Mediocre Managers

Scott Asai
May 26, 2026

If your company has a retention/turnover problem, I can tell you the cause of it.

You have a leadership problem.

I’ve seen it time and time again…

People don’t leave companies, they leave managers.

So what are the primary complaints of former employees?

Lack of appreciation, not feeling valued, overlooked, no clear development plan, etc.

The common theme has a simple answer: leadership.

But instead of listing the obvious, here are practical ways to fix it.

Provide ongoing manager training because what is taught trickles down.
Identify “leadership candidates” based on natural skills, not years of experience.
Embed mentorship in the culture by pairing mentors with mentees.

Understand, what speaks to executives is very different than what speaks to employees.

Funny thing is managers sit in between both levels in the middle.

The reason mediocre managers matter is they play the translator or facilitator between executives and employees.

When middle management is subpar, talent leaves.

I’ve consulted enough companies to know that leadership needs to be addressed first (contrary to corporate opinion).

The biggest way to save money at your organization?

Retain your people.

Now if you have the wrong people employed that’s a recruiting, interviewing and onboarding issue.

Yet most of the time companies will defend their hiring process, so the obvious place to look next is: department managers.

The difference I find between bad and great managers is: people/soft skills competency.

As an example, a bad manager sees people as daily interruptions while great managers see people as the main goal for their role, development.

Notice I haven’t used the term “good” and that’s because mediocre means ordinary or barely adequate.

The problem with good is it’s equivalent to a “C” in grades.

I’m sorry, but average is not good enough.

When we settle for good enough, there’s a better chance that standard will dip, not rise in quality.

Most companies need to re-strategize their leadership criteria (what they are looking for).
Once re-calibrated the cream will rise to the top and now your responsibility shifts towards equipping leaders with the skills needed to effectively manager others.

So believe me when I say retention/turnover is directly tied to leadership gaps in the workplace.

A good place to start is look at your organizational chart and evaluate those in leadership roles.

Gather feedback from current employees BEFORE you’re hearing it in exit interviews.
Surveying your current staff will save you a LOT of time and money down the road.

(That’s something I do when hired to fix a problem.)

Everything at your company rises and falls according to leadership.

It matters that much.

So if you’re suffering the impact of mediocre managers, follow the steps provided above OR if you want me to lead the process contact me here.

Either way, now you know the root cause - now what are going to do about it?

God Bless,

If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)
🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)
🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!