People Are Still Leaving Managers
It’s Been a While…But I’ve Been Busy Talking to People
Yes, yes…I know. It’s been a minute since my last post. I won’t pretend I got lost in a jungle with no Wi-Fi or that my keyboard broke in some tragic coffee spill incident. The truth is, I’ve been spending my time doing my absolute favorite thing — talking to people about their careers.
Since my last post, I’ve sat down with 26 people. That’s not a typo. Twenty-six different conversations. High school seniors, who are just about to graduate. Rising college seniors who are prepping for internships. People who are just starting their first “real” job. People who are years into their career, making moves, navigating change, or trying to find their footing again. New teams. New managers. New expectations. New realities.
And what stood out in all these conversations — across age, background, title, and location — was just how similar the interests, questions, worries, and hopes were. Whether you’re just starting or decades in, the core themes people care about remain strikingly consistent.
1. Managers Matter More Than Ever
This came up in every single conversation. Every. Single. One.
Whether you’re deciding where to intern or if it’s time to leave your current job, people are making choices based more on who they work for than what they work on. The logo on the building matters less than the person leading your team.
People want managers who care. Who develop. Who teach. Who invest in you as a person, not just as a performer. They want someone who makes them better.
And here’s the thing: people don’t leave companies. They leave bad managers. We’ve known that for years. Yet somehow, we still allow too many people who have no business managing others to stay in those roles. That’s a failure of leadership, not just at the individual level, but organizationally. Because while great managers multiply impact, bad ones quietly dismantle culture.
2. It’s a Tough Job Market…And a Tougher Expectations Gap
Yes, the economy is complicated right now. Inflation, tariffs, environmental pressure, regulatory overhang, activist boards, competing priorities. All real. All challenging.
But here’s the deeper issue: even in a strong market, the kind of job people want doesn’t seem to exist at scale.
What people want isn’t outlandish. A good company. A clear mission. A great manager. Fair compensation. Work-life balance. Growth opportunities. A sense of belonging.
None of these are new ideas. But the gap between what people are looking for and what companies are offering feels wider than ever. And that’s created a lot of disillusionment — especially for those entering the workforce for the first time.
Perfect jobs don’t exist. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to build better ones.
3. Networking is a Skill…And Most People Haven’t Been Taught It
This one hit me hard.
Most of the people I talked with admitted they didn’t know how to network. Not really. Not in a way that felt authentic or useful. And you know what? I don’t blame them.
We don’t teach people how to build a network. Not in school. Not at work. We tell them to “put themselves out there,” “connect on LinkedIn,” or “follow up with people.” But that’s not a strategy. That’s a list of vague instructions.
Networking is a learned skill. It requires practice. It takes intentionality. And when done well, it’s not transactional — it’s transformative. A strong network exposes you to new ideas, new opportunities, new people, and yes, sometimes new jobs. But more than that, it helps you see your career — and yourself — through a broader, more connected lens.
The Throughline: Good People. Good Work. Good Purpose.
What connects all these themes is simple: people want to do good work, with good people, led by good managers, for good companies, all in service of something that feels purposeful.
That’s not asking too much, or is it?