Grant’s experience in the e-mail he sent me below underlines the need for manager’s having authentic conversations during performance discussions. His is a vivid example of how people join an organization and quit their boss. Retention is going to become a critical issue in the next few years in many organizations as baby boomers retire in much larger numbers than new people coming into the workforce. Research on attracting and retaining top talent shows that 70% of the reason people quit is because of their immediate boss. What does your turnover rate say about your leadership? How about any supervisors or managers you may be leading?

Grant also provides an excellent example of having the courage to leave if you feel victimized by a bad boss. How much job pain are we willing to accept for the security of a paycheck? What’s the price of our self-worth?

    “I am about half-way through reading The Leader’s Digest and had to write you to say how wonderful I’m finding your book. It has been re-affirming my leadership passion and stoking me with confidence. You see, I had a bad experience in my last job (where I was a software team leader) and was wondering why I was so upset and unhappy at work.

    I thought lots of things were going wrong (and so did many of those I was leading), but my managers thought the project was doing great. Now I realize my leadership intuition was right on the money! My decision to leave was the correct one – I had no leaders to support or motivate me; time to move on and find some.

    What motivated me to write was a section I just read on “The Power of One” explaining that a key leadership word is “care” (page 126). On my last performance review, I made the following comment about my own job satisfaction:

    “I care about my job. I care about quality. I care that customers are happy. I care that we do a good job. But if my job satisfaction doesn’t improve, then I will stop caring.”

    During my performance review, my managers didn’t care enough to dig into this issue! Here was an employee crying out for help, but their inaction to understand my concerns was flabbergasting. To make matters worse, one of the managers took the concerns and issues that I raised as a personal attack on him and the company. He then went on the offensive and started to attack me in an attempt to ‘put me back in my place.’ He told me the project will not change the way it is being run, and don’t expect everyone to change to suit me! After he ranted at me for a few minutes, I calmly looked him squarely in the eye and told him I would no longer commit to his project. His chin dropped. I smiled.

    I had realized at that instant he was no longer the leader that I could follow. He was the root cause of my low job satisfaction. Too bad for them, as I was considered one of the better team leads and despite my low job satisfaction rating (3 out of 10), I still had a strong review from my peers. So they lost a good employee that day – but some other company out there will gain one! One that knows the value of leadership.”
    Grant Edwards
    Delta, BC

    New Downloadable Audios

    One of the most amazing things about the internet is its ability to reach people around the globe. Each day hundreds of new visitors drop by https://www.clemmergroup.com and visit my online store.

    And while shipping costs can be more than the items some folks order, if they’re outside Canada or the U.S., I like to think these materials are still worth it.

    However, to get around the shipping costs I’ve made most of my books available as electronic downloads that can be read on mobile devices and any computer.

    This week I introduced downloadable audio versions of my popular CDs, Firing on all Cylinders and Leading in Turbulent Times. Along with the existing audiobook to Moose on the Table, I’m thrilled to have another way for leaders to access these powerful resources – wherever they happen to be.