Practical, people-centered ideas on management, engagement, and the people experience.
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The Moment Engagement Starts to Slip
𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 rarely collapses all at once. It 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬. It fades when feedback is postponed until review time. When one-on-ones turn into status updates instead of conversations. When effort goes unrecognized because “they know I appreciate them.” 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞. People just stop trying as hard when it feels…
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The Engagement Equation
Most companies talk about engagement as if it’s something HR owns. In reality, engagement is an equation. Organization × Manager × People Each side carries influence, but the weight isn’t equal. Managers have the most direct impact because they translate company culture into daily experience. The best systems and benefits mean little if the people–manager…
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No Substitutions
Free lunches. Wellness apps. Casual Fridays. They all sound like good things, until they become substitutes for what people actually need. Many organizations still rely on surface-level perks to signal that they care. But caring is not a campaign. It is a daily practice, reflected in how work gets done, how people are treated, and…
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Trying Times Should Be “Try-ing” Times
When times get tough, most people wait for things to get better before taking action. The problem is, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 never starts with waiting. It 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠. In challenging environments, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 don’t push for perfection. They 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: small, human actions that keep people connected and moving forward. Mahatma Gandhi…
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The Trek Up (and Down) the Pyramid
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐬, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. Every organization experiences moments when priorities shift, roles evolve, or uncertainty takes hold. In those moments, productivity dips not because people stop caring but because their basic needs are no longer met. Psychologist Abraham Maslow described this pattern more than 80 years ago in his…
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DRIVE-ing the Roundabout
We often talk about motivation as something you either have or you don’t. In reality, 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲, 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. According to Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s Self -Determination Theory (2000), later popularized by Daniel Pink in Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us…