Is Your Leadership Style Costing You Your Best Talent? Find Out With This Checklist

Let’s be honest: constantly losing staff and spending all your time hiring and retraining isn’t just frustrating—it’s draining. You know the drill: hire new people, spend hours onboarding them, only to have them leave within months. And why? I hate to tell you, but it might not be bad hires—it could be your leadership style. One of the biggest reasons people leave is an authoritarian leadership style. If you’re managing your team through fear, intimidation, and micromanagement, you’re creating a toxic work environment (without even knowing it) which drives employees out the door.

Check for these signs to see if you have an authoritarian management style:

Signs Your Leadership Style Might Be Authoritarian:

1. You’re Always On Edge at Pay Day Do you get anxious about paying your team, or feel the pressure when it’s time for performance reviews? If your leadership is based on fear and control, you might find yourself feeling overwhelmed with every financial decision.

2. You’re Reactive, Not Proactive When things go wrong, do you react by snapping at employees or immediately jumping to “fire them” mode? If your feedback comes from frustration or fear of failure, you might be unintentionally pushing your team away.

3. You Feel Like You’re Constantly Fighting Fires If your days are filled with firefighting (rather than leading), this could be a sign that your micromanagement style is draining you and your team. You might be so busy controlling everything that you’re missing opportunities to inspire and lead.

4. You Expect Perfection, and Fast Are you constantly setting unrealistic targets and punishing mistakes, rather than using them as learning opportunities? When employees feel like they’re walking on eggshells, they’ll burn out fast.

5. You Think “It’s Easier to Do It Myself” If you tend to take over tasks because you don’t trust your team to handle them, you might be undermining their growth. Micromanagement kills morale and stifles innovation.

   
   

How to Start Shifting Your Leadership Style:

If you’ve checked a few boxes above, don’t worry—there’s a better way! Here are some steps you can take to start empowering your team and create a thriving work culture:

1. Stop Managing, Start Leading

   Leaders inspire and support their team, they don’t micromanage. Shift from telling people what to do to empowering them to solve problems themselves. Trust your team to take ownership and watch their productivity soar.

   
   

2. Celebrate Wins & Offer Constructive Feedback

   Instead of focusing on what’s wrong, focus on what’s right. Publicly recognise your team’s achievements and give specific, constructive feedback that helps them grow. Let them know they’re valued and supported—not just a means to an end. Everyone loves a shoutout!

   
   

3. Improve Communication—Don’t Just Give Orders

   Create an open environment where employees feel safe sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback. Hold regular, collaborative team meetings that focus on problem-solving, not micromanaging. Listen more than you speak—your team’s insights can be invaluable.

   
   

4. Show Empathy & Understand Your Team

   Take the time to know your employees on a personal level. Get to know their challenges, both inside and outside of work. When your team knows you genuinely care about their well-being, they’ll feel more connected and loyal.

   
   

5. Invest in Career Development

   Instead of expecting employees to master everything overnight, support their growth with gradual, consistent development. Provide training, mentorship and opportunities for promotion. Help them grow with you—not just in a job, but as a person. I love a good "How to" doc

   
   

Recognising Toxic Management: Key Red Flags

If you’re seeing any of these signs in your business, it’s time to make a change:

• High staff turnover – People leave because they feel unappreciated, scared or burned out.

• Low team engagement – Meetings are quiet and your team isn’t sharing ideas.

• Declining productivity & quality issues – When employees don’t feel supported, their performance suffers.

• Sick leave & burnout – Overworked employees take more time off to recover from stress.

• Negative work culture – Your team feels disengaged, miserable and unmotivated.

  
  

Retention Over Rehiring: Invest in Your People

Instead of constantly rehiring and retraining, focus on retention. Here are a few strategies:

• Bonuses/Incentives – Reward the team for collective success, not just individual targets.

• Extra leave & Flexibility – Offer things like birthday leave, family days, or flexible hours.

• Peer Support & Job Sharing – Foster a supportive team environment with programs that let employees help one another.

• Let them have their cake and coffee - Some business owners hate it when their team turn up to work and then spend the next 30 minutes at a coffee shop - have you ever considered that this 30 minutes might empower and strengthen your team so they become happier and more loyal for the day ahead of them?

  
  

Conclusion: Leadership is About Empowerment, Not Control

If you want your business to thrive, it’s time to ditch the authoritarian approach. Empower your team and you’ll see engagement, loyalty and performance skyrocket. Leadership is about guiding, supporting and inspiring—not controlling. When you create a supportive, empowering environment, your team will stick around, give their best and contribute to your success.

This checklist and action plan will help you reflect on your leadership style and begin making changes that benefit both your team and your business. Leadership is a journey, and with the right adjustments, you can turn your business into a place where people want to stay, grow and succeed together. The time and energy you put in making this happen will free up more time later on.