Busting Business Bullshit with Tim Sharp

Good morning, morning, morning.

This is episode two of the Busting Business Bullshit podcast, and it takes on Point 2 of the book: “Warning lights flashing. Eject, eject, abort mission.” Put simply, people do not leave jobs. They leave leaders.

Your manager sets the rhythm of your working life. In this episode I talk about why most people leave because of their manager, the accidental managers who were promoted without any training, the system that pushes everyone up through management, why the yes people get promoted, protectionism and hiring in your own image, and why leaders need people around them who tell it how it is.

The research is stark. 42% of people who quit say their manager or organisation could have done something to keep them (Gallup). 70% of the difference in engagement between teams comes down to the manager (Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2025). 82% of UK managers are accidental managers, promoted without management training (Chartered Management Institute). And one in two workers who rate their manager as ineffective plan to leave within a year (Chartered Management Institute).

Read the full Point 2 essay: People Do Not Leave Jobs. They Leave Leaders.

Watch the full episode on YouTube:

The book, Busting Business Bullshit: From Corporate Nonsense to the Rise of the 20% Company, is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Busting-Business-Bullshit-Corporate-Nonsense/dp/B0DS6G9FRG

Have you ever left a job because of your manager? Tell me in the comments.

Next time, Point 3.

Tim

Good morning, morning, morning.

This is the first episode of the Busting Business Bullshit podcast, and it is also the moment I put my own name to the book. For years it carried the pen name Philip Armstrong Feyng. I wanted to play it safe and keep a healthy distance between my own views and those of the companies I worked for.

Each episode takes one of the book’s 25 points. We start at the top, with Point 1: “I can’t hear you up there, Chief Executive. Why don’t you spend more time down here?”

Every large organisation has two versions of itself: the polished version in the board papers and the town hall, and the lived-in version that employees actually experience. In this episode I talk about why the two so rarely meet, what Elon Musk sleeping on the production line says about real servant leadership, why people want connection rather than a polished town hall, and the pandemic of truth telling in corporate life.

The research is stark. 83% of leaders say their workforce is fully engaged; only 48% of employees agree. 86% of executives believe their people highly trust the company; only 67% do. 77% of executives think their people’s wellbeing has improved; only 33% of employees agree.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5g8hrZ53sh8

The book, Busting Business Bullshit: From Corporate Nonsense to the Rise of the 20% Company, is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Busting-Business-Bullshit-Corporate-Nonsense/dp/B0DS6G9FRG

Have you ever worked for a chief executive who truly knew what was happening on the ground? Tell me in the comments.

Next time, Point 2: people do not leave jobs, they leave leaders.

Tim