The Engagement Power of Trust and Autonomy
There is nothing worse than being micromanaged by someone. This is an energy and effort drain to constantly having to look over our shoulders to see if we are making a manager, or leader happy. Constantly having to report out on my effort and to be told I should change this to make the impact was frustrating. I had a new manager that was also a friend one time and it was hard to manage the relationship.
I thought I could, but when the manager would constantly tell me how to do things, change the report to this view, put in these bullet points, it caused me to stop and say, why do you have me doing this? I can be kind of blunt so I’m sure when the manager heard this their blood pressure skyrocketed as well.
It took many discussions to figure out the relationship because I had a friendship, but think about how many people report to micromanagers that are not friends with them. I shared a few weeks ago that engagement globally fell to 21% in 2024. Now there are various reasons why, but one can be attributed to leaders and managers that are micromanaging their teams.
Involve, Don’t Dictate
As a high driver, it is sometimes hard for me to let my son do things his way when I have had the experience. Sometimes I am even surprised by the fact that it worked out even when not doing it my way. Yes, I have a lot to learn about parenting, but the same is true for leadership and management. They need to let the employees develop their own way of doing things and not be told exactly how to do everything. By dictating to people we are in essence training robots. Sometimes we can be surprised at the outcome being better or more efficient than our ways.
Autonomy Is Key
We can have Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) about the position and show the employees how to perform certain tasks, but then leaders and managers need to step away and let the employees take ownership of the operation so they feel like they are apart of the decision and outcome. If we direct every movement when things go wrong, the employee will just throw up their hands and say it’s not their fault. By giving autonomy, the employee will take ownership on how the task / operation is done and want to improve and make better the outcome. They will want to keep showing up and improving to become more efficient.
Tell the Truth
The best leaders take ownership of the outcome when things fail and give credit to the team when missions succeed. They also tell the truth. We are not talking about my bluntness here. We are talking about when the leader makes a mistake they don’t brush it under the rug, they acknowledge it and own the mistake. Transparency and ownership of the issue allows the employees to see the value that the organization has and they will start taking more ownership and communicate better as well.
The employees are looking at the leadership to see how they are to engage in the environment so it is up to leadership teams to make sure they are doing thing well as a guide to what success looks like. They need to sometimes show, then step away to let the employees lead themselves on the task. Being truthful and transparent will also carry the weight of the mission with the employees allowing them to take more ownership and become more engaged as well.
Hope this helps and here’s to your success Cheers!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How Recognition and Feedback Boosts Engagement
Last week I shared the numbers from Gallups report that 21% of the workforce globally is engaged and how it cost in the Billions in revenue lost. I also shared why leaders need to help employees see the purpose. If you missed that post check it out. This week I want to further the engagement discussion with one more step that leaders and managers are missing the mark on.
It’s recognition. That’s right something as simple as recognition can help the employees feel so valued and known that they are willing to go the extra mile to move the needle for the organization and customers.
Employees think ping pong tables are novel, but what they want more is to know that they are valued and seen, Without this they have no idea (until the annual review) how well they are doing. Too often when I ask leaders and managers how their employees are doing, they say great, no problems….When I talk to the employees however, they give me this look of lost hope and wishing for something better to come along and make their lives better.
This is a huge disconnect between the leaders and the employees. The answer is simple. There is a lack of feedback to understand how things are going. There are a few ways that this can be accomplished to really fire up the team.
Celebrate the Small Stuff
Leaders and managers can really start the uplift for the employees quickly by celebrating the small stuff. And no, I am not talking about participation trophies here. I am talking about celebrating the fact that someone went the extra mile to do something to help another employee, customer, or department. I hand out coins when I see people at our church doing something like this and you would be amazed at how uplifting that makes the volunteers. I’ve heard people do kudos notes that anyone can write on to give to the person as well. People need to feel seen for the value that they bring.
Make Feedback Real-Time and Real
Employees need more than just an annual check in with leadership. They need regularly checking in and providing feedback as well as not a fake interaction. I have heard guidance from people to do the sandwich effect when giving correction where you give a good compliment, then an area to improve, followed by a good compliment. Employees can smell this coming a mile away and will immediately shut down and feel like the leader is just trying to correct them. This drives engagement into the garbage which is where that management critique sandwich needs to go.
Set up regular check ins with the employee to see how things are going and hear of their wins. Also focus on learning one new thing about the employee each time and build that CRM so leaders can really know the employee. Don’t treat the employees like a cog in a machine.
Acknowledge Effort over results
We have implemented this at home with our kids as well. I am a high driver and remember being scolded whey I did not have all A’s on a report card. It made me feel small and unvalued. Sometimes we don’t get the results we had hoped for even though we put in so much effort.
By focusing on the effort that someone put in, they know that just because a metric may have been missed, they are still valued and seen for the effort that they put forth and are willing to do it again in the future to help the organization hit the goals. If we only focus on the results and not the massive effort employees will stop trying hard and check out.
Leaders can really move the needle with engagement by focusing on these three simple ways. And no you don’t have to master all three at once. Try one at a time and over time leaders and managers will grow the engagement from the team.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Leaders Need to Communicate Purpose to Jumpstart Engagement
Gallup provided their state of the business report for 2025 and engagement in the workplace worldwide fell for the fifth straight year to 21% costing businesses a total of $438 Billion in lost revenue. Managers feel less equipped than ever before, and let’s sit on the fact for a second that only 21% of the workforce is actually fully engaged. This is being measured in the Billions of dollars.
This is not to be blamed on the employees, or because they are lazy. It is because they don’t feel a sense of purpose when they show up to work. Granted a teller at a bank may not think that they do as much as a first responder, but it is the leaders and managers JOB to equip the employees to know what value they are bringing to the customers and the organization.
If they don’t, well you see the numbers above…
Employees need to feel the sense of purpose of why showing up day in and day out matters. If they don’t, then they will not do the tough things and just mail in their effort dreaming about what the weekend will hold.
Leaders and managers need to define the what the organization is doing for the customers. Especially now that the Millennials and the GenZ’s are in the workforce. They have a greater value on purpose and impact. If they don’t feel it and understand why they are showing up, they will find something else to fill that void. They need meaning, not just tasks.
When I first started in sales and was frustrated because I was not making end roads. That is when my mentor stepped in and let me know why we do what we do. It is to support small businesses that are working hard with products and services that will enable them to be better and work more efficient. That is such a better vision than sell more stuff right!
Leaders and the managers need to also connect the dots to how each role serves the mission that the organization is on. That may mean reviewing the duties and the roles to see how they help other functions of the business and then ask the employees what they like about the position and why. That is right, this is not just a one-way street, this is a collaboration.
I know it may seem daunting with all of the other duties that leaders and managers have, but if the teams are functioning well and working hard without having to motivate them don’t you think your future will get better? I have witnessed organizations that thrive no matter the environment and it is electric. You can feel the energy and why people are working so hard for the mission.
It all stops with the leaders and managers casting the vision and showing each employee why they matter to the mission and hopefully the mission is not just to make numbers for the quarter and make shareholders happy. The mission needs to be greater!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Influence is Great, But Does It Impact The Bottom Line?
When I am speaking on stage, or performing trainings on influence, I am often asked a question along the lines of “ How does influence impact my bottom line?”
I usually ask the question to the individual to ask them if they know their costs to recruit new talent to replace someone that has left the organization. Often they are shocked with I let them know it is roughly 200% of an impact to replace someone. This is rolled up in the cost of onboarding, training, recruiting, and placing the new person in the seat. This does not include the fact that progress with moving projects forward is slowed to a crawl for the first 6 months, or the impact that the new person has to build all new relationships.
Often the response is, “Oh….ooooohhhhh!”
Increased Speed
Yes that is right when we have influence over those that report to us and trust levels are high, guess what, the second guessing and slow processes fade making our teams function at a high rate of speed. Things get done, people are not worried about making the wrong decision, and things happen. This means costs decrease. That means more profits.
External Influence
When we have influence with our customers and they know that we are not some snake oil salesperson they will buy more regularly from us. Each new customer we have has an added cost to them to input them into the system, get set up to procure, and train them on our systems. When we have customers that are returning to buy more and more from us, that means we get more turns on the inventory with lower costs. This means more profits as well that we can invest into the organization for more impact.
Influence Attracts Top Talent
Ramsey’s Solutions is an organization that thrives with attracting top talent that are on mission to overcome challenges and drive results. When we have influence with our high performer employees, they tell their friends and family about how awesome it is to work for us and they actively recruit for us. We have a roster of individuals that are willing to come on mission with us that we don’t have to pay extra costs for recruiting. That saves our organizations time and money. See the first paragraph of this blog for more information When we have more top performers, guess what, we make more profits.
Yes I say profits. I have seen a lot of companies go bankrupt that had high revenues, but unfortunately their costs were higher. When we have high profits, we can make change in the environment we are working in and drive increases impact.
People like great paychecks, but they crave making an impact more.
Next time the topic comes up about does focusing on influence really matter, the answer is a resounding “YES!”
For more information check out the links below.
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Trust Is Grown, Not Given So Earn It Every Day
When I talk about Influence with others I often help people visualize it by thinking of influence as a bank account and trust is the currency that builds up that bank account of influence.
In our daily lives we interact with others unless we are a hobbit living in a remote village without any sort of communication besides smoke signals. Okay back on track here. When we are engaging with others their brains are trying to figure out in nanoseconds how much value they want to place on the relationship and the person in front of them.
Trust is that enabler for others to want to lean in and engage with us. Without trust, there is no moving forward together. We can not go far without others. We need a team to accomplish any major goal.
So how to we build high levels of trust?
There are three easy ways we can do this in theory, sometimes its harder for people to practice.
Keep Your Word
That’s right it may seem really simple, but how many times have we had good intentions to do something for someone else and ultimately forget, or get too busy to do the thing we said we would do. When we do what we say we will do we build consistency with others and without consistency there is no trust. We need to make every effort to do something if we say we will do it.
Own Your Mistakes And Quickly
I know I am not the only one that has said I would do something for someone and forgot or gotten tied down with another project that did not allow me to follow through. I pride myself on doing what I said I was going to do. Unfortunately, there are times when I do not and even though I feel awful about it, if I don’t apologize and try my best to get working on it at that moment and follow through, trust is going to dwindle like a candle that has been burning for a long time. We need to own the mistake and do our best to not let it happen again, or make it right. Some of my best relationships and trust has come when I have made a mistake and came back with an over promise to rectify the situation.
Be the Same Person Everywhere
I heard a quote a long time ago that said Be careful of meeting your idol because you may be disappointed. I was at an event once and I was in total “fan boy” mode when I saw a celebrity that I had watched for decades only to be snubbed by the celebrity when they walked by and to find out that they were much shorter in real life. That is something we can all learn from. We need to be our authentic selves no matter where we are. Because over time if we deviate from our online personas the word will get out and kill our influence with others.
If we want to have influence with others we need to make daily deposits in the account and make sure we are the same person day in and day out while making things right when we can. If we don’t we will lose trust and influence over time making us unimpactful to what we need to do and leading to our bank balances zero.
I have posted more blogs on trust so check out my blog page at www.kevinsidebottom.com/blog for more if you liked this one.
Have a great week.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Influnence That Makes People Feel Known
Did you know that your job as a leader is not to just direct, but to build influence with others? That’s right as John Maxwell has stated in many books, keynotes, and interviews…”Leadership is influence.” Without influence we have no leadership. That is why as a leader we need to focus on how to build influence each day.
That starts with taking the focus off our agendas 100 percent of the time and put focus on others around us to make connection. Not just connections on social media, but true connections with these individuals that we interact with on a daily basis.
While I was traveling in Spain from the US I was first taken back by the fact that their culture shuts down from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. for siesta. I did not understand this as in the US we are always go, move, accomplish. What I learned was that the Spanish culture not just during siesta, but all meals, parties, everywhere is about connection and acts of service to each other. When you are at a party and your drink is low, or your plate is empty, someone is offering you more.
They take time to learn about each other, laugh, cry, serve each other. It was a culture shock for me, but one that left a lasting impact on me that we don’t need to be so focused on goals that we forget how we accomplish these goals. It’s together.
When working with others we need to make sure we are taking time to help others feel known instead of cogs in a machine. They want to know that they matter and that they are making an impact. They also need to be noticed.
Practice Noticing People
Do you know how much impact a simple card when it is someone’s birthday does for that person? They feel like they matter and that others see them. They feel valued and appreciated. Their body language changes where they sit up a little straighter, lean in, and smile.
Practice “Micro-acknowledgement”
Ever been in a meeting and had a leader acknowledge your effort on a tough project? That moment when everyone in the room looks at you and you feel like the one who was just knighted. We may even want to jump up and say that was me, in our minds. It feels great. What about giving kudos to a team member for something they did to help us? A simple thank you goes a long way to the other person feeling known and valued.
Let Curiosity Lead
Far to often we are asking questions to we can push the conversation into one that we win our view point. We want others to jump on our direction and just get things done. When we stop and lean in to curiosity to who people are, why they have a particular view point, we can actually avoid obstacles. I have had many times where I have stumbled because I was so focused on driving forward with my own idea. Being curious about others allows them to feel like they are adding value and that they matter.
When we take time to make sure that others feel known and appreciated, we end up with a strong connection and influence that allows the others to want to go the extra mile with us to achieve the wins we need. When we do this, speed goes up and costs go down. That means more profits for our teams and when that happens everyone wins!
Have a great week!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
The Top 3 Things You Can Do to Truly Learn About Others
Last week we talked about being curious about others and how that can actually benefit ourselves. Not for the fact of using people, but the byproduct of being curious in general.
We live in a world where we’re constantly surrounded by people, coworkers, family, friends, even strangers. But how many of us truly take the time to learn about the people we interact with? To understand their values, experiences, and motivations?
Learning about others is more than just making small talk. It’s about building meaningful connections, fostering empathy, and becoming more insightful in your personal and professional life. If you're looking to form deeper relationships or just want to understand those around you better, here are the top three things you can do to learn about others.
Ask Thoughtful Questions
The most straightforward way to learn about someone is to ask them the right questions. But don’t just ask surface-level, “How’s your day?” or “What do you do?” questions—dig deeper to understand their values, aspirations, and experiences.
Think about asking questions like:
“What’s something you’re passionate about?”
“What’s been the biggest challenge in your life right now holding you back?”
“What’s one thing you’ve learned recently that surprised you?”
“What do you value most in your relationships with others?”
These kinds of questions invite the other person to share more than just a quick response. They encourage reflection and lead to genuine conversations that can reveal insights about their personality, experiences, and worldview. Plus, active listening is just as important as asking—when you listen attentively, you send the message that you genuinely care about their thoughts and feelings.
By showing curiosity about the person’s experiences and interests, you also create a space where they feel heard and valued, which fosters trust and connection.
Pay Attention to Body Language
Sometimes, you can learn a lot about someone without them saying a word. Non-verbal communication, body language, facial expressions, and posture, can give you deep insights into how someone feels or what they truly think. Hostage negotiators and interrogators watch body language when questioning suspects to learn if they are being lied to, or if they are on the correct path.
Pay attention to:
Facial expressions: A smile, raised eyebrows, or a furrowed brow can tell you if someone is comfortable, happy, or confused.
Posture: Leaning in can indicate interest or engagement, while crossed arms might suggest defensiveness or discomfort.
Eye contact: Are they making eye contact or avoiding it? It can indicate trust, confidence, or a lack of interest.
Gestures: Subtle movements like tapping feet, fiddling with an object, or using hands while speaking can reveal nervousness or excitement.
By tuning into these cues, you can better understand someone’s emotional state and what they might be trying to communicate, even if they’re not using words. It’s a powerful way to read between the lines and deepen your understanding of others.
Observe Their Actions and Behavior
Sometimes, you can learn a lot about someone simply by observing how they act and interact with the world around them. People’s behaviors often provide more insight into their character than anything they could tell you.
How do they treat others? Notice how they interact with strangers, employees, or people they don’t know very well. This can reveal their values, such as kindness, respect, or humility.
What do they prioritize? Observe how they spend their time—whether they’re dedicated to their family, career, or personal hobbies. What someone prioritizes often speaks volumes about what they value most.
How do they handle stress or conflict? Pay attention to how they behave in stressful situations. Are they calm under pressure, or do they react impulsively? This can teach you about their emotional intelligence and coping mechanisms.
By observing someone’s actions and behavior, you learn about their true nature, often in ways that words can’t express. People often act in alignment with their core beliefs and principles, and these actions can teach you more than any conversation ever could.
Learning about others isn’t just about gathering information, it’s about building meaningful relationships, increasing understanding, and cultivating empathy. Whether you’re looking to improve your personal relationships, become a better leader, or simply connect on a deeper level with those around you, these three practices, asking thoughtful questions, observing body language, and watching behaviors,will get you closer to truly understanding others.
If you approach every interaction with an open mind, a curious heart, and the willingness to listen, you’ll unlock the power of human connection in ways that can positively impact your life and the lives of others.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Why Being Curious About Others Is Your Secret Weapon for Success
Curiosity is often seen as something children are naturally good at, but in reality, it’s a superpower that adults should harness, especially when it comes to personal and professional growth. The simple act of being curious about others can open doors, build connections, and enrich your life in ways you never expected.
Curiosity isn't just about asking questions, it's about being genuinely interested in the people around you, understanding their perspectives, and valuing their experiences. Here’s why being curious about others is a game-changer, and how it can work in your favor.
Build Stronger Relationships
At the core of every meaningful relationship, whether personal or professional requires communication. But effective communication goes beyond talking; it’s about listening and showing genuine interest in others. When you’re curious about someone, you’re demonstrating that their thoughts, feelings, and experiences matter to you.
People love to feel heard and understood in which curiosity allows you to show that. Whether you're asking about someone's hobbies, interests, or challenges, the simple act of asking the right questions shows that you value their perspective. This deepens your connection, which naturally builds trust.
In the workplace, trust is crucial. People who show curiosity toward their colleagues foster a more collaborative environment, making teamwork smoother and more effective. According to Harvard Business Review, leaders who demonstrate curiosity are more likely to inspire loyalty and creativity in their teams.
It Expands Your Perspective and Knowledge
When you’re curious about others, you're actively seeking to learn and grow. You might find yourself exposed to new ideas, different worldviews, and diverse experiences that you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
Imagine asking a colleague about their background and discovering insights into a culture or philosophy you weren’t familiar with. Or perhaps you're intrigued by a peer’s unique approach to problem-solving and you end up incorporating some of their techniques into your own work.
The more you’re curious about others, the more you expand your mental horizons. Curiosity is a way to learn about the world and the people in it, and it can significantly enhance your adaptability in an ever-changing environment.
It Creates Opportunities for Growth and Networking
Curiosity leads to deeper conversations, which, in turn, can create opportunities. Networking isn’t just about collecting business cards or handing out your resume, it’s about connecting with people on a personal level. When you're genuinely curious about someone, you create authentic bonds that often lead to professional opportunities down the line.
Think about it: people are more likely to remember you if you've made them feel heard and valued. In fact, a study from LinkedIn found that 85% of jobs are filled via networking, and people with strong, meaningful connections tend to get hired faster. When you're curious about others, you naturally foster those kinds of connections.
Furthermore, curiosity can help you stay relevant in your industry. By learning from others' experiences, successes, and mistakes, you stay in the loop on new trends and techniques that can boost your personal and professional growth.
It Helps You Become a Better Problem Solver
Curiosity encourages a mindset of inquiry, always asking "Why?" and "How?" This kind of thinking is essential for tackling complex problems and finding innovative solutions.
When you're curious about the way others approach challenges, you start to build a toolkit of strategies and perspectives that you can apply to your own problems. It’s like having a mini "think tank" inside your network.
Consider a manager who's curious about the struggles their team faces. By asking the right questions and listening attentively, they might discover ways to make workflows more efficient or improve team morale. By genuinely seeking to understand, they’re actively creating better solutions for everyone involved.
Being curious about others isn’t just a trait, it’s a tool for success. Whether it’s forging strong relationships, gaining fresh perspectives, or discovering opportunities, curiosity can work in your favor in ways that are hard to measure but easy to feel.
So, if you want to elevate your career, enrich your personal life, and become a more effective communicator by embracing curiosity.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
The Power of Small Businesses: Driving the Job Market in Today’s Economy
Small businesses are often seen as the backbone of the economy, but their true impact is more profound than we might realize. In 2024, small businesses employ nearly half of the workforce in the United States, with over 60 million Americans working for businesses with fewer than 500 employees. These businesses are not just small players, they are the lifeblood of job creation and economic growth.
As large corporations scale back and automation continues to rise, small businesses are taking up a bigger portion of the labor market. Let’s break down why small businesses matter more than ever and how they are driving job creation.
Over the last decade, the role of small businesses in the job market has expanded rapidly, especially in response to major economic shifts. According to a 2019 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), nearly 90% of small business owners reported that they were actively hiring or planned to hire within the next six months. This trend has only grown, especially as businesses increasingly focus on resilience, innovation, and agility in the face of challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these trends, pushing many people toward entrepreneurship or remote work. Small businesses were pivotal in the recovery of the labor market, with an estimated 1.4 million new businesses being created in the U.S. alone in 2020. This number was a 24% increase from the previous year, proving that when larger businesses faltered, small businesses rose to fill the gap. A great deal of this happened from individuals staring their side hustles that have flourished into full time small businesses.
Small Businesses as the Engine of Innovation
Small businesses often drive innovation in ways that large corporations can’t. Without the red tape and corporate structure, small businesses are able to pivot quickly, try new things, and take risks that lead to new jobs and new industries. A study by McKinsey & Company found that small businesses are more likely to innovate than larger companies, particularly in sectors like technology and creative industries.
This spirit of innovation not only leads to new products and services but also creates jobs that didn’t exist before. Think about the rise of remote work tools or e-commerce platforms—many of these innovations came from small businesses seeking to fill a gap in the market. As these innovations grow, so too do the opportunities for employment.
Small Businesses Are Bigger Than Ever
From providing the bulk of new job opportunities to driving local economic growth and innovation, small businesses are not just surviving they are thriving and expanding their role in the job market. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a job seeker, or someone looking to make an impact, small businesses offer opportunities that larger corporations simply can’t match.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses are responsible for 66% of all new jobs in the private sector. In fact, the number of small businesses continues to rise, with over 30 million small businesses operating in the U.S. today. This includes everything from mom-and-pop shops to tech startups, restaurants, and family-owned enterprises.
The diversity of industries in which small businesses operate means that they are constantly creating new opportunities across the board. They don’t just create jobs, they create opportunities for growth, innovation, and a wide range of specialized positions. There are businesses that pick up dog poop and clean garbage cans in my neighborhood. The possibilities are endless at this point.
The job market is no longer dominated by just a few large corporations. Small businesses are the true job creators, and they’re changing the face of work as we know it.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How to Thrive in a Stressful Environment (Without Burning Out)
Let’s be real: stress isn’t optional anymore. Our pace is faster. Expectations are higher. And calm? That’s a luxury, not a guarantee.
But here’s the good news: thriving in a high-pressure environment isn’t about eliminating stress. It’s about learning how to thrive in it.
Let’s break down three key ways to thrive when everything feels like it’s on fire.
Don’t Panicked and Don’t Spiral
Stress doesn’t just exhaust us it likes to follow us around like a pet.
When we don’t take care of ourselves we can run in a constant fight or flight response. Running in this state for long periods of time will cause us to be on edge, not sleep well, and end up getting sick.
I have had many times where I ran in this state for far too long and each time I have had consequences like enjoying the fun of shingles under the age of 50. That’s right shingles doesn’t care what age we are. I was focused on a deadline and trying to win a large 100 million dollar project. I was up at night during spring break working on presentations, pushing teams for information, and preparing for leadership meetings.
I won the project and got the pat on the back and then a week later had the experience of a lifetime with all the fun that shingles can be.
I was worried about what could happen instead of being present with my family and enjoying quality time. I was worn out and couldn’t focus.
Then the sharp pains and blisters from shingles set in. I had to learn how to relax and learn how to focus on the controllables instead of what ifs. I started box breathing during the painful times to lower my heart rate and help me focus. I had to pause and breathe when stress was high. This kept me from spiraling while staying focused on tasks at hand.
Control Our Controllables
We can’t control our customer’s attitudes when our plants missed their shipments. We can’t control a quality spill, and we can’t control what our elected government officials decide is a fair tariff impact.
What we can control is our attitude and how we show up. How we attack each task with focus and sometimes it is even just focusing on one foot in front of the other. Nothing more sometimes. But we have to take control of what we can control and not worry about other things. Maybe it’s just finding the three things we can do today that will make us feel successful for that day.
I start each day doing some reading, affirmations, and figuring out three things that if I get done today, will help me feel like I had a success. Some days its writing blog posts, doing video edits, making cold calls, or practicing a story for my keynote.
Other days it is taking a nap during a busy day, stretching instead of workouts, and taking a walk to clear my head.
What we can control is us and not others or outcomes.
Stress isn’t all bad. There are actually good stresses and yes there are bad stresses. We won’t get into each of these, but stress does make us sharper. When under stress we can focus on the task at hand and we can narrow in on the details that will make the project move forward instead of the stress.
When castings are made they is heat, pressure, and time. To make castings all three have to work together and when they do a new product is formed. A trough product that can be used to move a large truck forward down the road. Sometimes we need this stress to make us stronger.
Using stress to help us focus and learn to not tailspin when we are stressed will help us to succeed with higher levels of success.
This won’t happen overnight, but in time we can learn to harness stress to help us to do better and thrive in stressful environments.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
In this blog, Kevin reveals why influence is the ultimate currency in building lasting relationships. Learn how to:
✅ Motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand
✅ Build trust and engagement with your team
✅ Transform your approach to leadership and sales
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How Leaders Can Show Results
Leadership isn’t about promises, it’s about results. The true measure of a leader is their ability to follow through on what they said they were going to do. Talk is cheap, but actions speak volumes about their character. Today we are going to focus on three areas that leaders can focus on showing results of follow through.
Promises are meaningless without action. To prove that leaders have followed through, leaders must deliver clear, measurable outcomes. Whether it's hitting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), completing projects, or achieving specific targets, results don’t lie. When a leader meets their goals and delivers on promises, that’s the proof. No excuses, no ambiguity just tangible success as long as it is done with ethics. Achieving the results, but doing so with bad ethics will just erode the trust in leadership not to mention interest by the authorities. Leaders need to hit the KPI’s with good ethics and follow through.
True leaders take responsibility for failures. They don’t hide behind excuses they face challenges head-on and adjust when things don’t go as planned. Accountability is about taking ownership of the process, not just the outcome. When leaders hold themselves accountable, they prove they are committed, transparent, and ready to make things right. Leaders also tend to give the credit for successes to their teams and the employees while at the same time taking responsibility for the failures themselves.
A leader who doesn’t seek feedback isn’t leading, they’re just making decisions in a vacuum. To prove they’ve delivered on their promises, leaders must ask the tough questions and act on what they hear. Whether from employees, clients, or partners, feedback reveals whether strategies are working, or not. Ignoring feedback is a failure to follow through. Leaders who listen, adapt, and evolve based on feedback show they’re committed to continuous improvement and results. They also show they care and are aware of their shortcomings. Something that everyone has.
Leaders have a great deal to balance, but making sure that they deliver on their promises, take ownership of failures, and consistently take temperature checks to make sure they are delivering on those promises will instill trust with their employees, customers, and shareholders in the long-term allowing them to lead with a firm foundation. One that can weather any storm.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Leaders Need To Stop Pointing And Start Leading
In today’s leadership environment we see more and more leaders falling back into the point and direct model for leadership in hopes to drive the organization forward. Especially in larger organizations where the top leaders do not have the opportunity to look their employees in the eyes on a regular basis. It becomes easy for the leader to forget their first responsibility is not to a shareholder, board or directors, but to the employees that carry out the day to day tasks that make the organizations move forward.
Far too often the focus because a short-term quarter by quarter vision to keep investors interested in purchasing the stock of an organization instead of the long-term focus of what will keep the organization moving forward decades into the future. With focus to get the financial numbers to fit into a short-term budgetary goal instead of the long-term vision of what the organization will plan to disrupt their industry with, the organization fails to make any headway and is just treading water while others are swimming by.
By being shortsighted the leaders start commanding employees to perform tasks to cut budgets, eliminate travel, no quote potential opportunities, or worse give back profitable business. Leadership focuses on what makes the shareholders happy instead of the metrics that drive the organization forward. They go on the defense instead of looking at how they can find opportunities and low handing fruit to make small gains each day to drive more and more profit.
Instead of cost cutting initiatives, leaders can make the hard decisions like taking pay cuts, reducing their travel, meet via virtual platforms, and meeting with employees regularly to get the temperature of the working level teams to understand what is going on. From there the leaders can make educated decisions on how to move forward with the right support.
Instead most leaders are biased because they don’t want to take paycuts themselves so they push it on to others and they also believe travel is a must for them because well they are the leader and decisions need to be made by them and only them.
Leaders need to do more than just listen effectively to the employees, they also need to go the way, show the way, and lead the way so that others can follow them as the organization moves forward.
Leaders need to stand out front of the employees to charge the hills of battle and chart the course. Employees want to see the leaders out in front so they can have the confidence that the leaders will be with them when it’s time to step forward out of the comfort zone and take the field of battle. Employees will respect and engage more when they see that the leaders are up in front and ready to roll up their sleeves to get to work for the better of the company.
One of the most impactful leaders I had worked for took a paycut during an economic downturn while allowing the employees to maintain their salaries. That really made an impact to the employees who really buckled down and worked harder for that leader. The organization actually did really well during the uncertain time and accelerated even faster out of that downturn which made the organization far more profitable.
How many people would work for a leader like that?
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Rebuilding Cultures Through Actions Instead of Empty Words
When leadership shatters a company’s culture, employees don’t trust words, they stop trusting leaders, and each other. If the past leadership left behind fear, disengagement, or toxicity, fixing the culture requires visible, meaningful changes. Here’s how leaders can rebuild a thriving culture with action, not just empty promises.
If past leaders operated with favoritism, dishonesty, or fear tactics, the new leaders must do the opposite. If transparency was lacking, new leaders need to hold open meetings where decisions are explained. If unethical behavior was previously ignored, new leaders need to enforce strict accountability. On example of a company recovering from a toxic work environment made all executive bonuses contingent on employee satisfaction scores, proving leadership was invested in culture change. Leaders must be the first to adopt new behaviors, whether that’s actively listening, taking responsibility for mistakes, or fostering collaboration. Employees will follow when they see authenticity, not performative gestures.
Culture won’t improve if employees still feel the pain of past leadership’s failures. The new leaders need to take action and fast if they want the employees to start engaging and stop heading for the exits. A tech company infamous for its burnout culture made a bold move by enforcing mandatory no-meeting Fridays, giving employees space to focus, and saw productivity soar. Quick, decisive action proves to employees that leadership understands the damage done and is serious about making chance to make things right.
If the old culture rewarded politics and survival tactics, it’s time to flip the script. Recognize collaboration, integrity, and initiative. One retail giant recovering from a cutthroat environment revamped its bonus structure to reward team performance rather than individual sales, reinforcing a culture of teamwork. Publicly highlight employees who embody the new culture through promotions, awards, and leadership opportunities. When employees see that doing the right thing is valued, they will embrace and reinforce the shift towards the new values.
Trust is fragile and one misstep can send morale plummeting quickly again. Actions must match words every single day, every single hour, and every single minute. Culture isn’t built in a single meeting, it’s reinforced through every decision, policy, and action that leadership enacts.
Leadership is under the microscope when rebuilding the culture and they need to act fast, lead by example, and be consistent. Leaders should also walk around the office and take the pulse of the employees and get to know them by name. There is nothing worse than a leader that stays up in their castle and never comes down to meet their employees that do all the work.
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Rebuilding a Culture of Trust in a Broken Organization
Trust is the backbone of any successful company. When it's shattered by toxic leadership, employees disengage, collaboration dies, and progress screeches to a halt. Fixing it requires more than just words, and power point presentations, it takes bold, consistent action by leaders from all levels.
First, though all the leaders need to acknowledge the damage without sugarcoating it to the employees. Employees need to hear leadership say, "We know trust has been fractured and we hear you. We feel your pain and here’s what we’re doing to fix it." Transparency is key. Host open forums, address past failures head-on, and validate employee experiences.
If favoritism was an issue, set clear policies for promotions and recognition. If unethical behavior was tolerated, enforce strict accountability. Make it clear: the old ways are gone. Real change starts when employees see leadership owning past mistakes and taking tangible steps to correct them. This won’t happen overnight though, it will take some time due to trust taking time to be rebuilt. Leaders can not just expect their employees to blindly accept an apology and think everything is going to be fine. Otherwise the leadership should be questioning their hiring practices
The next thing that needs to be implemented is to make listening a two-way street with visible results. Employees won’t re-engage if they feel unheard. Implement real-time feedback channels like anonymous surveys, town halls, and leadership Q&As. But don’t just collect input, act on it. That’s right sometimes a leader really has to be vulnerable enough to say please share and I promise there will be no retaliation. Let the employees speak candidly and have thick skin and use the phrase, “Tell me more.” One company recovering from toxic leadership held open listening sessions, then issued a monthly "You Spoke, We Acted" report showing concrete changes based on employee input.
If work-life balance is a top concern, roll out flexible schedules. Some examples could be used like one automotive company did where two employees on a team would alternate Friday’s off by working 10 hours a day 4 days a week on projects and back each other up. They did not need to use vacation days either.
Trust is earned by action, not empty promises. Show employees that their voices drive real improvements, and they’ll start believing in the organization again. It may be slow at first, but as trust starts to grow the momentum will gain speed. When trust goes up, speed goes up, which means costs go down and that is where profits start to take over again!
Master the Art of Influence: Build Trust, Drive Sales, and Lead Effectively
Are you ready to become the brand of choice for top customers and employees? Kevin Sidebottom—keynote speaker, trainer, and author—shares proven strategies to elevate your sales success and leadership impact.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Knowing When to Leave a Company You No Longer Trust
Trust in leadership isn’t optional, it’s the backbone of a healthy workplace. But when leaders say one thing and do another, constantly shift blame to customers, or leave you feeling drained and directionless, it may be time to ask yourself: Why am I still here?
If you’re questioning your company’s leadership, here are three clear signs that it’s time to move on.
When Leadership’s Words and Actions Don’t Match
Nothing erodes trust faster than leaders who talk a good game but don’t back it up. They promise transparency while making key decisions behind closed doors. They preach stability but continue making erratic, reactionary moves. They claim to value employees, yet they cut benefits, overload teams, and ignore feedback.
When leadership’s actions don’t align with their words, it’s not just miscommunication, it’s dishonesty. And if they’re willing to mislead employees now, don’t expect them to have your back when it really matters. A company that doesn’t keep its promises isn’t one you can build a future with long term. If you find yourself constantly questioning whether leadership’s words mean anything, that’s likely your answer.
When Leadership Blames the Customer for Internal Problems
When leadership starts making constant excuses and blaming customers for problems that are clearly internal, it’s a massive red flag.
Instead of taking responsibility for issues like poor product quality, missed deadlines, or underperformance, they point fingers at customers. Sometimes blaming customers for being too demanding or not providing clear requirements. This tactic is a cop-out and only further isolates employees from the core issues.
If leaders are unwilling to take ownership and shift the blame to customers, it shows a lack of accountability at the top. They’re more interested in protecting their own reputation than addressing the company’s shortcomings. As an employee, you shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of leadership’s failure to fix internal problems. If this becomes the norm, it’s time to move on because a company that does not fixes its core issues will only continue to spiral downward.
When Your Gut Tells You It’s Over
Sometimes, the biggest sign that it’s time to leave isn’t a single event, it’s the way you feel every day. You wake up dreading work, feeling disengaged, uninspired, and mentally checked out. No matter how much you try to push through, deep down, you know you don’t believe in the company’s future, or your place in it. In Patrick Lencioni’s six types working genius this is known as discernment.
If you’ve lost trust in leadership, you don’t owe them loyalty. You owe yourself a better environment. Staying in a company where you no longer feel a sense of purpose or trust in leadership will only drain you further. When your gut tells you it’s over, listen.
Keep in mind that this is not a blog post to give us a leave because we just don’t get the feels when we show up to work, but one that we see actual red flags over time when we are showing up to work consistently. We also need to take ownership in our lives to give an honest effort to assess when it is just a tough season at work and when it truly is a bad environment. Before making the decision to leave take time to really think about the decision, ask trusted peers for advice, and speak to loved ones before just making the decision in a vacuum.
In the end if you trust yourself and have a high level of discernment you will know truly what is going on and will be able to make a good decision and step into the correct decision for your future!
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Interim CEOs: Don’t Let Stock Options Hijack Your Leadership
Interim CEOs often step into a company at a critical moment, whether it’s a leadership shakeup, a financial crisis, or a transition period. The pressure is immense, and so is the temptation to laser-focus on one thing: the stock price.
And why not? Many interim CEOs are compensated heavily in stock options. That means their personal payday depends on how high they can pump the share price before they exit. The problem? If they treat stock price as the only scoreboard, they risk wrecking employee morale, damaging long-term stability, and leaving behind a mess when their tenure ends.
Here’s why interim CEOs need to think beyond the stock market ticker and how short-term moves can backfire big time.
Employees Know When They’re Being Used
Employees aren’t stupid. They see when leadership decisions aren’t about them, the company, or the mission, but about making numbers look good for Wall Street and their own pay days.
Cost-cutting layoffs that look great in a press release but gut key teams? Well, employees notice. Artificially boosting earnings by slashing R&D, or delaying necessary investments? They see that, too.
Nothing kills trust faster than employees realizing their leader isn’t building, but they’re just selling a better story to investors. And when that trust erodes, engagement drops, top talent starts walking, and productivity craters.
Sure, the stock might get a temporary boost. But when employees stop believing in leadership, the real damage begins and it won’t show up on an earnings report until long after the interim CEO is gone.
Slashing Costs Might Inflate the Stock But at What Cost?
Interim CEOs under stock option deals often default to aggressive cost-cutting because it’s a fast way to make financials look better. Less spending = higher margins = happier investors, right?
But not all cuts are smart cuts. Chopping investment in innovation, slashing workforce benefits, or overworking teams might look good for the next quarterly report, but it often weakens the company’s ability to compete long-term.
Lay off too many people? You risk losing institutional knowledge and slowing down critical projects. Slash budgets in the wrong places? You end up with burned-out employees and a weakened company culture.
Short-term stock bumps from aggressive cost-cutting are a trap one that smart leaders try their best to avoid.
Culture Is Hard to Rebuild Once It’s Damaged
A company’s culture isn’t just about ping-pong tables and free snacks. It’s the DNA of the business. The thing that keeps employees motivated, aligned, and working toward something bigger than a paycheck.
When an interim CEO focuses only on financial optics, culture takes a hit. Employees start to feel like expendable cogs, decisions feel transactional, and any sense of mission disappears under spreadsheets and stock charts.
Here’s the real danger: culture takes years to build, but merely months to destroy. If an interim CEO erodes trust, engagement, and morale, they might walk away with a fatter bank account, but the company will be left scrambling to repair the damage long after they’re gone.
Wall Street’s Memory Is Short, But Reputations Last
Stock-focused interim CEOs often think they can cash in and move on, but bad leadership follows you. If you leave behind a broken workforce, a gutted culture, and a company struggling to regain momentum, your name will be attached to that mess forever.
Investors might not care after you’re gone, but employees, board members, and future hiring managers will. Smart leaders play the long game, even in temporary roles.
How Interim CEOs Can Avoid the Stock Price Trap
Interim CEOs don’t have to ignore the stock price, but they also can’t let it drive every decision. Here’s how to lead responsibly while still delivering results:
Focus on Sustainable Growth, Not Quick Fixes
Cutting expenses isn’t the only way to drive value. Look for strategic growth opportunities that improve revenue and efficiency without gutting the future.
Be Transparent With Employees
If tough decisions are necessary, communicate why. Employees can handle bad news, but they won’t tolerate leadership that treats them like disposable assets.
Protect the Core of the Business
If layoffs or budget cuts are unavoidable, don’t slash the company’s future away. Protect innovation, customer experience, and key growth drivers.
Leave the Company Stronger Than You Found It
Your legacy isn’t just the stock price on your last day, but it’s the state of the business after you’re gone. Make decisions that set the next leader up for success.
Interim CEOs might only be in the seat temporarily, but their impact lasts far beyond their tenure. The best ones don’t chase stock bumps at the expense of real value. They lead with integrity, make decisions with care, and leave behind a company that’s stronger, not just one that looks good on a stock chart.
Because in the end, a company’s real worth isn’t just in its stock price, it’s in the people, the culture, and the future it’s building.
And that’s a legacy worth leading for.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Why Leaders Sometimes Need to Prioritize the Future Over Shareholder Happiness
In business, there’s a constant pressure to keep shareholders happy. Quarterly earnings reports, stock prices, and dividends often dictate the decisions companies make. But what happens when short-term shareholder demands conflict with long-term business success?
The best leaders understand that sometimes, it’s okay to disappoint shareholders, if it means making the right decisions for the company’s lasting future.
Here’s why leaders shouldn’t always chase immediate investor approval and why long-term thinking ultimately benefits everyone, including shareholders.
Chasing Short-Term Profits Can Cripple Long-Term Growth
Public companies are often judged by their quarterly earnings, forcing leaders to prioritize immediate profits over future investments. This can lead to dangerous decisions:
Cutting research and development to improve short-term margins.
Laying off employees to temporarily boost stock prices.
Underinvesting in needed technology, infrastructure, or the right employees.
While these moves might make shareholders happy today, they can weaken the company’s ability to compete in the future.
Take Amazon, for example. In its early years, the company prioritized growth over profits, reinvesting revenue into logistics, technology, and customer experience. Investors were impatient, but Jeff Bezos stuck to his vision. Today, Amazon is one of the world’s most dominant companies, not because it focused on short-term shareholder returns, but because it built a foundation for long-term success.
Innovation Takes Time
Game-changing innovation doesn’t happen overnight. It requires experimentation, risk-taking, iteration, and patience. Unfortunately, many investors want returns now because we live in that Amazon get it tomorrow age.
Companies like Apple, Tesla, and Google have all made long-term bets that weren’t immediately profitable. Apple invested heavily in product development even when sales were struggling. Tesla took years to turn a profit because it focused on building infrastructure for the electric vehicle market. Google consistently funds moonshot projects, knowing that some may fail but others could revolutionize industries.
If these companies had focused solely on making shareholders happy in the short term, they might never have achieved their industry dominance.
True leadership means having the courage to say: “We’re making strategic investments that won’t pay off immediately, but they’re necessary to position us for our future.”
Cost-Cutting for Short-Term Gains Backfires Alot
When companies hit rough patches, there’s immediate pressure from shareholders to cut costs aggressively. While trimming waste is smart, reckless cost-cutting can weaken the company in the long run.
Some companies slash marketing budgets, scale back employee training, or delay upgrading outdated systems in order to meet quarterly earnings targets. But these cuts often come at a hidden cost:
Reduced brand visibility, leading to slower revenue growth.
Lower employee morale and retention, causing long-term talent drain.
A weaker competitive position, as competitors invest while the company retreats.
Great leaders don’t just react to short-term pressures. They balance financial discipline with long-term vision, ensuring the company doesn’t sacrifice its future just to satisfy investors in the present.
Market Downturns Require Long-Term Thinking
During economic downturns or industry disruptions, shareholders often panic. They demand immediate actions to stabilize stock prices, sometimes at the expense of long-term resilience.
But downturns are when strong leaders stay focused on the big picture. Instead of making knee-jerk reactions to appease investors, they:
Double down on innovation while competitors pull back.
Retain key talent, knowing a strong workforce will drive the recovery.
Strengthen customer relationships, ensuring long-term loyalty.
For example, during the 2008 financial crisis, many companies slashed investments and froze hiring. But some, like Apple and Netflix, continued to innovate, launching new products and expanding their markets. When the economy recovered, they emerged stronger, while competitors who had prioritized short-term survival struggled to regain momentum.
Not All Shareholders Think Quick Returns
It’s important to remember that not all shareholders are short-term thinkers. While some investors demand immediate returns, others, especially institutional investors and long-term stakeholders understand the value of strategic patience.
Smart leaders communicate effectively with their investors, explaining why certain decisions may not yield instant results but are crucial for long-term success. They seek out investors who share their vision rather than constantly catering to those looking for quick profits.
By building a shareholder base that values sustainability over short-term gains, companies create a more stable financial foundation for growth.
How Leaders Can Manage Shareholder Expectations Without Sacrificing the Future
It’s one thing to say “We’re focusing on the long term”, but how do you manage investors who expect results now? Here are some key strategies:
Set the Right Expectations from the Start
Be Transparent About Trade-Offs
Balance Long-Term Investments with Short-Term Wins
Educate Investors on Sustainable Business Practices
Leadership Requires Courage
Great leaders don’t make decisions just to keep shareholders happy in the moment—they make decisions to ensure the company thrives for years to come.
There will always be pressure to deliver short-term results. But the companies that stand the test of time are the ones that invest in their future, even when it means taking the difficult path.
Because in the end, a company that prioritizes long-term success will create more value for shareholders than one that only chases immediate gains.
So, the next time a leader faces the choice between short-term shareholder approval and long-term business success, the right answer is clear: Think beyond today. Build for tomorrow.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Why Leaders Must Master Communication When Asking Employees to Sacrifice Comforts
Leadership isn’t just about making tough decisions, it’s about making them with people, not to people. When leaders ask employees to give up creature comforts—whether it’s cutting perks, reducing flexible work options, or tightening budgets, they’re making a direct impact on morale and engagement.
The difference between resentment and commitment is how the message is communicated.
Employees don’t just want to know what’s changing, they also want to know why it’s changing. They want to feel heard, valued, and included in the process. Without clear, empathetic communication, even necessary sacrifices can backfire, leading to disengagement, low morale, and loss of trust.
Today we are going to explore a few areas of why communications is crucial with the employees during these sacrafices.
Unclear Communication Breeds Resentment
Imagine waking up to an email saying that the company is cutting a key benefit like free lunches, wellness programs, or remote work options that is effective immediately. No warning, no context, no explanation. How would you feel? Probably blindsided, frustrated, and undervalued.
When leaders fail to communicate the reasoning behind a sacrifice, employees don’t see it as a necessity, instead they see it as a betrayal. Employees start to wonder: If leadership doesn’t value our well-being now, what’s coming next?
Transparency is the antidote to resentment. When employees understand why a change is happening, whether it’s financial, strategic realignment, or long-term sustainability. Employees are far more likely to understand and accept it, even if they don’t really like it in the moment.
Employees Want to Be Part of the Solution, Not Just Be Victims
Nobody likes having decisions forced upon them, especially when it impacts their daily lives. When leaders communicate after a decision has been made instead of involving employees in the process, it creates a power imbalance that fuels frustration.
Great leaders bring their teams into the conversation early. Instead of saying, "We’re cutting back on remote work to improve collaboration," they ask, "How can we maintain strong collaboration while balancing remote work?" Instead of declaring, "Budgets are tightening, so we’re eliminating free coffee," they invite employees to discuss cost-saving alternatives that still support morale.
When people feel like collaborators instead of casualties, they’re far more likely to support and adapt to change.
Lack of Empathy Kills Trust
Sacrifices are personal. The perks and comforts employees enjoy, whether it’s a stocked snack bar, a casual dress code, or flexible hours often contribute to their well-being and work-life balance.
When leaders dismiss these losses as "no big deal," they signal that they don’t value the employees’ experience. And when employees feel undervalued, they become disengaged and jaded.
A simple shift in tone can make a huge difference. Instead of:
Acknowledging the impact of the sacrifice even if it’s unavoidable because this shows that leadership understands and respects employees' concerns.
Poor Communication Fuels Mistrust and Turnover
The way a company handles sacrifices directly impacts employee retention. If leaders communicate poorly, being vague, dismissive, or secretive then employees start looking for the exit.
Why? Because when people feel like they’re constantly losing without clear justification, they start questioning what else is coming. They wonder if leadership truly has their best interests in mind. They start seeking stability elsewhere.
However, when leaders are open about why sacrifices are necessary, how they align with long-term goals, and what employees can expect moving forward, they build trust instead of fear.
Trust keeps employees engaged, even during tough times.
How to Communicate Sacrifices Effectively
If you’re a leader making difficult changes, here’s how to do it the right way:
Be Transparent, Not Vague
Employees deserve honesty. Instead of hiding behind corporate jargon, clearly explain why the change is happening and what it means for them.
💬 Example:
Instead of: "Due to changing business priorities, we’re making adjustments to workplace benefits."
Say: "To ensure long-term financial health, we need to reduce non-essential expenses. This means adjusting some workplace benefits, including free lunches. We didn’t make this decision lightly, and we understand its impact."
Show Empathy and Acknowledge the Impact
Even if the change is necessary, recognize that it affects people’s daily lives. Express gratitude for their flexibility and reassure them of leadership’s commitment to their well-being.
💬 Example:
“We know this is disappointing. We deeply appreciate the hard work and commitment you bring every day, and we’re working to find other ways to support team morale and engagement.”
Offer a Path Forward
If sacrifices are unavoidable, provide solutions or alternative benefits. Show employees that leadership is still investing in their experience.
💬 Example:
“While we’re pausing our wellness stipend for now, we’re launching a new initiative to offer free mental health resources and discounted gym memberships.”
Involve Employees in the Process
Give employees a voice. Whether it’s through surveys, open forums, or team discussions, invite feedback before making sweeping changes.
💬 Example:
“We’re exploring cost-saving measures and want your input. What are the perks you value most? Where do you think we can reduce expenses with the least impact?”
Reinforce the Bigger Picture
Sacrifices are easier to accept when they’re tied to a clear, meaningful vision. Help employees see how today’s sacrifices contribute to a stronger future.
💬 Example:
“These adjustments allow us to invest in areas that drive long-term stability, protect jobs, and position us for future growth.”
At its core, leadership isn’t just about making business decisions it’s about how those decisions are communicated and experienced.
Employees don’t expect perfection. But they do expect honesty, respect, and empathy.
If you’re asking people to sacrifice something, give them a reason to believe in the bigger picture. Help them see that they’re not just losing something, but they are a part of building something better for the future.
Because when leaders communicate well, even the toughest sacrifices can lead to stronger teams, greater trust, and long-term success.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
Why Short-Term Leaders Struggle to Achieve Long-Term Success
In today’s fast-paced business world, many leaders prioritize short-term wins—hitting quarterly successes, cutting costs, and satisfying investors. While this approach can create quick results, it often sets leaders up for long-term failure.
The problem? What works in the short term doesn’t typically translate into sustainable longterm success. A leader fixated on immediate gains may find themselves struggling when the time comes to build a lasting future.
Let’s explore the key challenges short-term leaders face when trying to achieve long-term impact.
Lack of a Clear Future Roadmap
Short-term leaders often operate in reaction mode, making decisions based on immediate pressures rather than a well-thought-out strategic vision. While responding quickly to challenges is important, a lack of a long-term roadmap leaves teams without a clear direction. Without a guiding vision, priorities constantly shift, causing confusion and inefficiencies within the organization. Employees struggle to align their efforts with leadership expectations because those expectations change frequently.
This approach also leads to a culture of short-sightedness, where the focus is on solving immediate problems rather than proactively preparing for future growth. Companies without a well-defined vision may find themselves trapped in a cycle of quick fixes, never truly progressing. Over time, they fall behind competitors who invest in a sustainable, forward-looking strategy.
Employee Burnout and Disengagement
Short-term leadership often prioritizes short-term results over people. Employees are pushed to meet aggressive deadlines, work long hours, and constantly chase the next immediate goal. While this approach may drive short-term performance, it comes at a cost: burnout, disengagement, and high turnover. When employees feel like they are merely tools for hitting targets rather than valued contributors to a larger mission, morale plummets.
Without a compelling long-term vision, employees struggle to see how their work fits into a bigger picture. They become disengaged because they lack a sense of purpose beyond the next deadline. High turnover then becomes a vicious cycle—new hires come in, experience the same short-term pressure, and leave, forcing the company to repeatedly spend time and resources on recruitment and training rather than on growth and innovation. The organizations actually slows down in its progress and costs actually increase here. Profits are harder and harder to come by.
Great leaders understand that sustainable success comes from investing in people. When employees feel valued and connected to a long-term vision, they are more engaged, productive, and committed to the company’s success.
Innovation Gets Stifled
Innovation requires patience, resources, and a willingness to experiment—qualities that short-term leaders often struggle with. If the primary focus is always on immediate returns, there’s little room for research and development. Leaders obsessed with quarterly earnings may dismiss ideas that don’t provide an instant payoff, even if those ideas could position the company for future success.
This shortsightedness is one of the biggest reasons companies fail to evolve. History is full of examples of businesses that ignored innovation because they were too focused on short-term profitability. Blockbuster, for instance, dismissed streaming services because its store-based revenue was still strong at the time. Meanwhile, Netflix, with a long-term vision, invested in the future of entertainment and ultimately dominated the industry.
A culture of innovation requires leadership that sees beyond immediate gains. It demands an environment where teams are encouraged to take risks, explore new ideas, and invest in projects that may not show immediate profits but will drive long-term success. Without this, companies become stagnant and vulnerable to disruption.
Trust and Loyalty Erode
A leader who constantly shifts strategies to chase short-term wins creates a sense of instability within the company. Employees, customers, and investors begin to notice the inconsistency. When a company pivots too frequently, it signals a lack of confidence in its own direction, causing employees to feel uncertain about their future within the organization. This lack of stability leads to decreased loyalty, as people are hesitant to commit to a company that doesn’t seem to have a reliable path forward.
Customers also lose trust in brands that constantly change course. When a company shifts its offerings, pricing models, or brand messaging too frequently, it creates confusion in the marketplace. Customers begin to see the company as unreliable, making them more likely to switch to competitors with a clear and consistent vision.
Similarly, investors look for leadership that can deliver sustainable, long-term returns. While short-term profits may be appealing, they are not enough to maintain investor confidence if the company lacks a strategic direction. If leadership continually prioritizes quick wins over sustainable growth, investors may eventually pull back, leaving the company in a financially vulnerable position.
Vulnerability to Market Shifts
A company that prioritizes short-term gains often assumes that the current market conditions will remain stable. However, industries evolve, consumer preferences change, and technological advancements disrupt even the most successful businesses. Leaders who fail to prepare for these shifts find themselves scrambling when change inevitably comes.
Without long-term investments in future-proofing the business, companies that rely solely on short-term wins become fragile. Their revenue streams may be strong for the moment, but they lack the flexibility to pivot when necessary. Companies that have not diversified their products, expanded into new markets, or adapted to technological advancements may find themselves obsolete when the landscape changes.
Businesses that endure market shifts successfully do so because they’ve made strategic investments in innovation, talent development, and adaptability. They don’t just optimize for the present; they prepare for what’s next. A leader who only focuses on immediate results will find that, when the market changes, they have no foundation
The Solution: Balancing Short-Term Execution with Long-Term Vision
Short-term performance is essential—businesses need to hit goals, generate revenue, and adapt to market conditions. But these short-term actions must be part of a larger, sustainable vision. The most successful leaders know how to balance both.
A strong leader ensures that immediate goals contribute to long-term success. This means making decisions that drive profitability today while also investing in the future. It means fostering a company culture that values people, encourages innovation, and remains adaptable in the face of change.
Long-term success is not about choosing between short-term execution and big-picture strategy—it’s about aligning them. Leaders who can do this build companies that don’t just survive in the moment but thrive for years to come.
So, are you leading for today, or are you building something that will last?
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book
How New Managers Can Shape The Team to Be Adaptable and Agile
As a new manager, you have the unique opportunity to shape your team's culture from the outset. One of the most important aspects of leadership today is fostering adaptability and agility. These qualities allow teams to respond quickly to change, tackle challenges head-on, and stay ahead in a fast-paced environment. By focusing on leading by example, encouraging a growth mindset, and fostering resilience, you can start building a team that thrives in the face of change.
Today I want to give you three areas that you can start leaning into in order to be ready for building this culture for a thriving team.
Embrace Change Yourself
Your actions as a new manager set the tone for your team. If you want your team to embrace change and remain agile, you need to demonstrate these behaviors yourself. Show that you are open to new ideas, feedback, and approaches. Maybe it’s allowing someone who has more knowledge of a software to lead the team on the discussion instead of yourself. Whether it's adjusting a process, experimenting with new tools, or pivoting strategies, your willingness to adapt will inspire your team to follow suit.
Encourage a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is the foundation of adaptability. Employees who believe they can develop new skills and tackle challenges are more likely to be agile in their approach. As a manager, it’s crucial to create an environment where learning and growth are prioritized. Encourage your team to view mistakes as opportunities for learning instead of failures. Ensure them that set backs are all a part of the process of growing our capacity and that they don’t have to worry about being perfect or facing consequences.
Be Resilient
Adaptability and agility often go hand-in-hand with resilience. When setbacks or unexpected changes occur, resilient teams stay focused on finding solutions rather than dwelling on those setbacks or changes. As a manager, it’s your job to create a culture where challenges are seen as opportunities to innovate, improve, and find a better way forward. When your team feels empowered to adapt and find solutions, they’ll be more resilient and better equipped to handle future challenges.
Instilling a culture of adaptability and agility requires focused effort, but it’s one of the most powerful things you can do as a new manager. By leading by example, encouraging a growth mindset, and fostering resilience within your team, you set the foundation for success in a rapidly changing work environment. Adapting to change isn’t just about surviving—it’s about thriving. When you create a culture that embraces these values, your team will be well-equipped to handle anything that comes their way.
With decades of experience studying why people buy and how to inspire loyalty, Kevin equips sales professionals and leaders to deliver exceptional value, ensuring customers return again and again.
Featured Links to Grow Your Influence:
Winning With Others: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/stopgambling
Kevin’s website: https://www.kevinsidebottom.com
Kevin’s email: kevin@kevinsidebottom.com
The Sales Process Uncovered Membership Page
https://www.kevinsidebottom.com/pricing-page
The Sales Process Uncovered Book