The Great Resignation is the chief headline in the news today about employee retention and performance. According to the Harvard Business Review, employees between the ages of 30 and 45 have the greatest increase in resignation rates. That is the prime age for behavioral health staff, those who finish their undergraduate or masters’ programs and start their careers. While many employees quit due to the need to reexplore their health and careers, one can’t help but think if it’s the boss that is the reason.
Managers and supervisors’ primary job is to improve the performance of those under their tutelage. They get the credit and the blame for their subordinates. For most managers, it would be wise to empower employees, because a Gallup study found “when an organization focuses on individual strengths, employee engagement increases from 9% to 73%”.
However, many bosses can’t do that. They have a problem with control. It’s got to be their way or the highway. They can’t let go of their organization. Or they set up situations where the employees are offered the illusion of independence and decision-making, only to put them in positions where it is taken away from them.
According to LifeHack, here are 10 signs your manager is controlling:
· They Use Fear To Achieve Their Goals. ...
· They Think They Know Everything. ...
· They Treat People As Pawns. ...
· They Dominate Meetings. ...
· They Take A “My Way Or The Highway” Approach To Conflict. ...
· They Ignore The Competition. ...
· They Never Practice Active Listening.
· They Focus on The Short Term
· They Never Inspire People with Their Own Example
· They are Unable to Work through A Crisis
Why does this happen? As pointed out above, they can’t let go of responsibilities that belong to other people. Here’s a real-life example:
Company ABC, which I consulted, has an executive director who wanted to have their employees become more independent. They complained that everyone came to them for answers to questions when they should have learned their tasks through training or asked others. They requested help to get employees more independent, through training and engagement in developing new policies. However, during work with the executive director, it became apparent that the employee improvement wasn’t going to happen. Because the executive director wanted to “micromanage” any changes to policies and procedures. Moreover, they eavesdropped on employees’ responses during training videos, showing a lack of trust in employee feedback. The executive director had good intentions, but they were unwilling to let employees make mistakes and learn on their own. As a result, leadership positions at the agency were a revolving door because they couldn’t take the extreme oversight of their boss.
If you show signs of the controlling behaviors above, it might help you discover what causes you to act this way and whether you need to do some self-examination. If not, your company suffers and so do your employees.
Praxes offers training and consulting services for behavioral health organizations on improving performance. For more information, please contact us.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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