Pulse preview
Are you a horrible boss?
While putting together this leadership issue of Pulse, I can’ t help but recall a dark comedy flick titled Horrible Bosses which I saw last year after much prodding by my husband who is a big Kevin Spacey fan. The film’ s premise revolves around three disgruntled friends who are subjected to unspeakable acts of“ workplace torture” by their intolerable bosses: The inappropriate dentist played by Jennifer Aniston; the pathological and incompetent scion played by Colin Farrell and the down-right master manipulator played by Kevin Spacey.
Although the three protagonists’ solution to their workplace problem— thanks to a few-too-many drinks and a dubious plan to“ permanently”
“... 75 percent of people voluntarily leaving jobs don’ t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses.” get rid of their bosses— is unconventional and drastic, the movie can easily resonate to anyone within the workforce, especially those who have had their share of horrible bosses.
According to this issue’ s leadership expert and co-author of Smart Trust Greg Link( see Conversations, page 20), one of the most prevalent symptoms of a horrible boss is lack or inability to trust.“ No matter what business type, the hardest thing to do within an organization is to trust each other,” he says.
As several employee engagement studies show( see“ Employee Engagement,” page 38), trust directly correlates to employee engagement which directly impacts workplace happiness and productivity.
Disengaged employees are those who quit, although not always through resigning from work. They simply quit to care. They quit becoming team players. They choose to quit their bosses. In fact, according to The Herman Group founder Roger Herman who some consider“ the father of employee retention,” 75 percent of people voluntarily leaving jobs don’ t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses.
Now, stop for a minute and think: Are your employees quitting you?
— MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON, EDITOR
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WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION? Send me your thoughts at mae. manacap-johnson @ ispastaff. com.
PHOTO © TIFFANY BROWN
Get a FREE copy of Greg Link’ s and Stephen M. R. Covey’ s Smart Trust. Send us your answer to the question: How are you showing“ Smart Trust” to your team? Pulse will pick three submissions that will receive a free copy of Smart Trust. Submissions may be printed in Pulse. Email your response to ispa @ ispastaff. com.
6 PULSE ■ May 2012