People Don't Quit Their Jobs. They Quit Their Leaders.

Be honest. How much time do you spend doing the work your direct reports should be doing? And here’s the harder question: what’s your role in allowing it to happen?

The flying monkeys don’t arrive uninvited. You accepted them.

When a direct report brings you a problem and you respond with a solution — anything other than a coaching response — the monkey jumped from their back to yours. You’re doing their job. Since you accepted it once, they’ll assume you want that kind of input going forward. Your A players notice. They either become B players or they find somewhere more challenging. The cycle accelerates quietly.

Micromanaging. You know the job better than anyone, so you make sure it’s done right. A players won’t tolerate it. They leave, and you’re left with people who need to be managed — which confirms your instinct to manage closely. As Steve Jobs reportedly put it: “I don’t hire smart people to tell them what to do. I hire them to tell me what to do.”

Overreacting to mistakes. Next time there’s a decision to make, they’ll check with you first. Next time something goes wrong, they’ll hide it. Fix the mistake, not the blame. Blame only makes you feel better — it never makes anything better.

Tolerating poor performance. If you’re allowing poor performers to stay, you’re not setting the standards — they are. C players drive out A players. The argument that you can’t act until you have a replacement? Ask yourself: what would you do if that person got hit by a bus tonight? You’d adapt. You’d figure it out. The same is true now.

Poor communication. Studies show most employees can’t state their short-term goals, let alone the company mission, vision, or annual objectives. If you’re not crystal clear on who’s supposed to do what and by when, it won’t get done. And guess who ends up doing it.

The fish rots from the head. The bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle. You know where the buck stops. What are you waiting for?