If I asked you to describe your company culture, what would you say? People-first? Collaborative? Accountable? A great place to work? Now, what would your employees say? We spend a lot of time talking about the culture we want to have. But culture isn't defined by the words on your website or the values hanging on the wall. Culture is what your employees actually experience. You can say you value feedback, but if employees are afraid to speak up, they get a different message.

Pizza on Fridays. Ping pong tables in the break room. Team happy hours. Company swag. All great things. But they aren't culture. Culture is built in what happens every day. It's how leaders treat people. It's whether expectations are clear. It's how you handle mistakes. It's who gets recognized...and for what. It's the behaviors you address and the ones you allow. Remember: Culture = What you say + What you do + What you allow. Have the pizza. Buy the ping pong table. Give th

It's disappointing how one bad leader can change someone's entire experience with a company. According to Gallup, approximately 50% of employees have left a job at some point in their career to get away from their manager. Think about that. Not necessarily because of the company or because of the work. Because of the person they report to. An employee can love their work and feel proud of their company, but if they are being treated poorly by their leader, all those other pos

There's a big difference between asking someone to complete a task and asking them to own an outcome. Consider these two statements: "Please update the weekly spreadsheet." vs. "I'd like you to own the weekly reporting process. Make sure the information is accurate and useful, and let me know if you see any ways we could improve it." The first tells someone what to do. The second tells them what they are responsible for. That small shift can change how an employee approaches

Do you find yourself thinking, "Why do I have to follow up on everything?" It's frustrating...You assign something, assume it's moving forward, and then find yourself checking in over and over. It's easy to label that as an accountability problem. But before assuming someone isn't taking ownership, there is another question worth asking: Was I clear enough from the start? Sometimes what looks like a lack of accountability is really a lack of clarity. When assigning responsibi

Most leaders know recognition is important but few actually take the time to do it well. We get busy. We move from one problem to the next. We notice someone does a great job and think to ourselves " I need to tell them that", and then the day gets away from us. The good news is that recognition shouldn't be complicated. It doesn't need to be a reward or big public announcement. Sometimes, simply saying "I noticed how you handled that situation. You stayed calm, identified a

We all have that one person on the team...The one who knows how everything works. They know where to find the information, what steps to take, and who to call when there is a problem. They are incredibly valuable. But this can be a sign that you need a system in place. As leaders, we spend a lot of time thinking about people. Are we hiring the right people? Are they performing the way we need them to? But sometimes what appears to be a people problem is actually a systems pro

One of the quickest ways to verify this is to ask your team a simple question... "What are your top three priorities right now?" Then listen to what they have to say. If you ask four different people and get four different answers, you may have a problem. You may have incredibly talented people who are committed, working hard, and making progress. But if everyone is climbing a different "mountain", all that effort isn't moving the team toward the same destination. As leaders,

It's easy to say what is important to us. We want to spend more time with family, be better leaders, exercise more, maybe grow our business. But if you look at your calendar, does it tell the same story? For me, if it's not on my calendar, it is unlikely to happen. Life has a way of getting in my way. If developing your team is a priority, schedule 1:1 meetings with each team member. If strategic thinking is important to you, block time on your calendar. And don't forget your

One thing I've learned over the years is that people rarely feel completely ready for the next opportunity. As leaders, it's easy to wait until someone has all the experience or all the answers before giving them more responsibility. But if we wait until they are 100% ready, they may never get there. Think about learning to ride a bike. Confidence doesn't come from watching someone else do it. It comes from getting on the bike, wobbling a little, maybe even falling, and tryin

By the time you are packing your suitcase, your team already knows whether they are expected to make decisions or wait for you to get back. Trust is built in the every day moments. When you ask for someone's opinion instead of immediately giving your own or when you give people the opportunity to figure things out for themselves. Will they make a mistake? Probably...we all do. But if you never give them the chance, they'll never build the confidence they need to grow. When yo

Before you head out on vacation, don't ask "Will everything get done while I'm gone?" Instead, ask "Have I prepared my team?" There is a big difference. Too many leaders spend the week before vacation trying to cram everything in and answer every question. The best leaders prepare their teams by setting clear priorities, communicating expectations, and making sure people have what they need. Then they let go. Before your next time away, ask yourself: Who can take on a new res

Summer is one of the best times of the year. It gives us a chance to slow down, spend time with family, and provides a break from the daily routine. Over the years, I've come to appreciate this time even more. I've also learned that it is easier to enjoy the time away when you're not worried about what is happening at work. I've worked with leaders who struggle to disconnect because they feel like they need to be involved in every decision and solve every problem. Sometimes t

Many leaders hold regular 1:1 meetings with their employees but most are status or project updates. Project deadlines are discussed, task lists are reviewed, and then everyone moves on. These discussions are important but they aren't effective in strengthening engagement. Employees want leaders who are interested in their: Development Ideas Challenges Career Aspirations Overall Experience Action Step: Dedicate the first 10 minutes of your next 1:1 to the employee instead of t

Silence does not meet everything is fine. Employees often disengage long before they leave. The warning signs may be subtle...Reduced enthusiasm, less participation in meetings, increased frustration, and lower productivity, just to name a few. Without regular conversations, leaders may miss these signals entirely. Mid-year check-ins provide a chance to surface concerns, reset expectations, and reconnect employees to their work. Action Step: Ask yourself, if one of your top p

A successful mid-year check-in isn't about reviewing a task list. It's about understanding the employee's experience. Consider Asking: What accomplishments are you most proud of this year? What's helping you be successful? What is getting in your way? What skills would you like to develop? What support do you need from me? These questions create opportunities for meaningful discussion and help leaders uncover minor issues before they become major. Action Step: Select one ques

Many organizations rely heavily on annual performance reviews. The challenge is that by the time reviews roll around, concerns have typically started months earlier. Employees need ongoing feedback and coaching...not once a year conversations. Regular check-ins help leaders: Address challenges before they become performance issues Provide timely recognition Adjust goals as business needs change Strengthen trust and communication The best leaders don't save feedback for the fo

Most leaders are suprised when a strong employee resigns. The truth is, employees typically disengage long before they announce their departure. Rarely does someone just wake up one day and decide to quit. Usually, there are warning signs like showing less enthusiasm, taking less initiative, withdrawing from the team, and showing frustration. Top performers especially tend to stay productive while quietly considering their options. Leaders who pay attention to engagement tren

We've talked about coaching, asking better questions and giving feedback. This is where it all comes together. Because delegation is where you actually start to see whether your team is growing or remaining dependent on you. Most leaders don't struggle with delegation because they don't want to let go. They usually feel like it's just easier to do it themselves. As a result, they hold on to more than they should. On the flip side, they may delegate without providing enough cl

We've talked about coaching and asking better questions. But there is another part that determines whether your team actually gets better over time...Feedback. In a lot of organizations, feedback only happens when something goes wrong. Which means it happens after the fact and foused exclusively on fixing whatever just happened. That might solve the immediate issue, but it doesn't change what happens next. So the same problems keep happening and leaders start to feel like the