The top ten reasons that key managers leave : … and how to prevent it from happening

Purpose – Presents the top ten reasons that senior managers identified for business leaders voluntarily leaving their current employers. Offers recommendations to prevent organizations from unnecessarily losing their managerial talent. Design/methodology/approach – Presents the top ten reasons that senior managers identified for business leaders voluntarily leaving their current employers. Offers recommendations to prevent organizations from unnecessarily losing their managerial talent. Findings – Reveals that: bad bosses drive out good leaders; toxic and dysfunctional work cultures drive up management turnover; unethical or illegal business dealings tell managers it is time to go; when managers are consistently disrespected and disempowered it leads to them having a sense of being disenfranchised; professional stagnation creates a powerful incentive to leave; when business leaders find themselves consistently working in an environment where they are asked to pursue overly aggressive goals and performance outcomes without the requisite tools, staff, information, budget, authority, planning or access, they experience high frustration and frequent failure; less-than-competitive compensation causes managers to look for new employment; being on a sinking ship will cause managers to exit when hope is lost; and when managers are not challenged or feel bored they look for greener pastures. Practical implications – Challenges organizations to review the key lessons derived from the study and to use this knowledge to reduce the loss of critical managerial talent. Social implications – Highlights how organizations can gain competitive advantage by holding on to their key personnel. Originality/value – Unlike most previous studies, which concentrate on lower-level employees, looks at the factors that cause managers to resign.