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The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check Wally's Three Star Leadership Letter

Find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.

Find out more about Wally's coaching services.

Every now and then things just seem to come together.

One April 1 I blogged about how "Engagement is not enough." I pointed you to great article by Tom Agnew, Mark Royal and Rebecca Masson of Hay Group Insight in the new Human Resource Executive Online titled: "The Frustrated Employee: Help Me Help You." The key takeaway was that your best people are the ones who get frustrated first in a poor working environment.

Then, on April 7, we looked at Leigh Branham's research about how people don't often leave, they get pushed out the door. To recap the takeaway:

"The push factors, according to his survey, included feeling that the company didn’t care about workers’ personal development, that the overall corporate culture was unhealthy, that workers were treated unfairly, that the work was unchallenging, and that teamwork was flawed."

Yesterday, I opened an email from a young man I've known for a while and whom I've coached and counseled. Here's some background on him.

He's in tech support and he's gotten great evaluations for years. He's been recognized with awards for his knowledge and helpfulness.

But his company got bought by a bigger company and they achieved one of those "cost savings" they talk about at merger time by eliminating his department. He took his severance package and decided to move to a new state.

After moving and taking a little time to settle in, he went looking for work. With his background, he started getting offers right away and, within a month of starting his job search, he had a new job at a new company.

That was a couple of months ago. I had emailed him to ask how the new job was going. Here's part of his reply.

"Not a whole lot to report. The job is going ok. It is really slow right now and I am bored to tears. They keep telling me it will speed up but it has been almost 6 weeks since I have been able to go out on my own and I just don't see that much work to do. So we will see what happens."

This young man knows his stuff. He walked in the door of his new company ready to work hard and conscientiously. He was, if you will, "pre-engaged." His company didn't have to do anything.

But now he's the frustrated employee described in the Human Resource Executive Online article. This is a qualified, engaged person being pushed out the door or pushed into apathy because he wants to work and his company and boss seem to think it's OK to let him rot.

We don't have enough talented people that we can afford to let one get away for stupid reasons. And if engagement is as important as we say it is, we can't afford to squander it.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

Request your free copy of "Meeting the Challenges of the Boomer Brain Drain: An integrated approach."

Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.