“People don’t quit companies, they quit managers.”

Adam Bouse, manager of performance coaching at 15Five, often hears this saying in business circles — but if it were up to him, he’d amend the quote.  

“People don’t quit companies, they quit managers who haven’t been set up to succeed,” he said during From Day One’s July virtual conference. Bouse led a thought leadership spotlight on manager effectiveness as the path to individual and organizational success.

While it’s not uncommon for employees to criticize direct superiors due to unsatisfactory work conditions, Bouse said 15Five looks higher up the ladder to help reverse negative trends such as voluntary turnover among employees.

“The majority of managers want to be good at their job,” he said. “Most managers come in with the best intentions. They simply haven’t been given the training, coaching and tools to succeed. It used to be considered progressive to have free snacks, ping pong tables, or dry cleaning at the office, but today the true measure of progressive human resources is human-centered leadership and human-centered cultures.”

Helping Managers Succeed

Human resource leaders are constantly prioritizing what initiatives may best benefit the organization they work for, and often it is taken for granted that managers are working to improve their ability as leaders.

“Managers are wearing many hats,” Bouse said. “They’re a coach and a player, and we need human resources to come in and say, ‘This is a key priority, and we will intentionally create some protected time to invest in our managers.’”

That direction is needed in the modern-day workplace, where a study from 15Five found 57% of employees leave their jobs due to negative workplace culture, 52% because of unsupportive management and 48% due to work-life balance concerns. Additionally, 75% of employees who voluntarily left a company said their departure was influenced directly by managers.

In the same study, managers reported they wanted training in four primary areas of concern; learning how to help set and track goals, give effective feedback, motivate people and conduct strength-based management.

“If we work from the assumption that managers want to be good but aren’t getting the training and support they need, now it makes sense why employees and managers become frustrated,” Bouse said. “All of this is a drag on human resources.”

Building Intrinsic Motivation

While extrinsic motivation such as giving praise, salary increases or providing other perks should be in every manager’s repertoire, studies show the benefits are often short-lived.

“It works for about 60 days, and then you need to again figure out what will inspire,” Bouse said. “A higher salary doesn’t correlate with employee engagement.”

Instead, the goal for managers should be to create a work environment that helps employees motivate themselves, otherwise known as intrinsic motivation, which Bouse says can be built in four ways.

• Relatedness: Build a sense of belonging and connection to others, which helps employees feel understood and, as a byproduct, creates more motivation.
• Autonomy: Give employees the ability to make meaningful decisions about their work and work experience. Managers should schedule regular check-ins to discuss the work environment, which helps to make employees feel part of the overall conversation in the company.
• Mastery: People want to get better at what they’re doing. Managers should help develop skills throughout their teams to help employees meet challenges confidently, leading to success.
• Purpose: It is human nature to want to contribute to something bigger and employees are no different. Many workers want to see how they fit into the big picture of their organization. Managers should be clear and aligned with employees on the company’s goal and how to achieve the goal.

Bouse says this science-backed, four-factor model of building intrinsic motivation is vital in building sustainable and predictable success. All managers can begin making positive changes now using these tools.

“They have everything they need to take the next step,” he said. “It’s as simple as gaining self-awareness of the strengths, gaps and opportunities in front of you. If you trust the process, that will help you grow and develop as a manager.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, 15Five, who sponsored this thought leadership spotlight.

Tim Zyla is the managing editor of a community newspaper in Pennsylvania and has a strong interest in business and finance.