Even at 9 am it was approaching 90 degrees with the humidity level about that high. It was hot, and it will be hot for a while, most likely until at least
We had a great time and learned a lot at the Alabama SHRM Conference a couple of weeks ago. It’s always great to network with colleagues and learn from some of the best in our profession. We try to make this type of event part of our professional development game plan. In order to learn even more at the conference, we asked the professionals who stopped by our booth to complete a short survey where they identified their biggest pain points in HR. Here’s how the results shook out (subscribers click through to see chart): While there was no
Leaders are readers. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to grow as a leader is to read about leadership and take the knowledge gained from your reading and apply it. When asked about the best leadership books out there, here are the ones I recommend. Great leaders lead themselves first. You can’t lead others if you can’t leader yourself through strong personal habits. The best personal leadership book I have found is Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Leaders are influencers. For a timeless classic on influence, read How to Win Friends and Influence People by
What’s impacting performance in the workplace more than anything else these days? Many people would say it is stress, which is pushing some to the point of full-blown mental health issues. Consider how Graeme Cowan, author of Back From the Brink, describes this reality in the Fall 2014 issue of Global Corporate Xpansion Magazine: “In a hypercompetitive global economy, organizations must be ‘on’ 24/7. Yet this scramble for perpetual performance is taking a harsh toll on employees. They relentlessly push to get ahead and stay ahead- working longer days, emailing after hours, taking fewer vacations- often with little acknowledgement for