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Author: anutio

  • Manager Burnout Is Real And It’s Driving Resignations from the Top Down

    Manager Burnout Is Real And It’s Driving Resignations from the Top Down

    We talk a lot about employee burnout but you know who’s quietly drowning? Your managers.

    The team leads, department heads, middle managers, and even executives who are constantly holding the line, absorbing pressure from both directions, and trying to lead through it all with a calm face.

    They’re tired. Some are hanging by a thread. And no one is asking how they’re really doing.

    The silence around manager burnout is not just harmful, it’s expensive. Because when managers burn out, it doesn’t just affect one person. It creates a ripple effect across teams, culture, and long-term retention.

    And if you’re noticing unexpected resignations in your leadership layer, this might be why.

    What Manager Burnout Actually Looks Like

      Forget the dramatic breakdowns. Most manager burnout doesn’t look like crisis it looks like constant low-level exhaustion.

      Here are the signs:

      • They’re always on. Slack at 10 p.m., emails at 6 a.m., weekends blurred into weekdays.
      • They cancel their own PTO because “the team needs me.”
      • 1:1s with their reports still happen. But their own check-ins with senior leadership? Long overdue.
      • Their patience is thinning. Delegation is slipping. Decision fatigue is creeping in.
      • They show up. But they’ve stopped contributing fresh ideas, vision, or energy.

      According to a 2023 Deloitte survey, nearly 70% of senior leaders say they’re seriously considering stepping down for the sake of their mental health (Deloitte x Workplace Intelligence).

      And middle managers? They’re often the most overworked and under-resourced group in the organization.

      What’s Causing It (Beyond the Obvious)

        Yes, workloads are heavy. But burnout isn’t just about being busy. It’s about being unsupported, unclear, and stretched beyond what one person can carry.

        • Unrealistic expectations: Most managers are doing the work of two people, people leadership plus their original IC duties.
        • Lack of training: New managers are promoted based on technical skill, not leadership readiness. Then they’re left to sink or swim.
        • No peer support: Managers rarely have a safe place to talk to other managers about the real stuff. Everything becomes performative.
        • Constant change with no direction: Reorgs, shifting priorities, high turnover without clear communication from above.
        • Invisible wins: No matter how much they do, it never feels like enough. Because no one says, “Hey, that was excellent leadership.”

        The World Health Organization defines burnout as chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. And yet, most organizations don’t even track how managers are coping, let alone intervene early.

        The Cost of Burned-Out Managers

          Let’s break it down clearly:

          • Burned-out managers make riskier decisions. They default to short-term fixes instead of strategic choices.
          • Their teams feel the weight. Engagement and psychological safety decline when a leader is running on fumes.
          • Top-down attrition begins. When your managers leave, team members follow. Leadership exits often signal instability.
          • Culture takes a hit. Managers model what’s acceptable. When burnout is normalized at the top, it trickles down fast.
          • Your leadership pipeline dries up. Why would high performers step into leadership if they see it draining everyone?

          According to Gallup, managers account for 70% of variance in team engagement (Gallup Workplace). So when a manager burns out, team performance doesn’t just dip—it drops off a cliff.

          What You Can Actually Do About It

            This isn’t a job for HR alone. It’s a leadership and business continuity issue.

            Here’s what works:

            • Build regular manager health check-ins. Don’t just ask about metrics, ask about morale. Ask what’s draining them.
            • Normalize asking for help. Your best managers are often the least likely to raise their hands. Reward vulnerability.
            • Review workloads. If your manager is still doing their old job plus leading, you’re under-resourcing by design.
            • Provide leadership coaching. Not just on performance but emotional regulation, energy management, and boundaries.
            • Protect their time. Block out focus time on calendars. Limit late-night comms. Model boundaries from the top.
            • Create a peer space. Give managers a cohort, forum, or private space to talk shop, decompress, and exchange leadership lessons.

            And most importantly: celebrate them. Acknowledge good leadership the same way you acknowledge strong performance. Praise the things that don’t show up on dashboards, coaching, listening, guiding, and de-escalating.

            Burnout at the Top Is Contagious

            When a manager quietly leaves, everyone looks around. Who’s next?

            If you want to retain your best people, start with the people who lead them. Manager burnout isn’t just a wellness issue. It’s a retention issue. A culture issue. A strategy issue.

            And if you don’t talk about it? You’ll watch your leadership layer slowly disappear one quiet resignation at a time.

            Good leadership doesn’t come from pushing harder, it comes from building support systems that last.

            Ready to take care of your leaders the way they’ve been taking care of everyone else?

            Let’s get started, send us a message at hello@anutio.com.

          1. Leadership Retention Strategy: How to Train & Keep Your Best Managers

            Leadership Retention Strategy: How to Train & Keep Your Best Managers

            Great managers don’t just appear, they’re developed.

            If you’ve ever lost a rising leader to burnout, better pay, or “lack of growth,” you know how painful it is. Not just for the company but for the team they leave behind.

            And if your company is constantly hiring managers from the outside, it’s a sign. You haven’t built a leadership pipeline. You’ve patched a talent leak.

            As a career coach, I work with ambitious professionals every week who feel ready to lead but no one is preparing them. No training. No mentorship. No map. And then leadership wonders why high-potential people quietly leave.

            Let’s fix that.

            Why You’re Losing Great Managers (and Future Ones)

              Good managers burn out fast when they’re thrown into leadership with no support. They’re expected to coach, manage conflict, drive performance, and hold culture while still doing their old job.

              Most organizations fail to invest in structured, values-aligned leadership development.

              When leaders aren’t trained, teams suffer. Engagement drops. Turnover spikes. Culture frays.

              If you’re not growing your own leaders, you’re risking your company’s long-term stability.

              How to Build an Internal Leadership Pipeline

                You don’t need to wait until someone gets promoted to start developing them. Here’s how high-retention companies build leaders from within:

                • Identify high-potential talent early. Look for collaboration, accountability, initiative not just technical skill.
                • Offer project-based leadership. Let emerging talent lead meetings, own internal initiatives, or mentor interns. Experience builds confidence.
                • Pair them with leadership mentors. This helps future managers understand both the strategic and relational side of leadership.
                • Create a clear growth map. People should know what it takes to move from individual contributor → team lead → people manager → senior leader.

                Companies like Adobe and Salesforce are known for building leadership from within and they consistently rank high on retention and employee satisfaction indexes (Great Place to Work).

                What Manager Training Should Actually Look Like

                  Most companies run workshops that sound good but change little. Let’s be practical. Your manager development program should include:

                  • Core leadership skills: coaching, feedback, goal-setting, performance reviews, delegation, and conflict management.
                  • Emotional intelligence: self-awareness, psychological safety, inclusion, trust-building.
                  • Communication: leading tough conversations, cross-team collaboration, running effective 1:1s.
                  • Business acumen: decision-making, time prioritization, operational thinking.

                  According to LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report, companies that invest in manager development see 46% higher retention and 29% more internal promotions.

                  It’s not just about soft skills. It’s about building the kind of managers people want to grow under.

                  Leaders Are Made, Not Found

                  If you’re serious about scaling your business or culture, you need more than reactive hiring. You need a long-term strategy for leadership retention.

                  That means identifying future leaders early. Training them continuously. Promoting with intention. And supporting managers once they’re in the seat, not just when they mess up.

                  Because here’s the truth: most people don’t leave bad companies. They leave because their growth hit a ceiling.

                  At Anutio, we help companies build leadership development systems that fuel retention, performance, and purpose. If you’re ready to turn potential into leadership power, we’re ready to build with you.

                  Let’s get your pipeline flowing – hello@anutio.com.

                1. From Feedback to Exit: What Exit Interviews Reveal About Leadership

                  From Feedback to Exit: What Exit Interviews Reveal About Leadership

                  When someone resigns, most companies jump straight into replacement mode. But if you’re only focused on the backfill, you’re missing the goldmine your former employee just walked out with – insight.

                  Exit interviews aren’t just a formality. They’re feedback distilled over months of silence, filtered through frustration, and packed with truth most employees didn’t feel safe enough to say earlier.

                  Here’s what we can tell you about this. Most exit interviews confirm what leadership already knew but didn’t act on.

                  What People Really Say When They’re Leaving

                    Forget the vague “better opportunity” line. Here’s what actually comes up in exit interviews:

                    • “I didn’t see a future for myself here.”
                    • “My manager never really listened.”
                    • “The culture changed and not in a good way.”
                    • “Leadership stopped communicating.”
                    • “There was no feedback unless I messed up.”

                    According to a Work Institute Retention Report, nearly 78% of turnover is preventable. And one of the most cited reasons? Poor management and lack of growth conversations.

                    Most people don’t leave because of one thing. They leave because the signals were missed repeatedly. The exit interview is the final ping, by then, the damage is already done.

                    The Signals Companies Keep Missing

                      Leadership often reacts with surprise. “I had no idea they were unhappy.” But if we dig deeper, the signs were there:

                      • Pulse surveys showing team disengagement
                      • Quiet quitting behaviors: doing the job, no more
                      • Fewer questions in meetings, less collaboration
                      • Feedback loops with no follow-through

                      The issue? Many companies collect data, but don’t connect it. Exit interview trends, HR dashboards, and engagement scores. They are just stored and not used.

                      SHRM notes that exit interviews are one of the least utilized retention tools. Why? Because few companies loop insights back into manager coaching, policy change, or performance design.

                      Turning Exit Feedback into Retention Strategy

                        Exit interviews shouldn’t live in a Google Doc for life. Here’s how to make them matter:

                        • Standardize the questions but leave room for stories. Ask about leadership, growth, communication, and psychological safety.
                        • Analyze quarterly trends. If five people say the same thing about one manager, that’s not feedback, it’s a leadership development opportunity.
                        • Map exit data to engagement surveys. Where are the overlaps? What’s being said quietly that’s confirmed loudly when someone leaves?
                        • Use exit insights to shape stay interviews. Ask current employees: “Is this still true for you?”
                        • Close the loop. Share anonymized trends with senior leadership and take visible action.

                        According to HBR, companies that act on exit data reduce attrition by up to 25% within 12 months.

                        Feedback Delayed Is Growth Denied

                        Exit interviews are reflections of culture, leadership, and listening. If you treat them like a checkbox, you miss your chance to evolve.

                        The best companies don’t wait for good people to leave to get honest. They build feedback systems that surface truth early and they act on it consistently.

                        At Anutio, we help companies turn passive feedback into active retention strategies. From leadership coaching to culture audits, we help you build workplaces people want to stay in.

                        Let’s turn your exits into insights and your insights into action. Talk to us.

                      1. How to Build a Feedback Culture That Actually Improves Retention

                        How to Build a Feedback Culture That Actually Improves Retention

                        People rarely leave because of a single event. They leave because of accumulation, feedback they never got, frustrations that went unspoken, or conversations that never felt safe to have.

                        And when they finally leave? Leadership is shocked. “Why didn’t they say anything?”

                        As career advisors, we’ve heard both sides. Employees feel unheard. Leaders feel blindsided. The common thread? A feedback culture that was never truly a culture, just a one-off survey or a stiff annual review.

                        Let’s fix that.

                        What a Real Feedback Culture Looks Like

                          A feedback culture isn’t about giving more criticism, it’s about making continuous dialogue part of the way you work.

                          A healthy feedback culture looks like this:

                          • People give and receive input at every level, not just top-down.
                          • Feedback is timely and specific, not buried in quarterly reviews.
                          • Managers don’t just give feedback, they ask for it.
                          • No one fears retaliation for telling the truth.

                          According to a Gallup workplace study, teams that receive strengths-based feedback experience turnover rates up to 15% lower than teams that don’t.

                          And in CultureAmp’s 2022 survey, employees who felt they had regular performance conversations were twice as likely to stay with their company.

                          Feedback isn’t a box to tick. It’s the backbone of trust and trust is what keeps people.

                          Why Most Feedback Systems Fail

                            Most companies have feedback tools. But very few have feedback habits.

                            Here’s where it usually breaks down:

                            • Feedback is hoarded by managers who feel threatened.
                            • Employees only hear from leadership when something goes wrong.
                            • There’s no training on how to give (or receive) feedback.
                            • Feedback is collected, but never acted upon—so trust erodes.

                            In fact, Harvard Business Review warns that traditional feedback approaches often backfire when they’re overly rigid or corrective. The issue isn’t feedback—it’s poor delivery and poor follow-through.

                            How to Build a System That Actually Works

                              Here’s your playbook:

                              • Train for feedback fluency. Teaching people how to give and receive feedback is non-negotiable. Make it part of manager onboarding and employee development.
                              • Normalize real-time feedback. Don’t wait for review season. Empower teams to say, “Can I give you some quick feedback on that presentation?”
                              • Build in upward feedback loops. Use quarterly 360 reviews. Hold monthly team retros. Invite bottom-up insight and show how it’s acted upon.
                              • Protect feedback from retaliation. Make anonymous channels available. Publicly reinforce that constructive honesty will be respected—not punished.
                              • Close the loop. When you ask for input (via surveys or meetings), follow up visibly. Say: “Here’s what we heard. Here’s what we’re doing.”

                              According to Officevibe, when employees see their feedback lead to visible change, engagement increases by up to 30%.

                              Feedback Is Your Retention Strategy

                              You don’t need fancier engagement tools, you need braver conversations.

                              The most magnetic cultures aren’t perfect. They’re just honest. They invite feedback, respond with intention, and grow through transparency.

                              If your employees don’t feel heard, they’ll start whispering to recruiters instead.

                              Anutio helps growth-minded companies build actionable feedback systems that strengthen trust and improve retention. If you’re ready to build a culture where people stay because they feel seen, let’s talk.

                            1. Is Your Workplace Culture Pushing People Out?

                              Is Your Workplace Culture Pushing People Out?

                              People rarely quit just because of pay. They leave because of how a workplace makes them feel day after day.

                              Culture isn’t what’s written in your employee handbook or posted in your reception area. It’s how people behave when no one’s watching. It’s how managers respond to feedback, how conflict is handled, how recognition is shared (or not).

                              Toxic work culture doesn’t always look hostile. Sometimes it looks like silence, cliques, or burnout masked as “hustle.” And most dangerously? It often goes unnoticed by senior leadership until it’s too late.

                              How do you know this is happening in your organization?

                              Subtle Signs Your Culture Might Be Broken

                                You don’t need a scandal or HR complaint to have a cultural problem. Here are quiet red flags that signal toxicity:

                                • Employees rarely speak up in meetings, especially junior staff.
                                • People are “performing,” but no one seems energized or excited.
                                • Recognition is reserved for the same few faces, everyone else fades into the background.
                                • Colleagues talk about each other more than they talk to each other.
                                • Turnover is high, but exit interviews sound vague, “just looking for something new.”

                                According to MIT Sloan’s 2022 research on workplace culture, toxic environments were 10.4 times more predictive of attrition than compensation.

                                So if you’re struggling to keep great people, your culture may be the silent culprit.

                                The Impact of a Dysfunctional Environment

                                  Toxic culture doesn’t just cost you talent it impacts productivity, creativity, and reputation. Gallup reports that disengaged employees cost the global economy $8.8 trillion in lost productivity.

                                  People working in negative cultures are:

                                  • Less likely to share ideas.
                                  • More likely to experience burnout.
                                  • Less collaborative and more territorial.

                                  And once the culture erodes, it repels high performers and attracts those who are just looking to get by. Not a winning combination.

                                  How to Rebuild the Right Way

                                    You don’t fix a broken culture by launching a pizza party or writing a values poster. Culture is a system. Here’s how you repair it:

                                    • Audit your values vs. actual behaviors. If you say “we value inclusion” but interrupt the only woman in leadership, your culture says otherwise.
                                    • Start hosting listening sessions across departments. Create space for honest dialogue without retaliation.
                                    • Track feedback trends. What keeps coming up in surveys, Glassdoor reviews, or anonymous notes? Don’t dismiss what you keep hearing.
                                    • Invest in people-first leadership training. Managers shape culture more than your CEO’s memo ever will.

                                    And most importantly? Follow through. Nothing damages trust more than asking for feedback and doing nothing with it.

                                    Culture Is What You Tolerate

                                    You don’t need a culture deck, you need cultural courage.

                                    Because every team has norms. The question is whether yours are by design or by default.

                                    If your workplace culture is quietly pushing people out, the good news is this: you can change it. Not overnight, but over time with consistency, clarity, and a commitment to becoming the kind of company people don’t just work for… but thrive in.

                                    Need help diagnosing the health of your culture? Visit Anutio today or book a session with us.

                                    Let’s build something better.