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Some of the best leaders I’ve known didn’t lecture or direct. They coached. Early in my career, I thought being a good manager meant keeping people busy, informed, and on schedule. I held meetings, gave updates, reviewed results. It looked like leadership. It wasn’t. Then I had a manager who did something different. During our one-on-ones, he didn’t start with numbers or deadlines. He started with questions. “What went well this week?” “What felt off?” “What would you try dif

Think about the atmosphere in your workplace right now. Is there a subtle hum of friction beneath the surface? It starts small. A critical remark dismissed as 'just being honest.' A pattern of delayed communication interpreted as 'being busy.' Then, the escalation begins. Team members disengage. Meetings feel unproductive, not because of the agenda, but because of the unspoken tension. You notice key talent taking longer lunches, their energy visibly drained by the environmen

Your people already have the fire inside them. Most business owners don't believe this. They look at their team and see: • People who clock in and clock out • People who do the minimum • People who don't care like they do 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 "𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦." 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 35 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬: Your people aren't unmotivated. They have an ember of potential, purpose, pride inside them. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 �

There was a time when I thought leadership meant protection. Stepping in, smoothing edges, keeping problems from landing too hard on the people who trusted me. I thought shielding them from failure was a kindness. I thought carrying the weight for everyone was what strong leaders did. It felt noble. It was exhausting. And then one day, someone I once mentored, someone I genuinely cared about, said something that I still feel in my chest. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭�

I've worked with dozens of business owners in tech, manufacturing, and construction. Different industries. Different challenges. But they all say the same thing: "𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴." So they invest in training. Technical certifications. New equipment. Better processes. And turnover stays high. Engagement stays low. The owner still works 70-hour weeks. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞: They're trying to solve a PEOPLE prob

You walk through your shop at 6 AM. Nobody else is there yet. You check the work from yesterday. Three mistakes you'll have to fix. Again. You think: "If I don't do it myself, it won't get done right."   By 7 PM, you're still there. Your team left at 5. They clocked out. Went home. Disconnected. And you think: "Nobody cares about this business like I do." Here's what I learned after 35 years: You're right. They don't care like you do.   But not because they CAN'T. Because you

Over the last several months I’ve become fascinated with the power of story. Here is an excerpt from a personal project I am working on....

This is from that same personal project as the last post. Just wanted to show what a different perspective feels like. Let me know what...

The Baker Who Learned to Listen Marcus owned a small bakery in a bustling town square. He believed that to run a tight ship, his...

A well-defined People Development program accomplishes two critical objectives. 1.     It helps each employee cultivate the skills,...

Impact of Your Culture Unfortunately, culture issues are prevalent in businesses today.  In fact, research has shown toxic cultures have...