Isolation is a decision quality problem. And it is one of the least discussed risks in senior leadership.

When leaders become isolated, either by circumstance or by choice, the information they receive gets filtered. People tell them what they think they want to hear. Problems get managed before they reach the top. Dissent softens into silence. And the leader, operating on a version of reality that has been carefully curated by everyone around them, makes decisions based on incomplete and often distorted information. They are not making bad decisions because they are bad leaders. They are making bad decisions because they have lost access to the truth.

The pattern accelerates as authority increases. The more power a leader holds, the more people filter what they share. A junior employee will challenge a peer. They will rarely challenge a CEO. A direct report will raise a concern in private. They will rarely contradict a senior leader in a meeting. The feedback loops that help leaders course-correct quietly disappear, and the leader, who appears confident and in control, is actually operating with less honest input than almost anyone else in the organization.

In Leadership Is Tough, Mary Kelly and I write about what we call the trust gap that leaders don’t see coming. As leaders rise, trust becomes harder to read. People edit their feedback. They soften disagreement. They wait for direction rather than offering perspective. Leaders interpret this as alignment. It is almost always caution.

The cost shows up in decisions that miss what everyone else already knew, strategies that ignore ground-level reality, and cultures where problems surface only after they have become crises. By then, the damage is done.

How to make better decisions by breaking out of isolation.

Create structured truth-telling. Build explicit mechanisms for honest input. Regular one-on-ones where candor is expected and rewarded. Anonymous feedback channels that surface what people will not say directly. External advisors who have no incentive to manage the relationship.

Reward the messenger. Leaders who visibly appreciate difficult feedback, who thank people for raising concerns rather than minimizing them, gradually rebuild the candor that isolation destroys. It takes time, but the signal matters immediately.

Test your assumptions before you act. Before making a significant decision, actively seek out the perspective most likely to challenge your thinking. Not to be talked out of the decision, but to stress-test it against a reality you may not be seeing clearly.

Get out of the building. Some of the most valuable information available to senior leaders exists on the front line of their organizations. Walk the floor. Visit locations. Talk to customers. The further a leader gets from the work, the more distorted their picture of it becomes.

Isolated leaders do not fail because they stop caring. They fail because they stop hearing the truth. And by the time that becomes visible, the decisions that could have gone differently are already behind them.

The post How Isolated Leaders Make Worse Decisions appeared first on Peter Barron Stark Companies.

In most cases, the reason is not compensation. It is not career advancement. It is accountability, or more precisely, the absence of it.

High performers are acutely sensitive to fairness. They notice when standards are applied selectively. They see when a colleague underperforms without consequence. They watch when a leader looks the other way because the conversation is uncomfortable or the relationship is too close. And they draw a quiet conclusion: this is not an organization that values what I value. So they leave for one that does.

This is one of the most consistent and most costly patterns I see in my work with leadership teams. The leaders who tolerate poor performance or poor behavior from one person in order to avoid conflict end up losing the people they most need to keep. The very act of protecting one person at the expense of the standard drives away everyone who was holding themselves to it.

In Leadership Is Tough, Mary Kelly and I identify this as the high performer accountability trap. Leaders rationalize the exception. They tell themselves the person delivers results, or the timing is not right, or it will resolve itself. Meanwhile, the team is watching. And what they are learning is that results excuse behavior, that tenure excuses underperformance, and that the leader does not have the courage to hold the line when it matters.

The fix requires leaders to be honest about what tolerance is actually costing them.

How to hold the line without losing your best people.

Name the standard clearly for everyone. High performers do not leave environments with high standards. They leave environments with inconsistent ones. Be explicit about what the role requires and apply that standard across the board, regardless of relationship, tenure, or short term results.

Address behavioral issues separately from performance. A leader who delivers results but treats people poorly is not a high performer. They are a partial performer whose full cost is being carried by everyone around them. Separate the two conversations and hold the line on both.

Act before the damage spreads. The longer poor behavior or underperformance is tolerated, the more your strongest people absorb the cost. Early accountability is always less disruptive than the eventual departure of the people who were watching and waiting for you to act.

Have the conversation you have been avoiding. Most leaders know exactly who they are not holding accountable and why. The relationship feels too important, the timing never seems right, or the outcome feels uncertain. None of those reasons disappear with time. They just get more expensive.

Your high performers are not asking for a perfect environment. They are asking for a fair one. When leaders hold the line consistently, the people who most deserve to stay do.

The post Why High Performers Leave When Leaders Won’t Hold the Line appeared first on Peter Barron Stark Companies.

Managing up is not about politics, telling your boss what they want to hear or making yourself visible for the sake of it. It is about proactive communication, solution-minded thinking, and the kind of strategic support that makes the person above you more effective at their job. When your boss succeeds, you succeed. That is not blind loyalty. It is a practical understanding of how organizations actually work.

The most common managing up failure we see in our coaching work is leaders who are invisible to their boss until something goes wrong. They handle their responsibilities, hit their goals, and assume their leader knows what they need and how things are going. That pattern erodes trust, limits resources, and puts the leader in a reactive position when they could have been in a collaborative one.

Here are some tips on how to manage up more effectively.

Communicate proactively, not reactively. Don’t wait for your boss to ask how things are going. Keep them informed about progress, challenges, and anything that might affect their priorities. A brief regular update, whether written or verbal, signals that you are on top of your responsibilities and reduces the need for your boss to check in on you.

Bring solutions, not just problems. When you surface a challenge, come prepared with at least one option for addressing it. You don’t need to have the perfect answer. You need to demonstrate that you have thought it through. That habit positions you as a problem solver rather than a problem reporter.

Understand what your boss actually needs. Ask directly if there is anything they need your support with. Most leaders have things that keep them up at night. When you consistently find ways to contribute that go beyond their formal responsibilities and build the kind of relationship that creates real organizational influence.

Disagree with courage and align with discipline. If you believe a direction is wrong, say so clearly and respectfully. Share your reasoning. Ask questions that invite reconsideration. And when the decision is made, commit to it fully. A leader who argues privately and undermines publicly destroys trust in both directions. Strategic support means bringing your honest perspective and then getting behind it regardless of the outcome.

Managing up is a skill, and like every leadership skill, it requires intention and practice. The leaders who do it well don’t just make their boss’s job easier. They build the organizational relationships that provide their teams with the resources, visibility, and support they need to succeed. Your job is to make your boss successful. Everything else follows from that.

Dusty Tockstein is a senior consultant at Peter Barron Stark Companies. Dusty works with clients to improve their corporate culture through a variety of tools, including Employee Engagement Surveys, 360 Leadership Development Assessments, Leadership Coaching, and Organizational Assessments.

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Gen Z employees are digital natives, value-driven, and quick to question “how things have always been done.” For mid-level and senior managers, the challenge is twofold: how to integrate Gen Z into today’s teams and how to prepare them as tomorrow’s leaders. Ignoring this shift risks disengagement, culture clashes, and missed opportunities.

Why Generational Shifts Matter

Different generations bring unique expectations around work. Baby Boomers often emphasize loyalty and hierarchy. Gen X tends to value independence. Millennials expect flexibility and development. Gen Z raises the bar further, seeking purpose, inclusion, and rapid growth.

Managers who dismiss these shifts risk creating friction. Those who embrace them build stronger, more adaptive cultures.

Key Expectations of Gen Z

1. Purpose Over Paycheck
Compensation matters, but Gen Z wants work that aligns with their values. They want to know how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture.

2. Digital Fluency
Gen Z grew up online. They expect seamless tech tools, quick communication, and transparency. Outdated systems and slow processes can feel like barriers.

3. Development and Feedback
Gen Z values real-time coaching over annual reviews. They want clear paths for growth and feedback they can act on immediately.

4. Inclusion and Belonging
This generation wants to feel welcome, respected, and part of a team that reflects shared values.

5. Work-Life Integration
Gen Z doesn’t separate “work” and “life” as neatly as prior generations. They want flexibility and expect leaders to respect boundaries.

Preparing Gen Z for Leadership

Gen Z is not just entering the workforce—they’re moving into management roles earlier than past generations. That means leaders today must actively mentor and prepare them.

How to Prepare Gen Z Leaders:

• Assign stretch opportunities. Give them leadership of small projects or committees to test and grow skills.
• Pair with mentors. Cross-generational mentorship helps Gen Z learn organizational history while contributing fresh perspectives.
• Encourage coaching mindsets. Provide training on how to give and receive feedback effectively.
• Expose them to strategy. Invite them into planning sessions so they can see the bigger picture of decision-making.

Managing the Multi-Generational Mix

While Gen Z is the newest focus, good managers recognize that every generation has needs. The key is flexibility:

• Avoid one-size-fits-all management.
• Ask individuals about their preferences rather than making assumptions based on age.
• Highlight the strengths each generation brings to the table.

Moving Forward

Generational shifts are not a problem to solve—they’re a reality to embrace. For managers, the opportunity is clear: by understanding what Gen Z values and preparing them for leadership, you ensure your organization remains relevant, resilient, and ready for the future. Moving forward, invest now in engaging and preparing Gen Z. Doing so not only strengthens your team today but also builds the leadership pipeline for tomorrow.

Dusty Tockstein is a senior consultant at Peter Barron Stark Companies. Dusty works with clients to improve their corporate culture through a variety of tools, including Employee Engagement Surveys, 360 Leadership Development Assessments, Leadership Coaching, and Organizational Assessments.

The post Leading Through Generational Shifts: Gen Z and Beyond appeared first on Peter Barron Stark Companies.

Is your management team about tapped out? Over the last few years, we have heard from the leaders we work with describe the pace of change as almost relentless, with no signs of slowing down. Previously, changes occurred intermittently with the introduction of a new system, a new boss, or a new product, among other factors. Today, the pace of change is unprecedented. Most leaders are struggling to stay on top. It started during COVID. We encountered the most stressed-out, exhausted, and struggling group of leaders we had ever worked with. Typically, people can hold on in high-stress times when they know there is light at the end of the tunnel, but this time, we never saw the light come. And, it’s not going to. Most leaders are coming to terms with the idea that this is the new normal, and the level of change is here to stay and continue to accelerate. 

So, you are probably wondering how to survive moving forward? Most employees in the midst of this whirlwind are looking to you, their leader, for the stability, clarity, and recognition that help them not only survive but also thrive.

The challenge is real: during periods of high change, employees require significantly more communication and recognition from their managers. Yet constant change often means you’re busier than ever, pulled in multiple directions while trying to lead through the chaos.

How to Help Your Team

To help you get through and thrive, not just survive, here are some tips on how to meet your team’s heightened needs without burning yourself out.

Communication – Quality Over Quantity. When everything feels uncertain, communication becomes your team’s anchor. But effective communication during constant change isn’t about sending more emails or scheduling more meetings. It’s about being more intentional with every interaction. 

For most written communications, less is better. Employees also have numerous emails and tasks. Sending emails in a concise and bullet-pointed format whenever possible will help. 

Create Predictable Communication Rhythms. Establish non-negotiable communication touchpoints that your team can count on: a brief Monday morning check-in, Wednesday one-on-ones, or Friday wrap-up messages. When everything else shifts, this consistent communication anchors provide stability.

Master the Art of the Quick Update. A two-minute hallway conversation about priorities or a quick message acknowledging good work can provide tremendous value without significant time investment. Last, if you don’t have the answers, say so. Being honest about what you don’t know while clearly communicating will build trust with your team.

Recognition in Real-Time: Making Every Moment Count. Traditional recognition programs feel inadequate when change is constant and stress is high. Your team needs recognition that matches the pace of their contributions. This is where a quick email, verbal acknowledgement, or meeting recognition will go a long way. Specific recognition shows that you’re paying attention and care. Remember, recognition and communication are the fuel employees need to keep going.

Recognize Resiliency. Ensure you recognize when you see staff being flexible, learning agility, collaboration under pressure, and persistence in the face of uncertainty—the behaviors you need most. These are the skills they will need to thrive in the workplace moving forward. We want to build them as much as possible. 

Restore Sense of Control. Give your team choices wherever possible, even small ones. Let them decide how to approach tasks, when to schedule learning time, or which aspects of a project to tackle first. Control over small decisions helps employees regain a sense of control over their work, which in turn enhances engagement. 

Connect Regularly. Employees’ satisfaction with their work is directly correlated to the relationship they have with their manager. The more they feel their manager cares, the more discretionary effort they are willing to give. This begins with intentionally creating opportunities to connect and demonstrate genuine care for their development and well-being. Brief team celebrations, informal problem-solving sessions, or simple check-ins all communicate their importance to the team. 

Create Share Connections. Not only do employees need to feel connected to their leader, but when teams have a sense of belonging and share values, they work together more successfully, are more engaged, and have higher levels of satisfaction. Shared connections come through team experiences, shared projects, and goals. Taking the time to create these will give you and your team more bandwidth. 

Sustainable Leadership Practices: Protecting Your Capacity

The most common leadership failure during constant change is burnout—running so hard to meet everyone else’s needs that you become ineffective at meeting your own. Below are some ideas to help you as a leader so you can be there to support your staff.

Batch Your Communication Activities. Instead of responding immediately to every request, designate specific times for checking messages, returning calls, or providing updates. This allows you to be responsive without being reactive. It will also help you focus and plan.

Delegate Communication, Don’t Hoard It. Identify team members who can help cascade information, provide peer support, or lead specific communication initiatives. This reduces your load while often improving effectiveness and providing your team with development opportunities. Your goal should be to avoid holding up anyone else’s work.

It’s a Team Thing. Along with delegating communication top-down, you must also delegate responsibility to your team for all communication, including peer-to-peer, bottom-up, and cross-departmental communication. It should be an expectation that everyone on the team is responsible for good internal and external communication. 

Schedule Strategic Thinking Time. If you wait until you have time to think strategically, it will never happen. Block of time in your calendar specifically for taking a step back and working on initiatives that can move your department and company forward. This isn’t luxury time; it’s essential work that allows you to lead proactively rather than constantly reactively. This should be at least an hour a week. 

Buy Tickets. Don’t push off your vacations, nights out, and ‘you’ time. This is what you need most to reenergize yourself and lower your stress. If you wait till things slow down, you will miss out on your life. But tickets, book the vacation. When you have tickets, you’ll find a way to go. 

While constant change creates obvious challenges, it also creates a unique leadership opportunity. Teams that learn to thrive in high-change environments develop capabilities that become competitive advantages: adaptability, resilience, collaborative problem-solving, and trust in leadership.

The leaders who master communication and recognition during constant change don’t just help their teams survive—they build organizational capabilities.

The question isn’t whether the pace of change will slow down. It won’t. The question is whether you’ll develop the leadership practices that help your team not just endure constant change, but excel because of it.

Dusty Tockstein is a senior consultant at Peter Barron Stark Companies. Dusty works with clients to improve their corporate culture through a variety of tools, including Employee Engagement Surveys, 360 Leadership Development Assessments, Leadership Coaching, and Organizational Assessments.

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Quiet quitting employees stop being engaged and quit on the job, but they just don’t tell you. Quiet cracking is a more serious form of active disengagement where employees do the bare minimum, but their unhappiness with their work environment leads to decreased performance, lack of productivity, and eventually resignation. While quiet quitters are there to stay, quiet cracking will leave the organization. Since they can be top performers, it is important to identify them fast.

There are several reasons why your top performers can become quiet cracking. The reasons range from a lack of training and growth opportunities to feeling disconnected from management. Below are some reasons, along with some actions organizations can take to reduce the number of quiet cracking and quitters in your organization.

1. Lack of Support and Staffing.

   This has been a big one on our surveys. Over the last year and a half, the questions about having enough staff to get the job done have been among the lowest-rated questions for most of our clients. When employees feel their area is understaffed and that they have unrealistic workloads, they often feel that their work/life balance is off. For a short period of time, employees are typically willing to give their “all” to contribute to their employer’s success. Over a long period of time, though, morale/motivation will be negatively impacted, leading to higher levels of burnout and turnover, and of course, quiet cracking.

   When we talk to our clients, they indicate that they are not looking to increase staffing to the pre-pandemic levels and are focused on running lean. This is ok when employees have the systems and processes in place to work as efficiently as possible.  It also takes departments communicating well together and working across department lines. If adding additional staff is just not feasible in your department, as a leader, there are other things you can do to help your staff. Things that tend to affect staffing level perceptions include inefficient systems and processes, lack of teamwork and communication, and problem orientation. When employees have to do duplicate work due to ineffective systems or processes, or have to redo things due to a lack of teamwork and communication, they tend to feel understaffed. When we can be proactive with our communication and check in regularly with our internal customers, we tend to find problems sooner, can be proactive with communication, and work as efficiently as possible, reducing the perception of being understaffed and quiet cracking. 

2. Growth and Learning Opportunities

   It is a fact that when employees are learning and growing, they are more engaged in their jobs. Top performers also cite development opportunities as the #1 thing they look for in a job. If you want to turn disengagement around, delegating work to staff and providing them with new learning opportunities will be a great start. When looking at the research for quiet cracking, being stagnant in their job, or having nowhere to go were cited as reasons. As a leader, ensure that you meet with employees and discuss their development. This also doesn’t fall solely on you as a leader; getting employees actively involved in their own development helps too. They must own the process with your help and guidance. You can also check with HR to see if they have a career path program, formal development programs, and what training is available to your staff.  Assigning a mentor also helps with this type of disengagement. Ensure that all your employees are learning and growing to prevent disengagement. That doesn’t mean they have to climb the corporate ladder, as long as they are not stagnant in their jobs.

   Having your employees learning and growing regularly will also give them a sense of purpose and accomplishment, leading to high levels of engagement and less quiet cracking. 

3. Connection with Management

   When employees don’t feel connected with their manager, or heard, it is another reason for quiet cracking. It is important to know that belonging and feeling listened to are innate needs of being human. Your employees need to be heard and recognized regularly to maintain their level of engagement. This doesn’t mean they run the ship, but rather are actively part of the plan. We know that about 70% of an employee’s satisfaction at work is directly correlated to the relationship they have with their manager. That means that leaders who check in with their staff, communicate regularly, and involve them in the planning process are going to have fewer instances of quiet cracking. By soliciting your staff’s opinions, you show that you care and value their opinion. This also applies to the middle and upper management, not just the employee level. It is common for us to see a dip in scores of the middle managers or at the VP level on our surveys. When we see this, we know that information is not being shared or communicated at all levels of the organization. Communication is really the king in leadership. Also important to note that in times of high change, people crave communication and recognition at a much higher rate. So, when you are in a high-change environment, you almost can’t over-communicate or recognize staff.

   This feeling of being disconnected has also been exemplified by remote work. When you are working with remote or hybrid staff, it is important to have regular check-ins or in-office days where your whole team is in with some continuity. There is no use in being in the office if no one else is there. So, coordinate in-office days for your team if you are in a hybrid environment. 

4. Revisit Accountability

   Nothing demotivates a top performer faster than a lack of accountability. When employees see that everyone is being rewarded and recognized the same regardless of their effort or productivity, it can be a significant demotivator for your top performers. In leadership, you need to recognize and reward people based on their performance. To do this, set clear expectations and review them with each member of your team. Then, focus on the results, not time in the seat. Recognize those who not only meet their goals, but also do so on time or exceed them. Holding all employees accountable to clearly defined outcomes is hard work. With really difficult employees, it feels like a fight. When you feel that fight coming, know they are fighting for a reason. Their goal is to make it so uncomfortable for you to hold them accountable that you give up and leave them alone. But hang in there. Holding everyone accountable to the same standards will get you one step closer to creating workplace excellence.

Ensuring your employees are engaged and contributing will take you as a leader helping them with their development, increasing the level of communication, and ensuring they have the systems and processes in place to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. If you see one of your top performers falling off, make sure to connect with them. Doing so may avoid a case of quiet cracking. If this is an issue on your team, you may find our article on “when your top performers lose their edge.”

Dusty Tockstein is a senior consultant at Peter Barron Stark Companies. Dusty works with clients to improve their corporate culture through a variety of tools, including Employee Engagement Surveys, 360 Leadership Development Assessments, Leadership Coaching, and Organizational Assessments.

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1. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as a Superpower

AI can’t empathize, inspire, or engage staff. It is challenged with navigating complex human dynamics. I know some of you are staying, or at least they can’t do this yet. However, the fact remains that leaders with high EQ abilities will stand out from the rest. These leaders will be needed to:

• Build trust by understanding team motivations, fears, and aspirations. Humans can read between the lines to see the real message of what is going on. This skill of reading the room will be highly valued in the future of leadership. 
• Resolving conflicts with a win-win outcome will be another desirable EQ skill. Humans’ emotions are hard to read. Leaders who can resolve employee conflict and gain their trust are needed now, and in the workplace’s future.
• Empathy – leaders who can show that they genuinely care typically gain more followers. In the world of technology, empathy is greatly needed. We know that employees don’t want to work for a leader who doesn’t care about them or whom they don’t trust. To build the skills, leaders will need to lean on their emotional intelligence skills. [link to the blog on EQ]

Leaders can use AI tools to help them do the tasks, but they will need a high EQ to lead the culture.

2. Adaptability and Continuous Learning

AI is evolving and changing so rapidly, and leaders will need to do the same. Leaders will need to embrace experimentation and view AI as a collaborator, not a threat. Test out different AI tools to help streamline routine procedures. Think of it as a way to get tasks done so they can work on more strategic goals. To do this, leaders will need to stay curious, learn from failures, and iterate quickly. We always say: great leaders are great learners. And AI is no exception.

4. Strategic Vision with AI Augmentation

AI handles data; leaders handle what to do with the data, and are the keepers of the culture. Leaders will need to use AI for insights, not answers. Leaders need to know that AI is not replacing them, but using it to adapt to do their work and enhance team tasks. Create a vision of how AI will help your team work more efficiently and effectively to accomplish their work. Then share that vision with staff so they know how they and AI fit in, what is expected of them, and where the department is going with the help of AI.

5. Resilience and Change Management

It is a fact that most people don’t like change or to be changed. And the pace of technological change is overwhelming. But we don’t expect that ever to lighten up. Leaders need to help employees through change. When managers lead with empathy, they can acknowledge staff’s fears and provide support during technology transitions. Sometimes, sharing their own learning journey with AI tools to reframe resistance. One strategy is to turn your skeptics into champions by involving them in AI pilots and having them lead some portion of the change. To help your team with the change, inform them about the upcoming changes as soon as possible. Remember, people crave communication at a much higher rate in times of high change. 

It is important to lead your staff through change, but not allow them to resist it completely. Change is inevitable, and some resistance is normal, but if it becomes clear that some employees are not going to change, you may have to make the change for them, but let them go. 

The goal is to have a human edge in an AI world. The leaders of tomorrow won’t compete with AI; instead, they will utilize it to amplify their impact. By pairing leaders’ emotional intelligence and adaptive learning with AI’s analytical power, leaders can create efficient and deeply human workplaces. Start small by piloting an AI tool, hosting a team discussion on AI automation, or enrolling in a course on data literacy. The future belongs to leaders who embrace AI as a partner in progress.

By integrating these skills, leaders can confidently navigate AI integration with their teams, ensuring their organizations thrive in an era of unprecedented change.

Dusty Tockstein is a senior consultant at Peter Barron Stark Companies. Dusty works with clients to improve their corporate culture through a variety of tools, including Employee Engagement Surveys, 360 Leadership Development Assessments, Leadership Coaching, and Organizational Assessments.

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When we interview employees, some of the common reasons for low morale include:

1. No End in Sight.  Has your team been running lean for what seems like forever? I have had managers tell me they found that each member of their team is working almost an extra half day per week. When they brought it to their manager’s attention to be able to hire a new team member, they were shot down. The manager was baffled. The reality is that everyone is running lean these days. And even more than our pre-pandemic states. To produce great results takes hard work. 

   Most employees are willing to give it their all for a short period of time, but without light at the end of the tunnel, some may burn out or simply stop putting in the discretionary effort. Make sure you, as a manager, recognize their hard work. Sometimes, that recognition that you are going above and beyond makes a huge difference. 

2. Don’t Forget Wellness and Work-life Balance. The principles of maintaining a successful business and work-life balance are the same. You need a clear, positive vision for a balanced life for yourself and your team. Focus on priorities. Get organized. Build in margin. Allow people to say “No.” Encourage people to use their vacation time.

3. Lack of Appreciation: If everyone is so busy trying to get the huge workload completed, then there is a lack of time to tell people they had a great week or month and that they made a significant difference to the team’s or organization’s success. When a leader becomes obsessed with results, employees feel the leader only cares about the results improving (usually profits) and does not care about the people who are responsible for achieving the results. Make sure you take time each day to acknowledge the efforts your team is putting forward. Focus on results and relationships. Keep in mind that people produce results. A person who feels appreciated will always do more than expected.

4. Support Systems: When you are super busy and giving it your all, there is nothing more frustrating than a down system. Constant workarounds, glitchy computers, or slow networks can result in employees getting to their wits-end quicker than if the systems were actually supporting them in their jobs. For employees to continue to work at their best, they need the systems and processes to support them in their jobs, not challenge them. When not working as effectively as they could, it results in increased stress and workload as it now takes us longer to do the job. Make time for routine maintenance of systems and processes.  Ask yourself, “Are we still doing things the way we have always done them, just because we have always done them this way?”  Encourage innovation to ensure your processes are efficient and support today’s business needs. 

5. Set Performance Standards. It is one thing when a mediocre performer has low morale.  It is another issue when a top performer has low morale.  When that happens, leaders need to take responsibility and focus on ensuring the top performers feel that their contributions are valued and that their contributions make a significant difference to the organization’s success. In our experience, when a top performer has low morale, it is usually because the manager is not holding all team members accountable to performance standards. 

6. Hold Everyone Accountable. It sounds easy to say—deal with performance issues. But it is one of the top reasons managers are referred to us for coaching. When you have performance issues on your team, we have a simple formula: Coach and counsel the mediocre or poor performer. If coaching and counseling do not work, share your mediocre performance with a competitor. Don’t allow the mediocre performance to continue destroying your team’s morale.

I am sure a few of the items above resonated with you regarding a current or prior employee. Sometimes, we just need a refresher to realize that we are in control of our team’s culture. Follow the tips above to ensure you are supporting your team and holding them to the right standards. Doing so will help you create a high-performing team, increase your team’s bandwidth, and raise your team’s morale to an even higher level. 

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“If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you will keep on getting what you’ve always got.”

As a leader, it is your job to successfully lead and implement the changes needed to keep your team and organization moving forward. One of the common obstacles in your way is often a team member (or a couple) balking at the change. (I’ve written more about why employees resist change here). The following 9 tips will help you overcome the attitude and actions roadblocking your efforts to effectively implement changes and lead innovation.

Acknowledge that these words are accurate

Some people love to point out that not all change is good change. They’re right, and there are countless historical examples to back it up. But I can also confidently point out that good change can’t happen in your personal or professional life without, well, change. Leadership is all about improving the condition of those we lead. We cannot lead ourselves or our teams to something better without a willingness to embrace change and strive for the results we envision.

Create a positive vision of the change

Provide your team with a positive, compelling, and inspiring vision of the outcome, and commit to it fully through your words and actions. If you, as the leader, can’t visualize a positive outcome for the implementation of the change, how can you expect your direct reports to see the change as positive.

Sell Problems, Not Solutions

Telling people that we need to improve the levels of service provided to customers is a great example of selling people on the solution instead of the problem. People have a much harder time buying into solutions they were not a part of creating. Obtain employee buy-in to a change by selling your team on the problem:

• Present the problem – If we don’t improve our website, is it possible that our customers will find a company with a better website?
• Ask for input – How do you recommend we improve our website?

People tend to like their solutions a lot better than yours. Steer the direction but allow your team members to be an active part of the solution process.

Rethink Possible

I’ve worked with countless leaders who confidently informed me that the proposed change would not work. Or they tailor their statement to their circumstances by telling me, “That won’t work here.” I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me something can’t be done, I’m that much more motivated to prove them wrong. In today’s world, there isn’t much that isn’t possible. Some things may be impossible today, but someone, somewhere, will eventually figure out how to make it possible. That “someone” can’t be your team or organization if you’re working with the belief that it’s impossible.

Involve Them in Developing a Plan

People don’t dislike change as much as they dislike being changed. Take the time to involve the people who will be responsible for implementing the change… even your most difficult and resistant employees.

Honor the Past, Build a Bridge to the Future

When new managers come into an organization, some have a need to tell everyone how good the organization they came from really was and how they intend to fix all the shortcomings of their new team. Employees understandably resist this approach, as they do a heavy-handed and brazen approach to organizational change. When it comes to leading innovation and change, this strategy has a high chance of backfiring. When team members hear their established and comfortable ways of doing things are changing, they will dig their heels in to protect how things were done in the past. Instead of forcing the change on your reluctant team members, acknowledge and honor the past, and then lead a discussion about what a new vision with even better results could look like.

Focus on Results

When it comes to significant change, leaders can get sidetracked by their focus on and concern for how team members feel. Most people do not feel excited and positive when they are being asked to make significant changes to how they do work, or the amount of work you are asking them to do. To focus solely on morale at this point is a mistake. Focus instead on the results you are trying to achieve through the implementation of the change. When people achieve positive results and the team is in alignment with the future of the organization, morale will take care of itself.

Remember the “J” Curve

Whenever a change is made, there’s a good chance that things will get worse before they get better. It’s what I refer to as riding the “J” curve of change.

When you begin to hold employees accountable for implementing a change, remember that morale and productivity may go down before it comes back up and rises to an even higher level. When you start implementing a change and hold employees accountable for the results, some employees may become resentful. Remember the J curve and keep pushing forward.

Move Fast

Research tells us that fast change is easier for an employee to deal with than slow change. Some organizations can implement a change in 24 hours. Other organizations take years to implement the same change. If you think employees enjoy slow change, put a Band-Aid on the hairiest part of your arm and pull it off… slowly, one hair at a time. It won’t take long before ripping the Band-Aid off quickly will be your preferred course of action. Consider how much time you have to implement your change and stick to the time frame if you want to remain a competitive force in the marketplace.

Being a great leader in search of the path that leads to workplace excellence is not for the faint of heart. You will run into plenty of “We’ve never done it that way before” and “It won’t work here.” Next time you’re faced with these responses, get excited. You have the tools to handle it, and you’re ready to take on the challenge of implementing change that will take you, your team, and your organization to the next level.

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Prepare Staff

Before you enter fully into vacation mode, make sure your team is thoroughly prepared for the tasks they will take on for you or make them aware of any possible things that could come up in your absence. Review your projects and tasks with your team. The easiest and most efficient way to prepare your team is by creating a project or task list/plan with the dates you are gone, the tasks they are taking over with instructions on how to complete them properly, and all necessary login information to access your work. This will give employees a clear vision of your expectations and prepare them for your delegated tasks.

Email Clients

Let your clients know you will be out of the office and what dates you will be unavailable. When clients know you are off the grid and who they can connect in the event they need support, this will significantly reduce the number of times that a client needs you.

Create a Clear Out-of-Office

It is crucial that you turn on your “out-of-office” email notification that is clear to employees and clients. Explicitly note the dates that you are gone and will have no email access during this time. This will ensure that employees and clients know you will be unavailable and avoid them thinking you are ignoring them. There are some positions and fields where clients and employees need to get a hold of someone immediately to answer a question or complete a task. For this reason, you should always provide an alternative contact in your out-of-office notification.

Leave your Laptop Behind!!!!!

I know this is a hard one. It is a security blanket for the ‘what if.’ But, if you bring your laptop on vacation, you are most likely guaranteeing that you are planning to work while you are gone. It’s like carrying a big candy bar around when you are trying to eat healthier. Sooner or later, you will give in to the temptation. If your job requires you to have some form of work on hand in case of emergencies, bring only a work phone and make sure someone on the trip keeps you accountable to stay offline as much as you can.

Avoid “Checking in”

If you check in every few days while you are away, it is highly likely that people will ask for help, your opinion, or want you to make a decision on one thing or another. “Checking in” sends confusing signals to employees because they thought you were unreachable. You are less likely to get emails from people when you are off the grid, but the second you ask how everyone is holding up, you enable them to come to you anytime with their questions.

Trust your Employees

Trusting employees to take over some of your tasks might seem daunting, but they are eager to offer their help and have many skills to offer. You have trusted them to be a part of your team in the first place, so giving them some more responsibility will only increase their competence, and commitment to you and the organization. Preparing them with some cross-training before your trip will ensure they are fully equipped with the skills and alleviate some of your worries while you are gone. Think of it as providing growth opportunities for your staff. The more they take on, the more you will have time to work on strategic thinking tasks to move your department forward vs operational tasks. It also makes it that much easier to take a real vacation.

In an Emergency…it is OK to Connect

The last thing you want during your relaxing vacation or time off is to be thinking about what could be going wrong at work. To ease your mind and focus on your loved ones, let one or two team members know that it is ok to connect with you in case of an emergency. Clarify what scenarios constitute an emergency and then let them know you have absolute trust in their decisions on everything else. From there, if an emergency arises, they can text you a summary of the situation or provide a more detailed summary in your email.

What shocks many leaders is that, although they are in high positions with stressful schedules, with these tactics, they can take a break and sometimes relax too. In fact, it makes them better, more engaged leaders when they are able to check out and take a vacation. While being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility, you should never forgo your mental health altogether to keep the business running. As a leader, employees will look up to you as a role model for their behavior. If you don’t unplug from work mode during vacation, employees won’t either. Enjoy your time off, appreciate those around you, and develop your employees while you are gone.

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