Developing Awareness in People Management

82% of people have checked out, mentally gone, even as they keep clocking in day after day. That’s not the Great Resignation. It’s something quieter, and far more dangerous: The Great Detachment. Richard Branson said it best: “Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” But here’s what no one talks about: The Great Resignation made offices look empty. The Great Detachment makes people feel empty. I once coached a VP who thought he was the perfect leader: He paid for courses. Flew people to conferences. Talked a big game about growth. Yet people kept leaving. Because he trained them to leave… …but didn’t treat them to want to stay. People crave more than development. They want to feel: • Their work matters beyond ticking boxes. • Truly seen as humans, not just producers. • Valued as people, not titles in an email signature. So how do we keep people, not just in their seats, but alive inside? The answer lies in The C.H.O.I.C.E.™ Framework: → Courage: Start the conversations no one wants to have. → Humility: Ask, “What do you need here that you’re not getting?” → Openness: Hear feedback, even when it stings. → Integration: Connect growth to purpose, not just promotions. → Curiosity: Learn what lights people up beyond their roles. → Empathy: Treat people as human beings first, employees second. 💥 Leadership Action Steps ✅ Train for possibility. → This week, ask each person: “If you left tomorrow, what’s the one skill you’d be most grateful you learned here?” ✅ Treat for loyalty. → In your next 1:1, drop the script and ask: “What would make this a place you’d never want to leave?” ✅ Tie growth to meaning. → Skip the endless slides. Open your next meeting with: “Here’s why this project matters far beyond our bottom line…” Because the goal isn’t just to keep people from quitting. It’s to build a place they could leave, but don’t want to. People don’t quit jobs. They quit the meaning they can’t find, and the life they can’t feel there. 💬 Have you ever stayed in a role you’d already left in your heart? ♻️ Repost if you believe in human leadership. ➕ Follow Loren Rosario-Maldonado, PCC for human-first leadership shifts. (Source: Gallup’s 2024 Workplace Report) 📸Richard Branson quote

Some call it “being direct.” Others call it “keeping it real.” HR says: Honesty does not have to hurt. We have all heard it before. A leader insists they are not rude. They are just honest. Yet the team looks uncomfortable. There is a point where “strong personality” turns into intimidation. And that line gets crossed more than we like to admit. Let’s talk about it... Because in HR, we know tone is not just tone. → It shapes trust. → It shapes safety. → It shapes performance. Here are ways to coach leaders toward self-awareness: ✅ 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 Explain how their words land. Focus on the effect. Not the excuse. You can say tough things without making people feel small. Leaders grow when they understand the importance of their tone. ✅ 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Confident leaders guide and support. Dominant leaders talk over and control. One inspires respect. The other creates quiet resentment. Show them the difference. Give examples. Let them see how confidence does not need volume or force. ✅ 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 People who say “I just speak the truth” often think they are always right. Invite them to ask more questions. To check their assumptions. To pause before reacting. Curiosity builds connection. Certainty can shut it down. ✅ 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗲 Practice phrasing. Model language that is direct but not harmful. Use role play. Let them hear themselves. Awareness often starts with playback. Being straightforward is not the problem. We need honest voices at work. But honesty without care becomes harm. And leadership without reflection becomes control. Great HR guides leaders to see the difference. Have you seen someone hide poor behavior behind the phrase “I’m just being honest”? If this helped, share it with another HR pro who deals with strong personalities at work. #HumanResources #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture

In leadership conversations, I often see a familiar pattern. When complexity rises, most people respond by pushing their mind harder analysing more, thinking faster, adding additional layers of logic. But pressure rarely rewards intensity. It rewards quality of attention. In coaching, we observe that clarity shows up when leaders shift from “figuring out” to noticing what is emerging: • the emotion that’s shaping the room, • the assumption driving a decision, • the tension between what is said and what is actually felt, • the signal that keeps repeating but hasn’t been named yet. This is a different kind of intelligence one rooted in awareness, not effort. When leaders learn to notice better, several things happen very quickly: 1. Noise reduces. 2. Priorities sharpen. 3. Conversations become simpler and more honest. 4. Teams move with more coherence and less friction. In AI-augmented environments, this is becoming a strategic advantage. Data can tell us a lot, but it cannot replace the leader’s ability to sense meaning, energy, and emerging patterns. That part still sits firmly in the human domain, for now... #LeadershipDevelopment #MindfulLeadership #PerformanceCoaching #FutureReadyLeaders

People management is the real project management for middle managers. And most of us treat it with far less rigor. I had this realisation when checking a tricky project’s status: When we run a project, we have structure. Clear goals. Timelines. Check-ins. Accountability. When we develop people? It’s often… improvised. Inconsistent 1:1s. Vague feedback. Hope-based growth. The Straight Truth: We hide in tasks because they’re structured. People development isn’t—so we avoid it. Inbox zero feels productive. Coaching someone feels uncertain. So our 1:1s quietly turn into status updates. But real management is treating people growth with the same discipline as a project. A tricky, complex, high-leverage project. Because that’s what actually scales. → A team member flags risks before we see them → Problems get escalated clearly without prompting → Someone handles a tough meeting without us stepping in That doesn’t happen by accident. That’s built. Below are a few shifts I’ve seen work well. • Stop being the visibility gatekeeper: let your team communicate upward. That’s part of their development. • Trade perfect execution for better thinking: focus less on how they did it , and more on how they thought about it • Add structure to your 1:1s: treat growth like a deliverable, not a side conversation you wing (especially when tired) Our job isn’t to be the most productive person on the team. It’s to build people who make our current to-do list irrelevant. Middle managers: Where are you still “winging it” in people development instead of managing it with intent?

Last week, I had the privilege of facilitating a three-day leadership training for all the managers and directors of a local government agency. The day our training began, I received heartbreaking news: a family friend had died by suicide as a result of a workplace issue. The tragedy was a gut-wrenching reminder that what happens inside our organizations—and inside our people—matters deeply. It reinforced why I begin almost every leadership training with the foundation of the Step into Your Moxie® Vocal Empowerment System: developing a strong Inner Voice. When leaders don’t understand or tend to their own inner dialogue—or the voices that dominate their team members’ internal narratives—employee engagement, performance, and well-being suffer. Sometimes, the consequences are far worse. So, in this training, we lingered longer than usual on self-talk. We explored: What voices hold the mic in your head, especially during uncomfortable moments? How does that internal chatter show up in communication and leadership with team members? What do you think the people you lead say to themselves, especially when they make a mistake, receive feedback, or feel overwhelmed? And then we got practical. When we transitioned into a module on coaching direct reports through a performance improvement plan, we began with empathy mapping. Because we had spent time building intrapersonal awareness, participants were able to go deeper, to look past surface-level behaviors and identify fears, assumptions, and narratives driving their employees’ actions. We talked about how to do this in the real world, especially during 1-on-1s and more formal coaching moments. We talked about how to take these insights into everyday leadership. Participants identified the importance of: -Beginning 1-on-1s with a genuine check-in—asking how people are really doing, and gently probing when someone’s initial answer feels surface-level. -Shifting from “How do I fix this?” to “Where does this person need support?”—and staying open to the idea that what people most need may not be more training or resources, but to feel seen and heard. -Removing isolation and building trust—by creating consistent space for honest dialogue, leaders reduce stigma and strengthen the foundation for positive mental health at work. When leaders prioritize presence over perfection—and connection over correction—they help rewrite the internal narratives that so often go unchecked. This is how we create cultures where people not only perform better, but also feel safer, stronger, and more human at work. Because sometimes, the most powerful leadership skill we have is helping someone shift the voice that says they’re not enough or that they’re alone as they navigate tough times.

The same leadership behavior can build trust with one person and create friction with another. That is one reason I am cautious about universal rules for managing people. One employee wants time to process before responding. Another thinks through the issue by talking. One appreciates public recognition. Another would rather receive the same acknowledgment privately. Neither response necessarily tells us who is more engaged, confident or committed. It may simply tell us how they process information and experience the workplace. Tools like DISC can give leaders useful language for noticing those differences. But the label should never become the conclusion. The more useful question is: What conditions help this person contribute at their best? That question keeps the focus where it belongs. On understanding the person rather than managing the category. Image credit: Johnny C. Taylor Jr., SHRM #PeopleLeadership #Leadership #EmployeeExperience #SHRM #Management #PeopleDetective

Are You in the 3%? How to use your leadership superpower wisely. Some people notice what others miss. The hesitation before someone responds. The confidence that sounds rehearsed. The leader who's smiling but running on empty. The employee who says, "Everything's fine," when it clearly isn't. The client who hasn't complained, but has quietly disengaged. This isn't intuition. It's awareness. And when used well, it's one of the most valuable leadership skills you can develop. It helps you: ↳ Build stronger relationships ↳ Make better decisions ↳ Spot problems before they grow ↳ Protect trust before it's lost But awareness has a downside. Without discipline, it can become: ↳ Overthinking ↳ Overanalyzing ↳ Taking on emotional responsibility for everyone else ↳ Creating stories that don't exist The goal isn't to become more sensitive. The goal is to become more intentional. Here's how to use it effectively: 1. Separate facts from assumptions ↳ Fact: "They've been quieter than usual in meetings." ↳ Assumption: "They're unhappy and planning to leave." ↳ Observe first. Interpret later. 2. Look for patterns, not isolated moments ↳ One difficult day means very little. ↳ Consistent changes in behavior usually mean something. ↳ Leadership requires patience before judgment. 3. Ask better questions ↳ "How are you feeling about this project?" ↳ "Is there something we're not addressing?" ↳ "What support would be most helpful right now?" Curiosity creates clarity. 4. Treat discomfort as information ↳ Tension is data. ↳ Silence is data. ↳ Hesitation is data. They're signals, not conclusions. 5. Respect your own boundaries ↳ You can care without carrying everyone's emotions. ↳ You can support others without fixing everything. ↳ Awareness should create clarity, not emotional exhaustion. 6. Turn awareness into leadership ↳ Have the difficult conversation. ↳ Clarify expectations. ↳ Adjust the plan when needed. ↳ Address issues early. ↳ Build trust consistently. The strongest leaders don't ignore subtle signals. They learn how to interpret them responsibly. Disciplined awareness isn't a personality trait. It's a leadership skill. And in a world where trust is often lost quietly, it may be one of the most important skills you'll ever develop. Follow Aimee Reiss for leadership insights.

Your people already know the real rules. They are just not the ones you announced. The company may say it wants people to speak up, raise concerns early, challenge weak thinking, and bring forward bad news before it becomes a bigger problem. But people do not learn the real rules from what the company announces. They learn them from what happens when someone actually speaks up. - Does the concern get taken seriously? - Is the person questioned, dismissed, labeled as negative, or quietly excluded from future conversations? - Do leaders become defensive? - Does anything visibly change? When people repeatedly see that speaking up creates problems, damages relationships, or goes nowhere, they learn to soften the message, delay it, or keep quiet. The useful question goes beyond assessing whether that behavior is good or bad and asks... What pattern inside the organization keeps producing it? Answering that requires getting specific about the behavior, identifying where it appears most often, examining what happened when people acted differently, and understanding what the system taught them through those experiences. Then the response has to change. Managers and others need clear guidance on how to respond when someone raises a concern, challenges an assumption, shares difficult information, or disagrees with the prevailing view. And that response has to be repeated consistently. One good reaction may get noticed. A consistent pattern is what teaches people that the rules have actually changed. This carousel lays out a practical process for tracing repeated behavior back to what the system is producing.

Most managers say they “develop their people,” but very few actually build growth into the rhythm of work. Here’s how an interoffice envelope in 1998 taught me how to really develop others .... Most managers talk about developing their people. Kevin actually did it. Early in my post-MBA career, we were a high-performing team -- deadlines, deliverables, all of it. But my manager, Kevin, also made growth part of the job -- not something you squeezed in when things slowed down. And he did it without an HR-mandated Learning & Development program. No check-the-box training. No compliance modules. No corporate initiative. His system? It was ridiculously simple. He’d photocopy an article from Harvard Business Review or McKinsey, drop it in an interoffice envelope, and send it around the team. Read it. Pass it on. Be ready to discuss for 15 minutes. No portals. No binders. No buzzwords. Just shared learning → shared language → sharper thinking. It changed how I viewed leadership. And it still works today -- just digitally. A client of mine now does the same thing on LinkedIn. He shares something he’s reading, tags his team, and rotates who leads a short discussion internally. Suddenly: • Their confidence grows • Their thinking expands • Their culture strengthens • And their professional visibility increases -- because learning is now happening out in the open, where others can see it. Same principle. New medium. Bigger impact. Leadership isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about creating a culture where learning is normal -- and visible. So here’s your challenge: What’s one article or post you can share with your team this week? And who can you ask to kick off a 10–15 minute discussion? Developing others doesn’t require budget. Just intention. #Leadership #PeopleDevelopment #DigitalValidation #ProfessionalGrowth #EmployeeAdvocacy #LearningCulture ➡️ Full Blog: https://lnkd.in/g-dfvs-Q ➡️ Subscribe to Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gx5rSA_M >>>>><<<<< Are you worried about or have been impacted by a layoff? Grab your free 2025 EOY Moves to jumpstart your career in 2026. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gXF7wazk Soyong Jensen Chad Costas

This year, I also set a goal to be a more intentional people manager. Not just focused on results—but also on relationships, clarity, and creating space for staff to thrive. According to SHRM research, 84% of U.S. workers say poorly trained people managers create unnecessary work and stress. And nearly 60% say they’ve left a job specifically because of their manager. I don’t think any people manager wants to be on the wrong side of that data. Here are a few new (and not-so-new) tactics I’ve embraced: ✅ Carving out time: A recent 4-hour work session on a remote Friday gave me the chance to dive deep into 1–2 key initiatives with a smaller group of staff. Good location (my rooftop), no formal agenda—just focused thinking, learning, and planning together. ✅ Not waiting for the big retreat: Instead of holding all our team-building and collaboration for the annual retreat, I’ve been pulling together smaller work groups across functions for shorter, more regular engagement to make space to really see and support each other. ✅ Inviting collaborators to the table: Sometimes the best “team” isn’t limited to those who report to you. Last year I included cross-functional partners in our planning retreat so we could build stronger working relationships and more aligned outcomes. ✅ Personalizing recognition: I’ve always enjoyed sending handwritten notes to people I meet in the course of my work. Lately, I’ve started doing the same for staff—to quietly recognize a job well done. Not everyone needs or wants public praise. A thoughtful, private gesture can be just as meaningful. There’s real ROI in being more thoughtful. Improved engagement scores are just one signal things are working—and that intentional leadership creates better outcomes for people and performance. Leadership is about more than vision—it’s about intentionality. 📸: Last month's rooftop work session with the policy and regulatory affairs team Catherine Ashy Elisha Azize Chenai Rusike Kirkpatrick #SHRM #PeopleManagement #Leadership #Recognition #WorkplaceCulture #Teamwork #IntentionalLeadership #EmployeeEngagement #BetterWorkplaces