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Supporting Employees for Excellence

Cathie Leimbach • March 7, 2023

There is a lot of concern today about the state of the workplace. Most of the conversation I hear focuses on employee shortfalls such as limited skills and effort, turnover, low morale, and mediocre productivity. Yet, studies show that employees only control 30% of the factors that impact workplace engagement and, therefore, the bottom line. Let’s talk about the people leaders who control the other 70% of factors that impact workplace engagement which in turn impacts most current concerns about the workforce.

Workplace excellence requires employees to have strong competence in the work they are doing and high commitment to the organization, its leadership, and their job.  Leaders can make or break the employees’ commitment and have a responsibility for placing employees in roles that match their competence or providing training to develop the necessary skills. 

Only about 10% of people leaders give adequate attention to developing and maintaining employee commitment. Stephen M.R. Covey calls their style of leadership ‘trust and inspire’. They lead in a way that builds trust with and among employees and inspires employees to do their best.

Covey and Gallup call the other 90% ‘command and control’ leaders. They tell their employees what to do but seldom interact in a way that considers, engages, or empowers them.  They don’t get their employees best.

Trust and inspire leaders engender high commitment and provide support to develop high competence in their employees. By paying attention to both factors that impact employee success, their organizations have lower turnover, higher morale, and a stronger bottom line.

How can you move from any command and control tendencies you may have to become a strong trust and inspire leadership?  Conversational Management training equips leaders with the mindset and the skills to develop a trust and inspire leadership culture.  You can learn about this transformational program by contacting Cathie Leimbach at cathie@agonleadership.com.

Achieving Commitment in Team Decisions

By Cathie Leimbach • March 25, 2025
When leaders make decisions or teams vote on changes, not everyone automatically supports them. However, getting everyone's commitment can be crucial for team or organizational success. Two key factors create real commitment: clarity and emotional buy-in. Clarity means removing all confusion about what's changing and why. Everyone needs to understand exactly what they're being asked to do. Emotional buy-in happens when people want to support the change rather than just following orders. To build both clarity and buy-in, talk openly with your whole team. Encourage questions about how changes will work and when things will happen. Listen to concerns instead of ignoring them. Remember that feelings—whether worry, resistance, or excitement—strongly affect how people respond. Don’t be surprised when change doesn’t happen. Use a team engagement process that helps leaders understand and increase each team member’s readiness.  Good leaders know they can't force real commitment. Instead, they build it by including team members in conversations about why and how to make changes work. This turns "their decision" into "our project," creating the team commitment needed for successful change.

Mastering Conflict: Turning Disagreements into Opportunities

By Cathie Leimbach • March 18, 2025
When conflicts arise, embrace them rather than avoid them. Different perspectives actually improve the quality of decisions and create better solutions. Effective conflict management requires genuine listening. Pay real attention to what others are saying, even if it challenges your own thoughts. It's all about respecting each other and improving how we communicate. When working with others, it is important to make quality decisions while maintaining healthy working relationships. The Thomas-Killman model of conflict management describes five styles for handling conflict. It helps us figure out the best way to deal with issues, depending on how important they are. And don't sweat disagreements—they're part of the process. If everyone agrees all the time, chances are some key perspectives are being left out. Keep your focus on the problem itself, not on getting emotional. Understanding the core issue is key to moving forward, instead of getting stuck on personal stuff or past arguments.  Remember, conflict isn't about winning or losing. It's about finding the best solutions together. When we see disagreements as opportunities to explore new ideas, we can turn tension into innovation and strengthen our working relationships.
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