Listening to Your Employees?

Cathie Leimbach • February 28, 2023

With our current workforce reality, it is particularly important that we listen to our employees and act on their input. Millennials and Gen Z, which make up the majority of our workforce, are quite willing to speak up with both suggestions and concerns about their career experience. With the high number of open positions in most communities, they are willing to look around rather than stay in a poor or mediocre environment.  Paying attention to their input will reduce turnover and increase morale, positively impacting the bottom line.  

Let’s look at 4 common ways managers listen to and act on employee feedback. 

  1. Conduct a large-scale survey a few times per year and share the information with HR and the executive team.
  2. Conduct a survey or conversations around specific topics within the organization and share the findings will most leaders.
  3. Use a strategic listening approach using at least 2 different feedback methods and quickly act on suggestions and concerns.
  4. Various listening approaches are used throughout the year to get feedback on matters that impact business goals and their achievement. All levels of the organizations take responsibility for acting on improvements and all executives champion the process.

Organizations that regularly use multiple approaches for listening to and acting on employee input are 3 times as likely to meet or exceed financial targets and 10 times as likely to have high levels of customer satisfaction and retention.

What is one way you can enhance your employee listening?

If Nothing Changes, What Will This Cost?

By Cathie Leimbach • January 20, 2026
When things feel “manageable,” leaders often continue with status quo. People are busy. Work gets done. But small issues quietly add up. Rework becomes normal. Deadlines stretch. Decisions take longer. None of it feels like a crisis, but together it eats away at time, energy, and profit. Inconsistent leadership makes it worse. When expectations change from day to day or from one manager to another, people stop giving their best. Some coast. Some get frustrated. Some start looking elsewhere. Turnover rises, along with hiring and training costs. The warning signs are usually right in front of us: Work keeps getting redone. Managers avoid tough conversations around poor performance. Good people are doing less than they could. Progress feels slower than it should. The real question isn’t, “Can we live with this?” It’s, “What is this costing us if nothing changes?” 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation to explore how today’s patterns may be impacting your results — and what small shifts could make a big difference.

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 .