Influence & Insight | February 2026

Leadership Story | Our Leadership Philosophy Matters

Jim Harter, Chief Scientist, Workplace for Gallup, recently penned U.S. Employment Engagement Declines From 2020 Peak.

Selected key takeaways:

• Younger workers are experiencing the biggest drops in engagement. Between 2020 and 2025, younger U.S. workers experienced the largest drops in engagement. The percentage of Generation Z and younger millennials who are engaged at work dropped by eight points, while older millennials (born 1980 to 1988) dropped by nine points. Generation X declined in engagement by six points, and baby boomers saw no change in engagement since 2020.

• Generation Z and younger millennial employees were 13 points less likely in 2025 (41%) than in 2020 (54%) to strongly agree with the statement “My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.” Agreement with the statement “This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow” also fell 11 points, to 37% from 48% in 2020.

• Decline in Employee Engagement Comes Down to Basic Needs: Communication, Respect. Clarity about what is expected at work and feeling cared about as a person show the largest declines among Employee Engagement Index items since 2020 for all U.S. employees (nine and eight points, respectively). The qualitative data showed that U.S. workers are seeking more communication about both the direction of their company and their own individual development. For example, one employee said that one thing that would clarify expectations is “greater transparency from management regarding firm strategy, goals and decision-making.” Other respondents focused more locally: “Communication from management and conversation on where my career and the department are going” and “more regular, consistent communication from my manager.”

• What Leaders Can Do in 2026. Employee engagement has declined after a decade of steady improvement leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data suggest that many of the gains organizations made in clarifying role expectations, developing people and improving the day-to-day experience at work have stalled — and, in some cases, have begun to reverse. Younger workers appear particularly vulnerable in this environment, as they are more likely to be early in their career and more dependent on clear expectations, feedback and development.

We learned in Culture Shock that we should lead not manage, and that we should make sure managers hold one meaningful conversation per week with each employee. 

Harter’s findings suggest we should reexamine our Personal Leadership Philosophy, or PLP. For example, does our PLP envision a positive, inspiring vision that answers the question “Where are we going?” Also, how clearly are we describing our expectations, both what we expect from everyone on the team, and more importantly, what may individuals expect from us as a leader. Listening to hundred of PLPs over the years, describing the future and in clarifying in some detail, what individuals may expect from us are frequently sections of the PLP in most need of improvement.

For example, if our PLP is in effect, defining leadership as a program or project that is completed on time and under budget, that’s a manager’s expectation, not an inspiring future vision igniting a team. Likewise, a statement such as “I have an open door policy,” doesn’t confer any initiative upon the leader to learn about others as an individual, care about them, or indicate a commitment to serve as a leader or coach.

Additional books such as Wellbeing at Work and The Power of Employee Well-Being offer more simplified, and perhaps more practical ways for we as leaders to approach and increase engagement, than Gallup’s well known Q12 Employee Engagement Survey.

Gen Z is putting leaders on notice. The next generation wants coaches not bosses.

Our Leadership Philosophy Matters.

My Space Station Story | Book Review

“Let the future amaze you. You cannot know it,
so embrace its possibilities." (p. 241).

Subtitled A Personal Story About Growth, is Mike Varga's personal story -- is not penned as a "Leadership Book." On page 10, Varga admits to a lack of management or leadership education early in his career. Reviewer disclosure: Mike's path and mine crossed years ago, in Glendale, AZ, if memory serves, and the most lasting impression was that of an innovator who created the Prototype Development Unit (PDU), introduced on page 111.

This review makes the case that whether intentional or not, Varga has created a Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP). Recall from our Leader's Compass workshops, a PLP consists of nine elements:

• What Leadership Means
• Personal Values
• Top Priorities
• Operating Principles
• Expectations
• Non-negotiables
• Pet Peeves
• Personal Idiosyncrasies
• Commitment

Varga's story is a blend of personal and business autobiography, summarized as Lessons Learned and Conclusions in Chapter 26. By tracing his twenty five summary points, and their respective positions in his book, we may sequence the following:

My Space Station Leadership Philosophy

To be the leader of an organization means that you not only have to have great communication skills, you have to have the ability to take in massive amounts of data and filter it into meaningful information from which would inform useful conclusions (p. 59). Being able to properly define a problem helped me develop some of the leadership skills essential to many future challenges (p. 35). Being curious, open to new things and willing to be surprised made the journey of my career and my future interactions with the Space Station great fun! (p. 26)

Truly nothing is done alone; every worthwhile adventure is accomplished with the assistance of many (p. 196). Use what already works, seek to use, where you can, existing products and capability to reduce the development time, the development cost and the risk of overruns (p. 108). The ability to concentrate and work through to solutions requires commitment. The difference between anxiety and commitment is that one is destructive, the other constructive (p. 61). A lesson I learned from those early days of Space Station pursuit, was to sell large projects internally as well as externally (p. 175).

Use your powers of visualization. Have a knack for transitioning words to equations, from ideas to something that is implementable. (p. 20). Losing is a necessary ingredient of success (p. 236). Don't delay when you feel something is not right. Even if the customer is being an ass, there may be more to it than the customer being unreasonable (p. 158). It is seldom that you have an 'ah ha' moment in business, and it is only possible by being in the right place at the right time, by being prepared and open minded (p. 171).

The written and oral language is essential for solutions. Only through this path can we transition toward engineered solutions (p. 20). Nothing in the world can prepare you for losing the first really big business battle (p. 99). Brush yourself off, get back up and find the next battle (p. 101). Challenging decisions with a question goes down much easier (p. 171). There is no substitute for those accountable for an organization's performance to put eyes on the delivered product on important occasions (p. 240).

Big programs are one third technical, one third financial, and one hundred percent political (p. 74). When you are in an organization, there's no such thing as a casual conversation with executive leadership, and even getting a burger and a beer can be life changing (p. 132). Age and experience do not always lead to performance (p. 158).

Reading out loud what I've written informs me if my message was clear (p. 24). Macroeconomic and world events do affect all businesses in some way; no one is on an island (p. 190).

Needing help may be a sign of some weakness but asking for, and getting help is a strength (p. 16). I learned a lesson about getting the right kind of support, about properly sequencing activity and being in control. I hate not being in control (p. 104). Don't assume you know the answer. Ask the question and learn (p. 171).

Summary

Quite a leadership journey indeed.

Our team was forced to examine what we were doing and why, in
the context of the demands of the market place. This self-analysis
and consideration are absolutely critical to realizing growth from a
manager of processes which were handed down over the year, to
being a leader capable of inventing and molding processes to
achieve vision and objectives (p. 150). 

Mike Varga generously provided a copy of his book for review.

Coaching Story | Leaders Hire for Values

Increasingly the word predisposed seems an invaluable term for a leader building an organization. Let’s connect predisposition with decision making and our core values. 

During Academy Leadership Graduate Leadership Courses, it’s been useful playing a brief video clip where Jim Collins, Tony Hsieh & Steve Jobs discuss core values. The video may be viewed on Facebook here:

Core Values Video

The video starts with Collins mentioning that people often ask him “How do you get people to share core values?” Collins answer is “You don’t.” He goes further declaring we can’t install new core values in people and that instead we should find people who already have a predisposition to sharing our values. Hsieh goes further in the second video segment, in a way challenging us to make hiring and firing decisions solely based on our core values, rather than simply displaying core values as offered by our marketing department.

This month a colleague and protégé shared that she had to let go of one of the first to join her start up. This was obviously a tough decision especially since my colleague hired a long time friend. Upon reflection, she realized friendship is a poor basis for hiring, especially in the early stages of a company. What’s a better way? We can certainly start with Collins’ and Hsieh’s advice to consider core values alignment. Let’s call that the first criteria. Collins offers four additional things to consider when looking for the right people:

1. Find people who are already predisposed to our core values — already inside them, latent perhaps, or maybe they’re already ignited.
2. A right person on the bus is not somebody whom you need to manage.
3. In key positions, do they have exceptional capability, defined as the following: in the seat that they hold, could they potentially be one of the best in the industry, or one of the best in the field in which your organization operates, in that particular seat?
4. The individual understands the difference between having a job and a responsibility.
5. If it were a hiring decision all over again, given everything that you know, having worked with this person, would you still hire them?

In the third video clip, Jobs realizes upon returning after a twelve year absence from Apple, that what makes Apple distinctive ultimately comes down to core values, not just world class technical talent.

Our video concludes with Collins returning to his second hiring consideration: “The right people don’t need to be tightly managed. The right people are self-disciplined, self-motivated, self managed, self learners, etc… and as we learned in From Good to Great, the moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you might have made a hiring mistake.”

In the next conversation with my protégé we’ll likely talk about improved hiring considerations, and how well each of these are reflected in her Personal Leadership Philosophy.

Leaders Hire for Values.

Influence & Insight | January 2026

Leadership Story | The Power of Introverts

A recent Wall Street Journal (23 Dec behind paywall):

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/companies-office-introverts-erg-dei-fc9f103f?mod=hp_featst_pos4

brings up introverts and their challenges in most work environments. Ray Smith’s article primarily focuses on creating quiet spaces, similar to the quiet tents found at Autism Speaks’ fund raising walks. Smith highlights that:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb has created a room designed to help introverts recharge.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb has created a room designed to help introverts recharge. Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Bristol-Myers Squibb created a room where introverts can recharge. Its Valuably Quiet program, launched in 2021, also includes discussion panels and resource guides to help leaders and team members better understand introverts, who tend to shrink from public performance and get flustered when put on the spot.

In our Energize2Lead (TM), or E2L workshops, dominant two-color combinations are assigned the following descriptors:

Having processed thousands of E2L profiles from a dozen countries, the term Introvert increasingly appears a simplified label, perhaps leading to simplified attempts to understand what energizes those with this temperament. Consider the alternative descriptor Information Processor rather than Introvert. Use of the alternative term Information Processor allow us to understand the why behind the visibly quiet personality. 

Susan Cain, author of Quiet, offers a similar perspective. “Approach those people and say, ‘Today, we’re going to be talking about X, and I know you have a lot of interesting thoughts on that. Can I look to you during that part of the meeting?’ That way, you’re giving the person advance notice to prepare what they might want to say.”

Empirical observations of organizational functional teams over the years reveals that Information Processors frequently migrate to professions where accuracy is highly valued, if not required. Examples include finance, accounting and procurement. Scientists seem to frequently have these traits as well. Researchers too.

Smith’s article includes a recent Glassdoor poll of 800 professionals on introvert-friendly workplace attributes and  a remote or flexible work policy overwhelmingly was No. 1, with over 60% of respondents rating flexibility first.

• Remote or hybrid flexibility
• No mandatory social events
• Quiet spaces in the office
• Async work encouraged

We should consider why remote or hybrid flexibility is the dominant first choice. Perhaps it’s all about the autonomy, or the ability to independently choose an individual schedule that affords time to fully process information leading to thoughtful and accurate outcomes. Effective leaders understand and appreciate this ability, it’s a superpower.

The Power of Introverts.

Blindspotting | Book Review

“Traditional approaches to leadership -- those based
on hierarchical decision-making and controlling
information flow -- are no longer sufficient." (p. 8)

Kirstin Ferguson's most useful term, blindspotting, relates to many activities required for us to become effective leaders as coaches. Her definition:  

"Hidden gaps in our thinking and decision-making
that can have profound consequences." (p. 7)

which rest on three key mindsets (pp. 9-10): 

• Be honest
• Be curious
• Be flexible

Early in an Academy Leadership Excellence Course, our audiences are asked what percentage of executives believe they are good communicators. We discover that 87% of executives believe they are, while only 17% of their subordinates think so (according to the Tom Peters Group). We may think of blindspotting as a method of reducing substantial, yet common gaps in our perceived versus actual communication effectiveness.

This review weaves selected blindspotting techniques to key teachable points of view discovered in several of our leadership workshops.

Managing a Leader's Style and Energy (E2L)

Dominant (two or three) yellow and blue colors are very common in our Energize2LeadÒ (E2L) expectations dimension. This means most of us don't want to be told what, when and how to do things. Ferguson describes two archetypes in the practice of blindspotting: Seekers and Knowers (p. 41). For seekers, the pursuit of knowledge is far more important than the need to appear knowledgeable (p. 42). Knowers tend to hold firm to their opinions, even when faced with clear evidence to the contrary (p. 45). 

We can easily imagine the expert manager (Knower) telling us how to do our job, while continuously monitoring or micromanaging us throughout a project. Rather, as effective leaders, we should remain curious and flexible, as a Seeker.

Feedback: The Essential Connection

From Sheila Heen and Doug Stone, we learn of three forms of feedback in our corresponding workshop: Appreciation, evaluation and coaching.

Note the typical manager or Subject Matter Expert (SME) feedback profile, where evaluation is four times as prevalent as coaching. Ferguson relates a scandal at the UK Post Office based on the perceived expertise of a computer software program called Horizon. It's a damning story. Even when whistleblowers within Fujitsu began to raise concerns in 2015, and legal actions started stacking up, the leadership team remained steadfast (p. 62).

Effective coaches ask good questions, seeking honest feedback as well as new ideas.

Leveraging the Power of Conflict

During our conflict workshop, we learn the most prized strategy is collaboration, although this technique requires the most time and energy. We also learn that one of the best uses of collaboration is when our objective is to learn, or to seek. Indeed, curiosity seems an underutilized leader superpower. Ferguson shares that curiosity opens the door to new possibilities, not by passively waiting for answers but by actively searching for them (p. 118).

Consider a leadership team fearful of new ideas, or different perspectives. Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony or conformity in a group leads to poor decision-making, as dissenting voices are suppressed to maintain unity (p. 131).

Coaching to Develop People

In our coaching workshop, we learn the following characteristics of effective coaches:

• Base coaching relationship on trust
• Optimist about human nature
• Encourage people to take risks and learn from their mistakes
• Listen more than they talk
• Provide candid feedback in the right size dose
• Cultivate personal accountability
• Know their strengths and limitations
• Are continuous learners

Similar to the learning objective strategy, effective coaches continuously seek new knowledge. For this to occur, leaders must master both content and conditions or make the environment safe (see Crucial Conversations). Insightful questions are often open-ended, meaning they do not have simple yes or no answers, and they encourage people to think more deeply and express their thoughts in way they might not have initially considered (p. 135).

Summary | Application | After Action Reviews

In Chapter 9, Ferguson mentions that blindspotting is at its most powerful when it is part of an organization's values and mission (p. 243). She cites several organization's values and suggests possible structural changes. We may not all have the ability to do that, however an easy way to practice blindspotting with core values in mind is introducing After Action Reviews (AAR) to our teams.

Central to any AAR is a neutral, non-evaluative approach focused on objective discovery of what actually happened. The best AARs invite and welcome brutal honesty, which requires that the leader (facilitator) maintain all three key blindspotting mindsets:

• Be honest
• Be curious
• Be flexible

Blindspotting is demonstrated well by the Johari Window, also shared during our feedback workshop:

Source: Academy Leadership Feedback - The Essential Connection Workshop

Our objective is both soliciting and offering honest feedback. In addition to reducing our leadership blind spot, what we're really after is discovery, or moving knowledge from the unknown quadrant into the arena, for all to discover and share.

"By practising blindspotting, we create an environment where our
teams feel valued and heard, where everyone's perspective is taken
into account, and where creativity and innovation can thrive." (p. 12)

Coaching Story | The Nurturing Superboss

College football playoff season is upon us, and many of us are rooting for a favorite team or coach. Andrew Beaton and Rachel Bachman interestingly have found that Nick Saban is still dominating college football two years after his retirement (behind WSJ paywall):

https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/nick-saban-college-football-playoff-0e18ec32?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1

Yes, it was impossible to resist another WSJ article this month. It turns out, according to Beaton and Bachman, that five of the eight surviving teams are led by Saban’s former assistants:

There’s a perfect term for this, Nick Saban is a Superboss. Sydney Finkelstein’s appropriately titled book, Superbosses, traces genealogical “trees:”

“If you looked at the top fifty people in these industries, you would find that perhaps fifteen or twenty had once
worked for or had been mentored by one or a few talent spawners – or ‘superbosses.’”

Superbosses fall into three distinct patterns: Iconoclasts, who care about their work and their passion, such as Miles Davis, and are often artistic. Next are the Glorious Bastards, who care solely about winning, and know they need the best people to win, such as Larry Ellison, who has spawned a breadth of talent in Silicon Valley. Last, are the Nurturers, or activist bosses, who consistently guide and teach their protégées, such as Bill Walsh. Clearly Nick Saban is a fellow nurturer alongside the former 49ers coach Bill Walsh.

Finkelstein notes that superbosses look fearlessly in unusual places for talent and lavish responsibility on inexperienced protégés, taking risks that seem foolish to others. He also notices many of the best bosses today tend to think of themselves as professional managers, not leaders, and confesses his biggest discovery over time studying organizations is it really is about the people. 

Which type of superboss do you most resemble? If you are developing a strong leadership pipeline for the future, maybe you are a superboss.

Maybe a Nurturing Superboss.