Seeing your best people is a discipline, not a feeling. It’s one of seven in Before It Breaks, the book that names what separates leaders who retain strong people from those who lose them. Pre-order at https://go.lodenleadership.com/Before_It_Breaks_Pre-Order and receive the Before It Breaks resource bundle and the companion workbook plus a seat at the live Seven Pillars in Practice masterclass on July 14.
Every leader has a list.
Not a written one. The one that exists in the back of their awareness. The conversations that need to happen and haven’t. The feedback that is overdue. The standard that has been slipping and hasn’t been named directly.
Most leaders are aware of every item on that list. They can tell you exactly who needs to hear what, and roughly how long it has been waiting.
What they cannot always tell you is why they haven’t had the conversation yet.
The answers they give are usually practical. The timing isn’t right. Things are busy. The relationship is at a delicate point. There’s a lot going on for that person right now.
All of those things may be true. None of them is the real reason.
This is where the difference between a leader-dependent team and a trust-built team becomes visible. Because a leader-dependent team performs when the leader is present. They wait for direction. They check decisions before making them. They manage up more than they manage the work. Remove the leader from the equation, even temporarily, and performance either stalls or drifts.
This is where the difference between a leader-dependent team and a trust-built team becomes visible. Because a leader-dependent team performs when the leader is present. They wait for direction. They check decisions before making them. They manage up more than they manage the work. Remove the leader from the equation, even temporarily, and performance either stalls or drifts.
Most leaders believe trust is earned through exceptional performance. The big win. The turnaround. The quarter where everything went right.
That belief is understandable. It is also wrong.
Trust is not built in the exceptional moments. It is built in the ordinary ones. The Tuesday morning you show up the same way you did on Monday. The commitment you keep when keeping it is inconvenient. The standard you hold when holding it costs you something, and nobody would have noticed if you let it go.
Every shortcut you take as a leader gets added to a tab. Eventually, someone hands you the bill.
Gearl Loden and Loden Leadership Discusses Harvard Business Review reports that teams receiving weekly feedback show 5.2x higher engagement levels than those who receive it once a year or less. But the real secret isn’t just timing—it’s creating feedback that feels like a partnership in vision, not a correction of tasks
Ready to take the next step in leadership or organizational growth? Schedule your free consultation with Dr. Loden today and discover how his expertise can support your goals.