Create a Happy Holidays Mood at Work

Cathie Leimbach • December 20, 2022

It is the holiday season. We talk about this being the season of joy and peace. Yet, as leaders, how well are we modeling joy and peace at work. 

For many of us, the Thanksgiving to New Years’ period is the busiest season in our personal lives.  Family, friends, and the community often put more demands on our time. In the retail and food service industries it is also the busiest season at work. Businesses with a December 31st year end want a lot of loose ends tidied up the end of the month. These overlapping pressures can cause added pressure rather than offering us a time of joy and peace.

Great leaders are alert to the needs of their employees and take actions that create an uplifting environment where people feel valued and appreciated, limiting their workplace stress during this holiday season.

Here are a few things leaders can do to enable employees to feel joy and peace during this busy time:

  • Prioritize work-life balance. If this is not the high demand season for your business, don’t require or even request your employees to work overtime. If your client demands require long hours this month, ask employees when their special family and friends events are likely to take place and make every effort to not schedule them at these times.
  • Make time to connect with your team. Make a point of having 1-on-1s with all of your direct reports to thank them for a couple of things they are doing well at work and to ask about their personal celebrations. Don’t take phone calls or respond to texts during these conversations.
  • Create a festive opportunity at work. Decorate the office and/or have a special employee event so the workplace team can have some fun together.

As leaders, we have the power to enhance the mood at work, impacting employees' satisfaction on the job and in their personal lives. During this holiday season, let’s be intentional about leading in a way that helps out team members experience joy and peace.   

When Leadership Feels “Fine”… But Results Tell a Different Story

By Cathie Leimbach • January 13, 2026
Many leaders feel things are mostly on track. Goals are set. Meetings happen. People stay busy. On the surface, it all looks fine . But underneath, small cracks often tell a different story. You may notice work getting redone, decisions slowing down, or people quietly avoiding ownership. These aren’t just workflow problems. They’re leadership signals — and they’re easy to miss when everyone is moving fast. Leaders often believe they’ve been clear. They think people know what’s expected and who owns what. And they assume that if something was wrong, someone would speak up. But in real life, expectations get interpreted in different ways. Ownership can feel risky. And many people stay silent just to keep the peace. That gap between what leaders intend and what teams experience is where performance starts to slip. A few simple questions can help reveal what’s really going on: · Where is work quality lacking? · What decisions keep getting stuck? · Where do leaders step in instead of letting others own it? Start noticing those patterns. They point to exactly where stronger leadership can make the biggest difference. 👉 See what a 10–15% leadership shift could mean for your bottom line. View the Leadership ROI Chart .

Why Leadership Skills Matter More Than Ever in 2026

By Cathie Leimbach • January 6, 2026
People are essential to your business success—yet many organizations underestimate the return on leadership development. Payroll and benefits alone account for 15 to 60% of operating expenses for most companies. In industries with lower payroll percentages, the trade-off is often expensive equipment—but without well-trained people, even the best tools underperform. The truth is simple: mediocre employee skills produce mediocre business results. What’s often overlooked is where performance and engagement are truly shaped. Employees themselves only control about 30% of the factors that drive engagement and high performance. Leaders control the other 70%. Despite this, only 18% of organizations say their leaders are very effective at achieving business goals, even though 71% offer leadership training. Why the gap? Much of that training focuses on strategy or systems—not on people leadership skills that directly improve performance. When leaders do build those skills, the impact is powerful. Employees who feel supported give 57% more effort and are 87% less likely to leave. Organizations can see earnings increase by as much as 147%. In fact, leadership training delivers a $7 return for every $1 invested—more than double the return on technology investments. Since leadership capability is being touted as the most critical factor for organizational success in 2026, it’s worth asking: Which people leadership best practices have your managers truly adopted? What currently weak areas are the most important to strengthen this year? A short leadership quiz can surface strengths and growth areas that aren’t always obvious—especially when you take time to talk through what it reveals.