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What You'll Learn: Why accountability is often misunderstood as punishment  The crucial distinction between accountability and blame  How to recognize lack of accountability in yourself, not just others  The definition of accountability as tracking promises versus results  Why connecting accountability to aspirational purpose empowers teams  Ten practical steps for implementing supportive accountability  How to create a culture of integrity through effective accountability Accountability is a word that echoes through the halls of every thriving organization—yet it's a concept frequently misunderstood and rarely implemented effectively. Leaders say, “If only people around here were more accountable for results.” Meanwhile, the people who work for them gripe, “Managers don’t hold people accountable here.” Far from being a tool for blame— that  sort of accountability is threatening and counterproductive— supportive accountability  is a cornerstone of a successful work environment, and will lead to a culture of integrity, empowerment, and exceptional results. Accountability vs. Blame: A Critical Distinction First, let’s define what accountability is  and isn’t. When accountability becomes synonymous with punishment, it fosters an atmosphere of fear and diminishes morale. When you hear people say, “Someone needs to be held accountable,” what they likely really  mean is, “Someone needs to be fired”.  That sort of accountability leads to demeaning feedback that undermines people’s sense of pride in their work. Recent studies show that performance reviews that focus principally on blame for performance problems demotivate people and cause productivity to suffer for months. (No wonder some team members dread reviews and many managers avoid doing them!) The Self-Accountability Paradox Meanwhile, while it's easy to spot a lack of accountability in others, it's often challenging to recognize in ourselves. This blind spot can lead to broken commitments—not out of malice, but simple forgetfulness. We all say yes to lots of things without writing them down or tracking whether we followed through or not. We agree to do things and don’t follow through simply because we forgot, and are oblivious to the fact that we broke our word. Let's break down accountability into a more productive definition. Accountability comes from account:  It's all about tracking what we promise to do versus what results we actually achieve. At work, it’s like a scorecard that shows how well we’re playing the game, using key performance indicators (KPIs) to see how good we are at our jobs.  Accountability should be clear-cut and fair, absent of any judgment. Empowering Accountability with Aspirational Purpose When leaders help people to identify and aim toward an aspirational purpose in their work, those people are more likely to own their responsibilities. People get fired up to deliver on promises when the goals matter to them personally, and they’ve got the right backing. Managing this way is empowering! On the flip side, expecting results without clear promises can really demoralize. It’s like setting them up to fail. But when you get someone to agree willingly to a goal and then help them stick to it, that's where the magic happens.  Celebrating Success: The Heart of Supportive Accountability It's crucial to celebrate the victories. For leaders, emphasizing the positive is not just a nice-to-have; it's a strategic tool for inspiring continued excellence. We all have our wins and misses, and it's key to give a high-five for the wins while also not ignoring the areas we need to level up in. We're often our own toughest critics, zooming in on where we fall short. That’s where a good leader steps in – to shine a light on the victories, because let’s face it, winning feels good and leads to more wins. Keep that success train moving! 10 Steps for Implementing Supportive Accountability Be rigorous about your personal integrity.  In all things, do what you say you will do. When you “give” your word, honor the agreement. Be on time—or early—for all meetings as a demonstration of integrity. Make requests of people.  Gain their promise—but make sure they have permission to say No.  Follow up with people to support them in honoring their promises to you.  Doing so before a deadline provides a friendly and supportive reminder that builds a collaborative relationship. Doing so after the deadline lets people know you are paying attention and care about supporting them. Use a personal management system  such as Outlook Tasks or Google Tasks to keep track of the promises you make to others and the promises others make to you. Recognize people for good performance  at the time it happens. Recognize people for poor performance  at the time it happens. Create Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  for every person’s inspirational sub-purpose. Be sure to make them stretch targets, not easy-to-obtain targets. Review them with people regularly. Create a dashboard of the most important KPIs.   Meet regularly to review the dashboard.  This is a fantastic way to generate supportive coaching. The Journey to a Culture of Integrity Supportive accountability isn't just a concept; it's a cultural shift that requires dedication and action. In a workplace where integrity is king, everyone's like a reliable partner—they make a promise, and they stick to it. Accountability is the secret sauce here; as leaders, it’s about making sure we’re not just talk. When a company is built on this trust, it's unstoppable. Integrity is what keeps the whole thing strong. It's the unsung hero of every successful team. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: Why problem-solving leaders often move rapidly from one challenge to another  How this constant forward motion contributes to burnout  The importance of pausing to acknowledge team successes  A case study of transforming burnout through purpose reconnection  Why slowing down to celebrate actually accelerates accomplishment  Practical questions to evaluate your team's connection to purpose  Strategies for moving from endless hamster wheel to purposeful progress Most people who have made it into positions of leadership are great problem-solvers. But these high-performing problem-solvers also tend to share an unfortunate trait: The instant Problem A is solved, their mind immediately moves on to Problem B. Then C, then D, and so on. By the time they get to the end of the alphabet, there’s a new Problem A. Sound familiar? In racing from problem to problem, do you ever stop to acknowledge anything you accomplish along the way? Here’s another question: is it possible you treat your employees the same way, robbing them of a sense of fulfillment in their work? It’s vital for CEOs to take a moment to consider their successes and those of their team. Paradoxically, slowing down like this actually helps you accomplish more, faster, because you are taking time to inspire your people. They become more energized and better able to serve your customers. Here’s an example from our own work with our clients. After COVID-19 struck, health centers came under immense pressure; they were on the front lines, vaccinating tens of thousands of people in tents in parking lots and scrambling to administer new and innovative treatments like monoclonal antibody treatments. Frustration and burnout ran high, and many people quit, leading to team shortages that made the job even tougher for those who did show up. During one of our meetings with a health center, the burnout within the team was obvious. We started asking a few questions to help team members reframe. We asked how many folks their center had vaccinated since the pandemic hit. The answer: about 60,000.   “What impact do you think that had on their lives?” we asked. The room was quiet for a minute, and then stories of positive impact came flowing out. People had been able to return to work and support their families. The isolation so crippling to some, especially those on their own out in remote areas, had been lessened. The CEO told a particularly poignant story of one client, a young mother on her own with her three children, who had been unable to get any kind of support; a health center team member had hopped in her car, raced to the store for diapers and groceries, and delivered them to the struggling family herself. She followed up by connecting them to social services that would continue the care.  The shift in the room’s collective mood was palpable as everyone realized that this was just one story out of hundreds. They had all saved lives. They all made a difference, every day. By harkening back to their purpose, the team members transformed from an exhausted, burned-out group to one full of pride, ready to take on the next challenge. This is the power of taking a moment to pause and acknowledge accomplishments, to celebrate the achievement of the team’s mission. Ask yourself: is your team feeling the full pride of their purpose? Or is it possible they’re on the hamster wheel alongside you? Read more about reigniting your team's purpose in our bestselling book,   The Great Engagement , available on Amazon. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: The extraordinary challenges facing educational leaders today  How helicopter/bulldozer/absent parents impact educational environments  The four elements that drive student success according to Gallup research  Current engagement statistics for students and teachers  Why leadership is essential to school success (96% agreement)  The structural barriers in educational leadership  Creative solutions to support teachers while reducing principals' burdens What makes it so challenging? Helicopter parents Absent parents Challenging students Bulldozer parents Too much focus on test scores Common Core — here, gone, then back again In addition, the magic pills run rampant — student agency, PLCs, SEL, student-centric learning, STEM, blended learning, coding, STEAM, whole-child education, 21st-century skills and personalized learning to name a few. What creates a successful student? The challenges above are simply symptoms of and attempted quick fixes for a more fundamental root-cause issue. The Gallup Organization, after surveying over 5 million students, has identified four root-cause elements which best prepare students for successful lives: Engagement : Engaged students are excited about what they're learning. They contribute to and are emotionally connected to their school. Hope : Hopeful students are positive about the future and goal-oriented. They can overcome obstacles and navigate a pathway to achieve their goals. Entrepreneurial Aspiration : By identifying and nurturing students' entrepreneurial talent, they are empowered to be the next generation of innovators. Financial/Career Literacy : The information, attitudes and behaviors that students need for healthy participation in the economy . The reality: Students and teachers are disengaged. The same poll shows only 49% of public school students are engaged and 47% have hope. These disappointing results are not the fault of educators. Ensuring each student is engaged, has hope, aspires to be entrepreneurial, and becomes financially literate, is daunting. Given the tremendous challenge teachers face and the general lack of support from the public, it’s not surprising another Gallup survey showed only 30% of teachers are engaged. This means a full 70% are not engaged or actively disengaged. The answer? Great leadership. In a recent study, Bain & Co surveyed more than 4,200 teachers, assistant principals and principals at school systems of varying sizes throughout the United States. Not surprisingly: “96% of them said great leadership is essential to a school’s success.” Providing great leadership to teachers involves more than start-of-the-school-year professional development. It involves the conscious creation of a culture that fosters personal growth through inspirational leadership , supportive management and empowering coaching by all members within the school system. Break down barriers. In education, a systemic structural barrier severely restricts a principal’s ability to create such a culture at the school level when he/she typically manages up to 50 staff. By contrast, in typical non-education organizations, managers of highly-skilled workers supervise five people. Experience has proven to engage, inspire, and support growth, five to eight is about as many as any leader can be effective with. Our education system asks principals to supervise between six and ten times this many people. * Bain: Transforming Schools: How Distributed Leadership Can Create More High-Performing Schools If you were to ask principals for their top 10 list of challenges, most would not list high staff count. Most educators have spent much of their professional careers in schools and thus see this ratio as normal. And as humans, when we see something as normal, there’s no impetus for change. If you want to better engage teachers to better engage students, this structural barrier must be addressed. When we create space within local school systems to have radically honest conversations about these root cause issues, creative structures can be developed. Structures that give teachers support while significantly reducing the burden we’ve put on the shoulders of our principals; empowering both to dramatically improve student success. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: How the Ladder of Inference explains the formation of self-generating beliefs  Why we unconsciously select data based on past experiences  How our mental processes rapidly progress from observations to conclusions  The danger of reflexive loops where beliefs filter future observations  Practical techniques using reflection, advocacy, and inquiry  Strategies for improving communications by making thinking visible  How to explore others' thought processes for better collaboration The Ladder of Inference is a tremendously helpful way of thinking about our thinking. Below is an excerpt from The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. Copyright 1994 by Peter M.Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard B.Ross, and Bryan J.Smith. The Ladder of Inference Rick Ross We live in a world of self-generating beliefs which remain largely untested. We adopt those beliefs because they are based on conclusions, which are inferred from what we observe, plus our past experience. Our ability to achieve the results we truly desire is eroded by our feelings that: Our beliefs are the truth. The truth is obvious. Our beliefs are based on real data. The data we select are the real data. For example, I am standing before the executive team, making a presentation. They all seem engaged and alert, except for Larry, at the end of the table, who seems bored out of his mind. He turns his dark, morose eyes away from me and puts his hand to his mouth. He doesn't ask any questions until I'm almost done when he breaks in: "I think we should ask for a full report." In this culture, that typically means, "Let's move on." Everyone starts to shuffle their papers and put their notes away. Larry obviously thinks that I'm incompetent -- which is a shame because these ideas are exactly what his department needs. Now that I think of it, he's never liked my ideas. Clearly, Larry is a power-hungry jerk. By the time I've returned to my seat, I've made a decision: I'm not going to include anything in my report that Larry can use. He wouldn't read it, or, worse still, he'd just use it against me. It's too bad I have an enemy who's so prominent in the company. In those few seconds before I take my seat, I have climbed up what Chris Argyris calls a "ladder of inference," -- a common mental pathway of increasing abstraction, often leading to misguided beliefs: I started with the observable data: Larry's comment, which is so self- evident that it would show up on a video tape recorder ... ...I selected some details about Larry's behavior: his glance away from me and apparent yawn. (I didn't notice him listening intently one moment before)... ...I added some meanings of my own, based on the culture around me (that Larry wanted me to finish up) ... ...I moved rapidly up to assumptions about Larry's current state (he's bored) ... ...and I concluded that Larry, in general, thinks I'm incompetent. In fact, I now believe that Larry (and probably everyone whom I associate with Larry) is dangerously opposed to me ... ...thus, as I reach the top of the ladder, I'm plotting against him. It all seems so reasonable, and it happens so quickly, that I'm not even aware I've done it. Moreover, all the rungs of the ladder take place in my head. The only parts visible to anyone else are the directly observable data at the bottom, and my own decision to take action at the top. The rest of the trip, the ladder where I spend most of my time, is unseen, unquestioned, not considered fit for discussion, and enormously abstract. (These leaps up the ladder are sometimes called "leaps of abstraction.") I've probably leaped up that ladder of inference many times before. The more I believe that Larry is an evil guy, the more I reinforce my tendency to notice his malevolent behavior in the future. This phenomenon is known as the "reflexive loop ": our beliefs influence what data we select next time. And there is a counterpart reflexive loop in Larry's mind: as he reacts to my strangely antagonistic behavior, he's probably jumping up some rungs on his own ladder. For no apparent reason, before too long, we could find ourselves becoming bitter enemies. Larry might indeed have been bored by my presentation -- or he might have been eager to read the report on paper. He might think I'm incompetent, he might be shy, or he might be afraid to embarrass me. More likely than not, he has inferred that I think he's incompetent. We can't know until we find a way to check our conclusions. Unfortunately, assumptions and conclusions are particularly difficult to test. For instance, suppose I wanted to find out if Larry really thought I was incompetent. I would have to pull him aside and ask him, "Larry, do you think I'm an idiot?" Even if I could find a way to phrase the question, how could I believe the answer? Would I answer him honestly? No, I'd tell him I thought he was a terrific colleague while privately thinking worse of him for asking me. Now imagine me, Larry, and three others in a senior management team, with our untested assumptions and beliefs. When we meet to deal with a concrete problem, the air is filled with misunderstandings, communication breakdowns, and feeble compromises. Thus, while our individual IQs average 140, our team has a collective IQ of 85. The ladder of inference explains why most people don't usually remember where their deepest attitudes came from. The data is long since lost to memory, after years of inferential leaps. Using the Ladder of Inference You can't live your life without adding meaning or drawing conclusions. It would be an inefficient, tedious way to live. But you can improve your communications through reflection, and by using the ladder of inference in three ways: Becoming more aware of your own thinking and reasoning (reflection); Making your thinking and reasoning more visible to others (advocacy); Inquiring into others' thinking and reasoning (inquiry). Once Larry and I understand the concepts behind the "ladder of inference," we have a safe way to stop a conversation in its tracks and ask several questions: What is the observable data behind that statement? Does everyone agree on what the data is? Can you run me through your reasoning? How did we get from that data to these abstract assumptions? When you said "[your inference]," did you mean "[my interpretation of it]"? I can ask for data in an open-ended way: "Larry, what was your reaction to this presentation?" I can test my assumptions: "Larry, are you bored?" Or I can simply test the observable data: "You've been quiet, Larry." To which he might reply: "Yeah, I'm taking notes; I love this stuff." Note that I don't say, "Larry, I think you've moved way up the ladder of inference. Here's what you need to do to get down." The point of this method is not to nail Larry (or even to diagnose Larry) but to make our thinking processes visible, to see what the differences are in our perceptions and what we have in common. (You might say, "I notice I'm moving up the ladder of inference, and maybe we all are. What's the data here?") This type of conversation is not easy. For example, as Chris Argyris cautions people, when a fact seems especially self-evident, be careful. If your manner suggests that it must be equally self-evident to everyone else, you may cut off the chance to test it. A fact, no matter how obvious it seems, isn't really substantiated until it's verified independently-- by more than one person's observation, or by a technological record (a tape recording or photograph). Embedded in team practice, the ladder becomes a very healthy tool. There's something exhilarating about showing other people the links of your reasoning. They may or may not agree with you, but they can see how you got there. And you're often surprised yourself to see how you got there, once you trace out the links. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: Why companies fail to reach their full potential despite best efforts  The statistical scale and economic impact of employee disengagement  Why most engagement surveys focus on symptoms rather than root causes  How unconscious purpose drives default behaviors focused on self-preservation  The importance of replacing fear-based motivation with conscious purpose  Why transformational change requires addressing unconscious behaviors  How commitment to higher purpose transforms individuals and organizations Many companies don’t reach their full potential, and their CEOs can’t understand why. It’s the CEO’s job to come up with solutions to problems, and great CEOs are great at solutions. But they can’t do that job when they can’t identify what the problem is. These days, in the wake of the Great Resignation, employee disengagement is one of the biggest problems CEOs face.  66 percent of US workers who feel disengaged, according to a Gallup report. 74 percent of those workers who are either actively looking for new work or are open to new opportunities. The stress associated with not being fully engaged at work costs the US economy 550 million days off a year, according to the American Psychological Association. That translates to a cost to the economy of $500 billion. When employees are disengaged, the consequence is resignation , which leads to watching good people leave for reasons you don’t fully understand. Productivity and profitability suffer. Most engagement surveys and profiles focus on issues: whether you’ve been acknowledged recently, whether you have a best friend at work, what you think of your manager. These are good things, but they are symptoms of engagement or disengagement, not root causes.  What are the causes of engagement? Engagement derives from each person being committed to the purpose of the organization and seeing it as their own aspiration.  In the absence of such an engaging purpose, human beings default to their unconscious purpose. This unconscious purpose is almost always fear based because it supports our instinct for self-survival. In modern society, that equates to staying in our comfort zone. The problem that holds your  organization back lies in the unconscious mind of your team (which includes the CEO). Each of us has a purpose that motivates our behavior without us being aware of it. This unconscious purpose has served us well in the past, so it becomes our comfort zone. No attempt to change company culture can work if it doesn’t address the unconscious fears that shape it.  Real change comes from showing people that we don’t need to be limited by our unconscious motivations. And that requires replacing our unconscious purpose with a conscious commitment to a higher purpose.  Finding our unconscious purpose brings about a fundamental change to the whole structure of how people work. It helps people see themselves and their jobs completely differently than they did a few weeks beforehand, or even a few moments ago. It is transformational. We break down Unconscious Purpose in our bestselling book,   The Great Engagement , available on Amazon. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: How to shift from being primarily a decision engine to an engagement facilitator  The engagement formula: Aspiration + Empowerment  Strategies for redefining job roles beyond tasks to connect with purpose  Techniques for engaging team members in open dialogue  The importance of maintaining belief in each team member's potential  How micromanagement and rigid boundaries hinder empowerment  Ways to identify if you're your own biggest obstacle to team empowerment As a CEO, you’re used to thinking of your job as a decision engine. But what if you’re missing a key component of your mission—and leaving behind top-notch employees as a result? In today’s business landscape, which is experiencing an epidemic of low employee engagement the role of a CEO has to evolve to rise to this occasion. As CEO, start to think of your role as Chief Engagement Officer. This transformative approach prioritizes the engagement and empowerment of teams, laying the foundation for organizational success. In our book, The Great Engagement , we outline a transformative equation for employee engagement: Engagement = Aspiration + Empowerment. So, how can you as the CEO start to make that happen? Aspiration: Fueling Engagement with Purpose The journey towards profound engagement begins with a shared aspiration—aligning the team's goals with the organization's purpose. This alignment not only motivates but also invests each member with a sense of belonging and contribution towards a collective mission. Empowerment: The Key to Unleashing Potential Empowerment stands as the cornerstone of engagement. By granting team members the authority to make decisions, CEOs can harness their creativity, energy, and innovation. William L. McKnight's leadership philosophy at 3M can be summed up in this fantastic quote: “If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give the people the room they need.” We only need to look at the success of 3M to see what a difference that philosophy made to the growth of the business. However, the path to empowerment is often obstructed by the very leaders aiming to guide it. The practice of micromanagement, setting rigid boundaries, and dictating processes can stifle creativity and reduce employees to passive followers. Have you ever asked yourself if it’s possible you,  as CEO, are your biggest obstacle? Practical Strategies for Empowering Your Team Goal Clarity: Beyond Job Descriptions The first step in empowering your team involves redefining job roles from mere tasks to essential contributions to the organization's mission. This approach encourages employees to see the bigger picture and find innovative ways to support the collective goal. Open Dialogue: Cultivating Creative Solutions Engaging team members in discussions about goals, challenges, and potential solutions fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration. Simple, open-ended questions can unlock a wealth of creative ideas, propelling the organization forward. Belief in Potential: The Foundation of Empowerment Perhaps the most challenging yet rewarding strategy is the unwavering belief in each team member's potential. Showing your employees trust and support, even in the face of doubt, has a transformative impact on their commitment to their mission. Becoming your organization’s Chief Engagement Officer isn’t just what’s best for your people; it’s a strategic imperative in building a vibrant, innovative, and committed workforce. By embracing the engagement equation of Engagement = Aspiration + Empowerment, leaders can unlock the full potential of their teams and steer their organizations towards unprecedented success. We dive into our Engagement Formula in our bestselling book,   The Great Engagement , available on Amazon. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: How resignation functions as the root cause of disengagement  The difference between resignation and formal quitting  The formula for creating engagement: Aspiration + Empowerment  Why employees need both compelling purpose and effective authority  Strategies for energizing employees through meaningful aspiration  Techniques for empowering employees with appropriate autonomy  How to replace resignation with active engagement Employee engagement has been the focus of numerous studies and discussions over the past decade, but what happens when employees are not engaged? The typical term used is "disengagement," but a deeper look suggests that the real issue might be resignation—a state of passive acceptance and submission as defined by the dictionary. This mental state of resignation, if left unchecked, can lead to the act of resigning—a voluntary departure from one's position. The phenomenon of the Great Resignation that swept across industries can be traced back to a buildup of this sense of resignation. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for many to reassess their lives and opt-out of jobs where they felt resigned, leading to an actual resignation. A Lesson from The Great Resignation The key takeaway from the Great Resignation is clear: when individuals feel resigned and have a choice, they will likely leave. This understanding provides a vital lesson for leaders and organizations looking to retain their talent. Crafting the Formula for Engagement We propose a straightforward formula for fostering engagement: Engagement = Aspiration + Empowerment This formula encapsulates the need for a compelling purpose—be it a vision, mission, or goal—that energizes individuals and propels organizations toward exceptional performance. Coupled with empowerment—the permission and ability to utilize one's talents and creativity—this formula ensures that employees are both motivated and capable of contributing meaningfully to their organization's objectives. The Dual Pillars of Engagement: Aspiration and Empowerment To truly engage employees, they must be on a mission that excites them and have the authority to execute their roles effectively. Without empowerment, even the most passionate employees can feel stifled and robotic. Conversely, empowerment without direction can lead to disarray, with individuals chasing personal comfort rather than a unified goal. The post-pandemic era has seen a shift toward self-care, sometimes at the expense of organizational missions. However, balance is crucial, and this post aims to guide CEOs and leaders in cultivating a culture that prioritizes both aspiration and empowerment. Replacing Resignation with Engagement for Better Results Our discussion underscores the importance of replacing resignation with engagement by: Energizing employees through aspiration: Inspiring your workforce with a clear and compelling purpose. Empowering employees: Granting them the autonomy to use their creativity and judgment in service of the organization's goals. By focusing on these two pillars, leaders can transform their organizations, encouraging accountability, providing support, and recognizing contributions, which in turn can lead to increased productivity and satisfaction. Understanding the subtle dynamics of resignation and its impact on employee engagement is crucial for organizational leaders. By embracing the formula for engagement and addressing both the need for aspiration and empowerment, organizations can navigate the post-pandemic landscape with a reinvigorated workforce. The path forward is not just about attracting talent but cultivating an environment where resignation is replaced with a thriving culture of engagement, leading to better results and a more fulfilling workplace for all. We dive into our Engagement Formula in our bestselling book, The Great Engagement , available on Amazon. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: How coaching helps leaders develop greater self-awareness  Techniques for achieving self-mastery through conscious emotional choices  Methods for developing empathy by understanding others' perspectives  Strategies for expanding cognitive flexibility and emotional intelligence  Ways coaching helps discover personal motivational drivers  Approaches for building more effective relationships through social intelligence  Why coaching develops skills faster than experience or training alone “Everyone needs a coach.” ~ Bill Gates Hard work will make you very good at what you do. Throw in some training and read a few books and you can get really good. But it is only when you work with an executive coach that you will become the very best in the world at what you do. A professional coach will help you uncover what truly drives you, leverage emotional intelligence in the workplace, and enable you to achieve all that you want to achieve in your life. All of this will ensure you are becoming your best self. Don't take our word for it, watch these two videos to see what others think: Everyone needs a Coach: Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande Here are some ways a leadership coach can help you: Self-Awareness A critical first step in the process of bettering yourself is self-awareness. Accepting the reality that we are all human and thus have strengths and weaknesses is a powerful first step. It’s nearly impossible to grow and improve without a firm grounding in reality. And the very best executive coaches are skilled at helping their clients become more self-aware. Often times, people are not aware of how their behavior impacts others in a group or workplace until someone points it out. Even then, change can be difficult. Until you have fully accepted that you have an issue and want to make a change on your own, you will continue to fall back to these natural tendencies and proclivities. We all need a future that we are committed to in order to actually make a change. Self-Mastery Being emotionally aware or emotionally intelligent means that you are aware of your emotions and thus have an opportunity to make a conscious choice about which emotions are serving you well and which emotions may be tripping you up. Self-mastery is this ability to make more and more decisions consciously. For example, if you are intimidated by someone in the office, you may not realize it and react to them in a hostile way or feel uneasy around them. Once you realize this, you then have an opportunity to make a conscious decision: What could I do to address this person face to face and create a relationship that moves beyond the intimidation? What strategies could I put in place that will allow me to better handle this person? Who else might be able to help? What else could I do? Self-awareness is the first step in attaining self-mastery, meaning that you will be able to handle these situations a lot more easily and with comfort. People with high emotional intelligence will have better self-mastery skills. Lack of these skills can really have an effect not only on your personal life but your professional and work life too. As your coach helps, you will start to see improvement in a lot of areas of your life. Learning Empathy Empathy is when you understand someone's emotions in a way that you can put yourself in their shoes and know what they feel. The pace of life is only accelerating which makes this particular trait relatively rare. A coach can help someone exercise their ability to be more empathetic and this is crucial in nurturing healthy relationships. Great leaders are empathetic, and people trust others who can be empathetic. Cognitive Expansion Broadening your emotional intelligence will expand your mind, while also bettering the way you interact with other people. You will be open to seeing new perspectives in all situations. Having a flexible mindset will boost your cognition, which can be used to improve your work life, as well as others around you. To learn more about Growth Mindset, click here . Increased Motivation It’s no secret that better motivation will lead to better success. This motivation will significantly increase your ability to accomplish your goals which will make you more effective in the workplace and in life in general. Being self-aware and knowing how to create self-mastery over your emotions will help with your motivation levels as well. Discovering what you find important and what you are willing to do to reach that point will increase your motivation, which is crucial for success. Social Intelligence Social skills are important in having successful relationships. And relationships are the root of all effective teamwork and building effective relationships rooted in trust is the most important skill of any great leader. Being a Better Leader Overall, a coach can help you become a better leader, a better manager and a better coach with good self-mastery, emotional intelligence, strong motivation, a growth mindset and empathy. All these traits are important to become a successful, more reliable leader to your peers. Phoenix Perform provides executive coaching & team building consulting for enterprises, get in touch today to see how we can help. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: How different leadership styles create distinct organizational cultures  The benefits and limitations of directive leadership's top-down approach  Why transformational leadership fosters cultures of inspiration and growth  How servant leadership inverts the pyramid to empower employees  The balance participative leadership strikes between input and decision-making  Why authoritative leadership creates compliance but high turnover  How to select the right leadership approach for your organization's needs What makes the ability to lead the skill among all skills? First, let’s start with a definition: leadership is the ability to generate a view of the future that others take on as their own. Often times, the word inspiration is mentioned in the same context as leadership. And this is for good reason because in-spire means to “put spirit into” something and the best way to do this is to put spirit into a future vision that everyone gets excited about and takes on as their own. Businesses and organizations that create cultures of high-performance will create the competitive edge necessary in an ever changing and improving world. And what better way to leave the competition behind than by developing your employees so that they are inspired to do their very best work. There are five predominant leadership styles available to any orgnaization (see below). They are not all created equal. If you want to learn more about which one is best for your organiation, reach out to us and we can walk you through the best way to create a high-performing and inspired culture. 1) Directive Leadership: A Culture of Consistency Directive leadership is a top-down leadership structure. The hierarchical chain of command helps to speed up the decision-making process, which can ensure a high level of consistency and work quality. This style of leadership usually requires a strong personality who makes quick, efficient decisions and processes them quickly while making timely adjustments. Leaders can use both rewards and punishments to direct the actions of the employees. The downside of directive leadership is the lack of freedom of thought. Since decisions are controlled from the top-down, employee input is limited or completely absent. 2) Transformational Leadership: A Culture of Inspiration Transformational leadership focuses on personal growth, feedback, and thoughts sharing. A leader with this mindset will create a work environment that allows everybody to express their thoughts while creating a safe space for everyone to be heard so they can do their very best work. The leader allows concerns to be shared by everyone on the team and they foster a culture where the best ideas and thoughts win independent of who generated the idea. The benefits of this type of work culture are that everybody in the team will be more inclined to express their thoughts and feelings, which helps to keep the overall work culture light and welcoming. The downside of this approach is that the decision-making process may be slower. 3) Servant Leadership: Culture of Inclusion This is the polar opposite of directive leadership, as the servant leadership style flips the pyramid around and allows the employees to make decisions. This leadership style stems from a more modern school of thought and management philosophy; whereas, the directive leadership style has existed for centuries. Empowering team members to make decisions promotes cooperation and teamwork, and it induces actions that are for the good of the company rather than self-serving. This style of leadership might not sit well with certain stakeholders, as they could feel as if their control over the company isn’t as secure. 4) Participative Leadership: Culture of Innovation If you want fresh ideas, innovation, and team engagement, the participative leadership may be a good fit. Team members make their thoughts and ideas known, but the leader makes the final decisions. The process repeats for every step of the way. The benefit of this system is that every team member and employee will be involved with every step of the work process, and they have a chance to make a real difference in how the work is done. This will help with the retention rate and the generation of innovative services/products. However, such a structure will require frequent meetings which can take up a lot of time. Participative leadership allows employees to express themselves a lot more, but generally in the context of work related matters. 5) Authoritative Leadership: Culture of Compliance An authoritative leadership style is one that functions much like the military does. A group of executives is assigned to a job, and they will then dispense their orders down the chain of command. This is not a very common leadership style in the context of modern organizations, but it still sees some use in certain industries. It’s quick and direct, and the employees have little to no input on the work that’s being done. This will make the workers feel distant and thus result in higher turnover. Keep in Mind... Each business has its own way of doing things, and thus the best work culture is the one that fits the particular needs, the leadership style and the one that generates the best results for those that the business serves. The best practice is to find a fair balance between different leadership styles and choose one that fits with what you’re trying to achieve. Phoenix Perform provides executive coaching & team building consulting for enterprises, get in touch today to see how we can help. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: The five distinct types of impostor syndrome identified by Valerie Young  How to recognize the Perfectionist, Superwoman/man, Natural Genius, Rugged Individualist, and Expert patterns  Self-assessment questions to identify your impostor syndrome type  Practical strategies tailored to overcome each manifestation  How even highly successful people experience impostor feelings  Techniques for developing a growth mindset to combat impostor syndrome Even Albert Einstein & Maya Angelou wrestled with feeling like imposters. Watch this video to learn more. This is a great article on Imposter Syndrome from Melody Wilding THE MUSE . There’s more than one way to feel like a fraud. Here’s what it takes to overcome the most common ones. Many high achievers share a dirty little secret: Deep down they feel like complete frauds–their accomplishments the result of serendipitous luck. This psychological phenomenon, known as impostor syndrome, reflects a belief that you’re an inadequate and incompetent failure, despite evidence that indicates you’re skilled and quite successful. In short, it’s a hot mess of harmfulness. It can also take various forms, depending on a person’s background, personality, and circumstances. If you’re familiar with the feeling of waiting for those around you to “find you out,” it might be helpful to consider what type of impostor you are so you can problem-solve accordingly. An expert on the subject, Valerie Young, has categorized it into subgroups: The Perfectionist The Superwoman/man The Natural Genius The Rugged Individualist The Expert In her book, T he Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer From the Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It , Young builds on decades of research studying fraudulent feelings among high achievers. Drawing on the work of psychologists Pauline Rose Clance, PhD, and Suzanne Imes, Ph.D., Young uncovered several “competence types”–or internal rules that people who struggle with confidence generally follow. This categorization is often overlooked in the conversation, but her reading of it can be really helpful in identifying bad habits or patterns that may be holding you back from your full potential. Below is a summary of the competence types Young identifies so you can see if you recognize yourself. I also provide some examples you might relate to in your day-to-day life, as well as questions you can ask yourself. 1. THE PERFECTIONIST Perfectionism and impostor syndrome often go hand-in-hand. Think about it: Perfectionists set excessively high goals for themselves, and when they fail to reach a goal, they experience major self-doubt and worry about measuring up. Whether they realize it or not, this group can also be control freaks, feeling like if they want something done right, they have to do it themselves. Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions: Have you ever been accused of being a micromanager? Do you have great difficulty delegating? Even when you’re able to do so, do you feel frustrated and disappointed in the results? When you miss the (insanely high) mark on something, do you accuse yourself of “not being cut out” for your job and ruminate on it for days? Do you feel like your work must be 100% perfect, 100% of the time? For this type, success is rarely satisfying because they believe they could’ve done even better. But that’s neither productive nor healthy. Owning and celebrating achievements is essential if you want to avoid burnout, find contentment, and cultivate self-confidence. Learn to take your mistakes in stride, viewing them as a natural part of the process. In addition, push yourself to act before you’re ready. Force yourself to start the project you’ve been planning for months. Truth is, there will never be the “perfect time,” and your work will never be 100% flawless. The sooner you’re able to accept that, the better off you’ll be. 2. THE SUPERWOMAN/MAN Since people who experience this phenomenon are convinced they’re phonies among real-deal colleagues, they often push themselves to work harder and harder to measure up. But this is just a false cover-up for their insecurities, and the work overload may harm not only their own mental health but also their relationships with others. Not sure if this applies to you? Do you stay later at the office than the rest of your team, even past the point that you’ve completed that day’s necessary work? Do you get stressed when you’re not working and find downtime completely wasteful? Have you let your hobbies and passions fall by the wayside, sacrificed to work? Do you feel like you haven’t truly earned your title (despite numerous degrees and achievements), so you feel pressed to work harder and longer than those around you to prove your worth? Impostor workaholics are actually addicted to the validation that comes from working, not to the work itself. Start training yourself to veer away from external validation. No one should have more power to make you feel good about yourself than you–even your boss when they give your project the stamp of approval. On the flip side, learn to take constructive criticism seriously, not personally. As you become more attuned to internal validation and able to nurture your inner confidence that states you’re competent and skilled, you’ll be able to ease off the gas as you gauge how much work is reasonable. 3. THE NATURAL GENIUS People who struggle with this, who are also natural “geniuses,” judge success based on their abilities as opposed to their efforts. In other words, if they have to work hard at something, they assume they must be bad at it. These types of impostors set their internal bar impossibly high, just like perfectionists. But natural genius types don’t just judge themselves based on ridiculous expectations, they also judge themselves based on getting things right on the first try. When they’re not able to do something quickly or fluently, their alarm sounds. Not sure if this applies to you? Are you used to excelling without much effort? Do you have a track record of getting “straight A’s” or “gold stars” in everything you do? Were you told frequently as a child that you were the “smart one” in your family or peer group? Do you dislike the idea of having a mentor, because you can handle things on your own? When you’re faced with a setback, does your confidence tumble because not performing well provokes a feeling of shame? Do you often avoid challenges because it’s so uncomfortable to try something you’re not great at? To move past this, try seeing yourself as a work in progress. Accomplishing great things involves lifelong learning and skill building–for everyone, even the most confident people. Rather than beating yourself up when you don’t reach your impossibly high standards, identify specific, changeable behaviors that you can improve over time. For example, if you want to have more impact at the office, it’s much more productive to focus on honing your presentation skills than swearing off speaking up in meetings as something you’re “just not good at.” 4. THE RUGGED INDIVIDUALIST Sufferers who feel as though asking for help reveals their phoniness are what Young calls rugged individualists. It’s okay to be independent, but not to the extent that you refuse assistance so that you can prove your worth. Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions: Do you firmly feel that you need to accomplish things on your own? “I don’t need anyone’s help.” Does that sound like you? Do you frame requests in terms of the requirements of the project, rather than your needs as a person? 5. THE EXPERT People who fall into this competence type may feel like they somehow tricked their employer into hiring them. They deeply fear being exposed as inexperienced or unknowledgeable. Do you shy away from applying to job postings unless you meet every single educational requirement? Are you constantly seeking out training programs or certifications because you think you need to improve your skills in order to succeed? Even if you’ve been in your role for some time, can you relate to feeling like you still don’t know “enough”? Do you shudder when someone says you’re an expert? It’s true that there’s always more to learn. Striving to bulk up your skill set can certainly help you make strides professionally and keep you competitive in the job market. But taken too far, the tendency to endlessly seek out more information can actually be a form of procrastination. Start practicing just-in-time learning. This means acquiring a skill when you need it–for example if your responsibilities change–rather than hoarding knowledge for (false) comfort. Realize there’s no shame in asking for help when you need it. If you don’t know how to do something, ask a coworker. If you can’t figure out how to solve a problem, seek advice from a supportive supervisor, or even a career coach. Mentoring junior colleagues or volunteering can be a great way to discover your inner expert. When you share what you know, it not only benefits others but also helps you heal your fraudulent feelings. No matter the specific profile, if you struggle with confidence, you’re far from alone. To take one example, studies suggest 70% of people experience impostor syndrome at some point in their career. If you’ve experienced it at any point in your career, you’ve at one point or another chalked up your accomplishments to chance charm, connections, or another external factor. How unfair and unkind is that? Take today as your opportunity to start accepting and embracing your capabilities. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: How optimism functions as both result and cause of our experiences  Inspiring stories of reinvention and resilience at any age  Techniques for finding meaning through challenging circumstances  The power of listening to develop empathy and connection  Strategies for finding your "home base" after career setbacks  Why optimism is a function of attitude rather than circumstances Optimism can be hard to maintain these days. The polar ice caps are melting, world leaders are taunting each other like schoolyard bullies, and billion dollar companies are revealing themselves to be clueless about important matters . No wonder sometimes you feel a little glum. But here's the thing: no matter how dark the world looks (and as Bill Gates recently pointed out , there's a lot more light and progress out there than you see on the news), you still control your outlook. Optimism isn't a function of the world. It's a function of your attitude. So how can you find the perspective to get back to positivity if you've felt a little lost in the darkness lately? The TED Ideas blog suggests some of the organization's talks are the perfect medicine . A recent post offered a curated list of speakers to check out "when it's tempting to just climb into bed -- or bathtub -- and hide out, maybe for up to a month."  Here are a few of the highlights: 1. Neuroscientist Tali Sharot Optimism isn't just a result of our experiences, it's a cause of them too, neuroscientist Tali Sharot explains in her talk. That means that by training yourself to be more grateful and optimistic, you can improve not just your happiness levels, but also your chances of experiencing more success and positivity in life. 2. Entrepreneur Paul Tasner Stuck in a rut and struggling to see how you'll ever escape? The story of Paul Tasner  provides instant inspiration. The lifelong employee reinvented himself as an entrepreneur after being laid off at the mature age of 66. He's now helping clean up the world with his biodegradable plastics company. His journey proves you're never too old to pursue something new. 3. Writer Andrew Solomon Sometimes no amount of positive thinking can shield us from trauma. How do you respond when life knocks you around? "Endurance can be the entryway to forging meaning,"  writer Andrew Solomon reminds listeners in his talk. "You need to take the traumas and make them part of whom you've come to be, and you need to fold the worst events of your life into a narrative of triumph, evincing a better self in response to things that hurt." 4. Founder David Isay If your own head is a pretty gloomy place these days, why not take a vacation by trying to inhabit another person's perspective? Empathy can be a powerful antidote to despair, argues StoryCorps founder David Isay in this talk, where he recommends we all make time to deeply listen to the stories of others. 5. Writer Elizabeth Gilbert Have you faced a devastating career setback? Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert can relate. After her first book became a blockbuster hit, her second bombed. In this talk, she explains how she bounced back from this blow and instructs listeners in finding their own "home base."  "That might be creativity, it might be family, it might be invention, adventure, faith, service, it might be raising corgis," she says, but whatever it is, it's something you love more than you love your own ego. Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.

What You'll Learn: Why communication challenges are fundamentally ownership problems  The importance of being responsible for what people hear, not just what you say  How to recognize communication challenges through active listening  Techniques for taking ownership of both challenges and solutions  Why addressing communication problems requires ongoing commitment  Strategies for developing more effective communication approaches “Communication is a challenge here.” “We need to get better at communicating around here.” “Leadership needs to improve communication.” Communication is the top cited complaint we hear... from South Carolina to California. It's everywhere and in every type of organization. And this Harvard Business Review article agrees. Organizations are quick to respond with well-intentioned initiatives such as redesigning the newsletter, training everyone on listening skills , starting a communications team, etc. These initiatives do not provide a solution because they miss the core element of the challenge: o w n e r s h i p . We tend to think the “communication challenge” lies with other people: our boss, the folks at the main office, the other leaders on the team and even those that report to us. Here’s the bad news : it’s not about them, it’s about us. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you think you said or communicated. What matters is what your team took away from the communication. And as a leader, you need to know what they are hearing and how they interpret your messages. Just because you understand your message, doesn’t mean they’ll interpret it the same way. Now, onto the good news . The solution lies within each of us as leaders: “When speaking, be responsible for what people hear , not just what you’ve said.” Click to share on Linked In , Facebook , Twitter . It’s not uncommon for this concept to generate a reaction like “that’s impossible!” or “how am I supposed to be responsible for what someone else hears?” Whatever your reaction, we get it. You don’t need to believe it. For now, just consider it . {As an aside, the statement “just consider it” is a powerful way to take ownership for what is being communicated because you are sending the message that you are more interested in keeping the communication going than you are in being right.} What would it mean if you as a leader were responsible for what others heard? How would that change your communication? Now what? Here are our 3 recommendations if you want to address your communication challenge: Recognize it. Accept that there’s a challenge. Some call it a communication challenge, others may say it’s a listening challenge and still others will call it something else. It doesn’t matter. Step one is to recognize that there is indeed a challenge. Declare it. Understand it. As a leader, it’s important to uncover what others mean when they say communication. Be responsible for understanding what everyone means. Listen, listen, listen. Ask open-ended questions to unpack what’s at the heart of the challenge with communication. Own it. Leaders are those who take on responsibility so step up and take ownership of the challenge and the solution. This is the game changer. Declare to everyone that you are going to work on being responsible for what people hear, not just what you’ve said. These 3 recommendations generate the commitment and the necessary energy to take on any communication challenge. What’s inevitable? This is hard work and what’s predictable is that this challenge will keep coming up. There is no overnight solution or silver bullet. The next time ‘communication’ comes up as a challenge or a team member comes to you with a misunderstanding or someone doesn’t complete a task according to what you originally intended, pause and ask yourself: What do I need to do differently next time? Did you find this article valuable? Don't miss our weekly insights on transformational leadership and building exceptional cultures. Subscribe to Elevate Your Culture  - our Monday morning newsletter delivering actionable leadership strategies directly to your inbox. Subscribe Now Join leaders across industries who start their week with clarity, purpose, and practical tools to unlock potential in themselves and their teams. No time for another newsletter? Follow us on LinkedIn  for bite-sized leadership wisdom throughout the week.