An executive coaching client complained that he wasn’t focused. He mentioned it no less than four times on his intake sheet. However, as our coaching is progressing, he hasn’t decided on any goals, so he has no tasks to work on, and since he has no tasks to work on, he has nothing to focus on. Well, you get the picture.

Continuing to “wing it” through life doesn’t lend one the ability to focus because you’re all over the place. There is a lack of direction. A story told by James Clear about a lion tamer serves to illustrate the point perfectly. A lion tamer found a unique way to work with lions so they wouldn’t attack him in the ring while performing at the circus. The lion tamer carries a whip and a chair into the cage. The whip is mostly for show. When the chair is thrust in the lion’s face, he can’t focus on just one of the legs and so the lion freezes with indecision. Sound familiar?

The number one concern for organiztions in the past two years has been the exit of employees according to SHRM . Of course, as with any problem, organiztions need to get to the root of the problem. According to several sources, stop me if you’ve heard this, the number one reason people leave their jobs is because of a bad boss. Is it always the manager’s fault or does the CEO also play a role? Or maybe, we’re in a mid-life crisis. In this article, we’ll look at three reasons people leave and ways to open the curtain on prevention.

1. The Manager

• The Critical Boss: None of us like to be criticized and “constructive feedback” can still be painful. However, to dismiss remarks the boss offers would be a mistake. Rather, your opening act should be introspection. Be objective and look at ways you might improve performance, but also what traits may irk the boss or take stock of your clashing points.
• Transference: Does your boss remind you of someone from your past who was critical, bullied you, or who used to know how to push your hot buttons? Work on separating these two figures.
• Communication: There are people who, at least, initially do not communicate well. This is simply a matter of understanding each other’s behavior and communication styles and adapting.
• Is It Just You? If there are others who do work well with your boss, observe their interactions and there may be things you are or are not doing that need to change.
• Bosses: If good people are leaving your team, then you too should engage in each of the above steps.                    
  
  2. The Mid-Life Crisis