Developing Team Members

Cathie Leimbach • July 5, 2022

An owner of an employee placement agency once told me that the most difficult businesses for him to work with were small family businesses with 1 or 2 employees.  Every day the owner/manager worked along side employees.  When one task was completed they told employees what to do next and how to do it.  The employees simply did as they were told week after week.


And then, when the owners' families went on vacation, employees were left alone to staff the ship without daily instructions.    Inevitably, when the owners came back to work they were disappointed with how many tasks weren't done in the preferred way and how many poor or mediocre decisions the employees had made.  The owners of these small businesses made all the big and small decisions every day they were at work, yet, in their absence, expected employees to make the same quality of decisions they would have made.


This absence of employee development is not limited to family operated businesses.  It is the way many supervisors in several departments of most companies lead - or fail to lead.  They tell new employees something about what is expected on the job.  Some leaders share a little while others provide a mentor for the first week, month, or quarter.  And then, once the employee 'should' be able to handle their work independently, they leave them alone to get their work done.  And when errors are discovered by the supervisor, the employee is again told what to do and left alone to implement improved practices.


However, employees don't become competent and confident from being told and then left alone.  It is much more effective when supervisors ask employees how they suggest today's tasks should be done.  Leaders help employees think when they let employees work independently and then check in every hour or two to answer questions or redirect and retrain.


How well do you support your employees to gradually learn to think on their own?  How often do you check in with new hires to be available to help them increase their work quality?  How could you enhance your employee leadership practices?   

The Power of Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters

By Cathie Leimbach • November 10, 2025
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.

Unlock Your Team's Potential: Fix Dysfunction, Boost the Bottom Line!

By Cathie Leimbach • November 4, 2025
Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game! Start with building trust . Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop. Next, embrace healthy conflict . Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives. Then, drive commitment . Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. . Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed. Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves. Finally, focus on results . Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily. Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met. Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score? Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you! Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.