There's an old adage, "people leave managers, not companies." Turns out, that's been a reality for one in two workers.
Nearly half of US professionals said they quit a job specifically because of a bad boss, according to a 2019 poll of 2,800 office workers. This finding — which other independent surveys have also verified — stirs up an unsettling question. If so many people have quit because of a bad boss, there must be a lot of bad bosses out there, right?
To help you figure out if your managerial style may need some help, Business Insider compiled a list of questions based on research by various workplace experts.
Spoiler alert: If you admit to a "No" on one or more of these questions, you may be getting a failing grade from your subordinates.
Do people who report to you speak up in team meetings?
Silence during team meetings doesn't necessarily mean your team is shy. It could mean they're afraid to speak up, for fear of what you might say, according to Robert Sutton, a professor of management science at the Stanford University School of Engineering.
"There's sort of a cold silence as leaders talk. That, to me, is a sign of fear," Sutton previously told Business Insider.
Do you create psychological safety within your team?
In his book "Good Boss, Bad Boss," Sutton cites research from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson about the importance of leaders creating safe spaces for employees to talk about both their successes and failures.
"Psychological safety emerges when those in power persistently praise, reward, and promote people who have the courage to act, talk about their doubts, successes, and failures, and work doggedly to do things better the next time," Sutton wrote.
If your employees don't feel safe enough to talk about their failures or shortcomings, they'll likely avoid you.
Do people on your team stay on your team?
For Kathi Elster, career and executive coach at K Squared, a management training and executive leadership firm, there's no clearer sign of a bad boss than a high turnover rate.
Sutton echoed this argument. "People leaving, that's the biggest sign of a bad boss," he said.
Have you established clear communication channels where all employees feel in the know?
Without clear, direct, consistent communication, employees can become confused and frustrated, according to Katherine Crowley, psychotherapist and executive coach at K Squared.
"Do you have great difficulty making decisions or are constantly change your mind? That can create a very toxic environment," Crowley said.
In addition, Sutton said that gossip and rumors flourish in offices that lack clear communication.
Are you available to your direct reports?
"If you're rarely at the office, or you're rarely on company calls, or you're rarely able to meet with your staff, that can create a toxic environment," Crowley said. "That's the absentee boss."
A 2015 survey of 1,000 working adults showed that 52% of people said their boss not having time to meet with them was a top workplace concern.
Do you trust your employees to complete their tasks?
If you don't trust your employees to do a competent job on assignments you've given them, that's a problem.
"If you micromanage and you feel the need to control everything your staff is doing, you're probably creating a toxic environment," Elster said.
And unfortunately, it's a common one, the executive coach added.
Think about it, do you like when someone is constantly checking on how you're doing on a project? Or always demanding to see things first before they're presented? Probably not.
If you think you might be a toxic boss, the first step is pinpoint your problematic behavior.
"The first thing is you have to find out the specific behaviors that are problematic," Crowley said.
You can do this by going to HR and asking them for feedback from the team, asking your supervisor, or speaking with an executive coach.
But brace yourself.
"It's hard because I think it's often a surprise to find out that you're doing something terribly wrong," Elster said. "You certainly don't want to hear about that. But that's how you're going to be able to do things differently."
The second step is to get help adjusting your management style.
Once you've found out what shortcomings you have, the next step is to figure out why you're having these problems.
"You could have a rage issue. You could be a controlling micromanager. You could have imposter syndrome. You could also be burned out, stressed out. Or you could have health issues that are causing it. So you want to identify what's going on and then find someone who can give you strategies to help you change," Crowley said.
You'll probably want to solicit the help of a professional, like a mentor, executive coach or therapist.
"You want to get somebody who can help you identify what is going on," Elster said.
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