This is the tension most leaders never say out loud. You are responsible for the results. But the people matter too.
The problem is that there is a gap. According to Gallup, only 20 percent of employees strongly agree that their organization's performance management helps them do outstanding work. What employees say they want is:
Clearer expectations
Stronger leadership direction
More focus on development
Real recognition and improved culture.
What it tells me is that employees don’t want more extras; they just want better leadership.
If you are feeling this tension right now, you are not alone. The question is how you handle it. Read the whole column here.
Use your gifts,
John Eades
Founder of LearnLoft | The Sales Infrastructure
This Week’s Poll Question
Anyone who answers this poll is entered to win a free copy of the Optimistic Outlook!
What is harder for you as a leader?
Last week’s results:
When it comes to shaping your team’s mindset, what do you rely on most? (15,626 subscribers)
Setting clear expectations and standards (51%)
Hiring the “right” people (10%)
Relationship and daily enforcement (27%)
Through accountability and difficult conversations (10%)
Other (2%)
The Optimistic Outlook (Newsletter)
The Optimistic Outlook is a daily newsletter designed to remind you to focus on the bright side, one day at a time. Join 1300+ leaders who are already improving their Optimistic Outlook.
Employee Engagement Isn’t a Perk Problem, It’s an Experience Problem(Podcast)
Jacob Morgan has spent years studying what actually drives employee engagement, and what leaders keep getting wrong. In this wide-ranging conversation, we unpack why most engagement efforts turn into short-term "dopamine hits" like perks and programs, and why they never solve the real issue.
We talk about the difference between employee engagement and employee experience, the cost of disengagement for both the employee and the organization, and how AI is changing the pressure on performance and expectations.
Jacob's new book is The Eight Laws of Employee Experience
How We’re Supporting Leadership Teams Right Now
If leadership development is part of your responsibility in 2026, here are a few ways we’re partnering with organizations:
National Insurance Company (virtual workforce)
Challenge: Directors were strong technically but struggled to drive accountability and performance across distributed teams.
Delivered: A virtual, instructor-led leadership accelerator for directors and rising leaders.
Outcome: Clearer performance expectations, stronger coaching rhythms, and improved collaboration across regions.
Senior Living Organization (80+ managers onsite)
Challenge: Inconsistent leadership practices and declining engagement across communities.
Delivered: A 12-month leadership development journey with quarterly in-person sessions and applied assignments between sessions.
Outcome: Lift in engagement scores and a stronger internal leadership bench.
Hospitality Organization (20 senior leaders)
Challenge: Senior team misalignment and unclear ownership across departments.
Delivered: A focused 2-hour “Building Dynamic Teams” experience for the executive team.
Outcome: Immediate increase in connection and personal accountability among senior leaders. Followed by an HR-led request to expand the experience to managers and supervisors organization-wide.
If leadership development is part of your responsibility and you’d like to explore what something like this could look like for your organization, just reply “explore” and I’ll send a short overview of how we typically structure these partnerships.
If this would benefit your organization, but you’re not the decision maker, feel free to forward it to whoever oversees leadership development.
