So often I hear managers at all levels question the commitment of their employees. They oft times blame this generation and call them spoiled. What’s really the problem?

It seems that today’s employees aren’t engaged. There is no loyalty. I hear these statements from managers at all levels of the organization. I always ask how they managed to end up with spoiled and disloyal employees. The typical manager usually takes no responsibility for the problem, but rather blames ‘today’s generation’.

Truth of the matter is that most often the problem rests with the manager. The manager most likely has created this environment, this culture in his or her organization. They most likely have high turnover and don’t realize what turnover costs them. The unfortunate thing is generally the people who leave are your best people. Those with no ambition and few skills tend to stick around and do just enough to fly under the radar.

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So what has caused this series of events to occur. One of the key elements is that people don’t feel valued or appreciated for the work they do. They seldom if ever get any positive feedback or a thank you. The only time they hear from the boss is when they’ve made a mistake. Management’s mind set is ‘no news is good news’. But most people need positive reinforcement. This is not to say you ignore mistakes. It simply means you seek out opportunities to show appreciation for a job well done.

It’s amazing the excuses you hear from managers as to why they don’t give positive feedback more often. Things like, ’she knows she does a good job, I don’t need to tell her’…wrong. Some others have said, ‘if I praise her too much she might start slacking off’. This type of behavior rarely occurs. When positive feedback is given, most recipients want to repeat the behavior in order to receive more positive stroking.

So why do managers admit they spend 95% of their time practicing the science of management rather than the art of leadership. The answer is most managers would rather do the ‘daily stuff’ associated with their job. The ’stuff’ is in their comfort zone…working with their people isn’t. The people side of their job is uncomfortable for most.

It’s not rocket science. And that might be part of the problem. There is no formula for handling the people. They are all different and you have to spend time getting to know each of them and what their hot buttons are. Not everyone is cut out to manage when there are people responsibilities. Top management must hold their managers and supervisors accountable for more than a bunch of numbers. If they don’t, those numbers might begin looking worse. Then it may be too late.