Do people leave their jobs or their managers? The endlessly debated question. 

I ran a quick poll. 78% said the manager.  

Gallup studied over a million workers and found the same thing: most people (75% to be precise) don’t leave roles, they leave unhealthy reporting relationships. 

As people managers, we spend most of our time on TheFunctional Factor. Roles, structure, goals, delivery. It matters, but when it slips, it’s usually fixable. 

TheHuman Factor is harder. Trust, empathy, clarity, integrity. Get that wrong and it’s far more likely to be a deal breaker. 

Yet many organisations and systems keep disproportionately rewarding The Functional Factor.  

You won’t get a bonus for your integrity or applause for your honesty, but your team will feel it. And that feeling shows up in engagement, culture and performance. 

The Human Factor isn’t soft. It’s foundational. 

If this resonates, this article is for you