....Sometimes manager anxiety is a chain reaction that starts from the very top of an organization, says Matt Eventoff, an executive trainer.

"I recently worked with a team where the manager was perceived as getting 'colder' when in fact the director was just pushing for more output but wasn't messaging it properly," says Eventoff. "I have also worked with a team where the director was not handling the stresses being placed on him from corporate headquarters well and was in fact not just mismessaging, but being fairly 'mean.'"

Most managers, Eventoff says, don't try to see the world through their employees' eyes. Threatening employees with the loss of their jobs will backfire, especially when superstar employees hear that message enough times and hit the road.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151104