If you’ve been emulating fictional characters like Miranda Priestly, Wilhelmina Slater, Gordon Gekko or JJ Jameson, or taken a page out of Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch, or even Anna Wintour’s books, we’ve got news for you.

It’s not going to work anymore. A hard, cold, mean approach to management is now a thing of the past.

Abusive, inexcusable behavior does not encourage productivity. It’s this type of warped thinking that crushes employee morale. People don’t necessarily leave their jobs or employers; they leave their managers.

Here are some mistakes every manager should avoid making in order to retain good employees.

1. Overworking

If you are going to increase someone’s workload or responsibilities, make sure their status gets an upgrade as well.

No one likes to do the work of a supervisor (for example) without the title, benefits or pay.

Do keep in mind that talented employees don’t have a problem with taking on more work. They probably won’t stay if that work suffocates or stifles them in the process.

2. Refusing to recognise contributions or reward good work

Refusing to recognise an employee’s contributions or reward anyone in the team for their hard work is a surefire way to lose good employees. There will be a point where this sort of behavior comes off as uncaring.

A simple thank you or ‘‘good job’’ is a great way to start, as it is important to find a balance between being human and being professional.

3. Failing to develop people skills

In order to relate to people, manage them or even lead them, you first need to be able to establish some form of connection.

If you cannot connect with people, how can you motivate those under your wing?

How can you manage their expectations or help if you don’t take the time to get to know the people behind and beyond job titles?

4. Not challenging employees

Monotony is not a good thing; we all need to feel useful, productive and challenged with our work.

When employees start to get ‘too comfortable’ in their current state, they tend to coast.

As a manager, it is your role to assign or suggest more stimulating tasks to said employees or even ask them if they’d like to work on a different account or project.

5. Micromanaging

Managers may forget that their job scope doesn’t entail the same tasks they had when they were juniors. This inability to let go comes through with micromanagement.

Always looking over your employee’s shoulder, frequently walking past his or her workspace, or telling them how to do things is not the way to go.

Trust that your employees are capable instead of assuming the worse.

6. Not providing constructive feedback

If you notice a behavior that needs to be corrected, be proactive about it.

Keep in mind that talented and top performers prefer getting feedback on a regular basis so they can continue to move forward.

That being said, if you’ve got nothing nice to say, and no nice way to phrase it, it’s best to not say anything. Giving destructive feedback is just as bad (or maybe even worse) as not saying anything at all.

7. Not delegating

Think you’re pretty much the only person who can handle a certain task or project? Do you think your way is the only way that will work, or are you actually just saving time because you’re probably going to have to correct it anyway?

If you answered yes, then you’re in trouble. You’re essentially hindering your employees’ progress.

And who wants to stay at a company where there’s no room to do the work, grow or explore?

8. Failing to tackle issues and problems

So, there was a disagreement between two teammates last week that seems to have blown over.

Prior to that, there was a major miscommunication between the line manager and one of the new hires. Where were you during both incidents? More importantly, what did you do to diffuse the situation?

If your answers were akin to ‘nowhere nearby’ and ‘nothing’ then you’ve failed by default. Not reacting to issues and problems not only shows passiveness but also gives the impression that you do not care enough to take control of the situation.

Workplace relationships can be fragile or require a gentle touch. Therefore, a manager needs to be reachable and ready to help or at the very least offer advice in such situations.

9. Gossiping

Let’s face it, no one likes a gossip. It’s even worse when that trust is breached by upper management. As a manager, it is crucial for you to treat the information that your employees report to you as confidential.

It is never okay to gossip, add on to or start rumours or exchange information about those in your team with any other employee in the department or company.

If you want your team to trust you, give them the same respect and trust in return.

10. Taking things personally

We’ve all got some sort of insecurity but the workplace is no place to indulge in them.

Do you think everything your employees do or say is personally related to or directed at you?

This type of thinking is destructive and quite frankly dangerous because it can cause unwarranted disagreements, negative perceptions and cause you to go on the offensive.

This article first appeared in jobstore.com.

Jobstore is an online job site that specialises in providing jobseekers with the latest job opportunities by matching talented individuals with reputable companies in Malaysia. Find your dream job with over 40,000 job vacancies in Malaysia.