
8 Surprising Ways to Reduce Unwanted Turnover
From No Bullsh!t Leadership by Martin G Moore
May 26, 2026 · 21 min · Season 1 · Episode 404
About this episode
This episode discusses how high turnover is a leadership problem rather than a retention problem and offers practical solutions to address it.
Most leaders think high turnover is a retention problem. But it’s not; it's a leadership problem. And the fix is the exact opposite of what most leaders do. Staff turnover is still widely misunderstood. And most leaders operate from a place of fear, responding to it defensively. They tiptoe around their people, lower the standards, and tolerate poor performance so they don't rock the boat. But, ironically, this is the worst thing you could possibly do for your retention problem. In this episode I give you my views on how to frame the turnover problem; I look at an article from Harvard Business Review that confirms what great leaders have always known. And I give you a practical framework that you can implement: four things to stop doing and four things to start doing. Links mentioned in this episode: No Bullsh!t Leadership episodes: Ep.27: Unleashing the Power of Your People Ep.355: The New Rules for High Performing Teams Harvard Business Review article: Surprising Ways to Reduce Turnover in High-Pressure, High-Skill Jobs Supporting research: Operational Overload: The Impact of Workload on High-Skilled Workforce Attrition Wikipedia link: Yerkes-Dodson Law Nurse Org article…
People in this episode
Host: Martin G Moore
Topics covered
- employee retention
- leadership
- turnover
- performance management
- workplace culture
Keywords
- turnover
- leadership
- employee retention
- performance
- workplace culture
- management strategies
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard Business Review, Nurse Org, Leadership Beyond the Theory
Books & works: Operational Overload: The Impact of Workload on High-Skilled Workforce Attrition, Yerkes-Dodson Law
More episodes of No Bullsh!t Leadership
- Dealing With an Employee You “Can't” Fire: 2 questions every leader needs to ask · June 9, 2026 · 38 min
- Moment 176. Don't Lose Your Most Talented People! · June 7, 2026 · 4 min
- Nailing Your Formal Performance Review · June 2, 2026 · 17 min
- Moment 175. Don’t Let Weakness Ruin Your Empathy · May 31, 2026 · 5 min
- Moment 174. Want to Lift Performance? Manage Better! · May 24, 2026 · 5 min
- Don't Be Sucked In By Player-Coach Leadership! · May 19, 2026 · 20 min
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