Insights

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 . “𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 , 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 , 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 .” We’ve all seen the headlines. But let’s be honest. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐓𝐎 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧 ’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 . They’re about 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 , 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 , 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 , 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 , 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 . They say more about how decision -makers think than…

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭. It’s not about the gossip. Not sabotage. Not credit -stealing, back -channeling, or power hoarding. I love them for what they reveal. Office politics are feedback. They’re usually a signal of insecurity, mistrust, or unmet needs. Someone feels left out. Someone’s trying to protect their influence. Someone doesn’t trust the system to…

Stop expecting discretionary effort. “Discretionary effort” gets treated like the holy grail. Engage your people , and they’ll do more: Work longer hours. Take on more. Go above and beyond. But that’s backwards. Discretionary effort isn’t the goal of engagement. It’s the outcome of an experience worth engaging in. Let’s break that down. Discretionary effort…

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 . 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 . We often throw around the word “leader” like it’s a job title. But here’s the truth: 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐬 . 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 . 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 . They’re not synonyms. They’re stages, from control to guidance to earned influence. And only one of them is a title you 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 get to give…

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 . They give tools full context and clear success criteria, yet their people are left guessing what great work looks like That’s the disconnect: 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 . And…

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭. A manager who shows up late to 1:1s. An executive who talks over someone in a meeting. An offhand comment that dismisses an idea. These moments may seem small. But over time they shape how people feel about…