Elevate Your Employees for Successful Change

Cathie Leimbach • October 22, 2024

According to experts Skerritt and Parsons, harnessing collective energy to drive change can be created by a three-step process, known as the “Three Es”. Let’s focus on the first E – Elevate.


Want your change efforts to be a success? It's all about getting your employees on board. Research shows that the results of change initiatives are much better when companies involve 20% to 30% of their  employees throughout the whole change process.


How do you get more people involved? Elevate a broad diversity of employees from simply doing what they are told to investigating, testing, providing feedback, and communicating the change.  


1.      Engage employees who love change. Ask them to beta test new processes and share their excitement for the benefits of the planned change.

2.      Leverage the capacity of employees who already have the skills needed to excel with the new technology, process, product, or service.

3.      Get input from a few employees who tend to discover problems and voice their concerns. Task them with finding solutions for the pitfalls.

4.      Request and listen to feedback from the ‘elevated’ employees with a ‘we really want to know the truth’ mindset.

5.      Involve several people who will be heavily impacted by the change in solving challenges that come to light.

6.      Once the beta testers and internal experts believe that the change will be beneficial, communicate the nature and timeline of the change in diverse ways. Be sure to include group meetings where beta testers share their experience, support, and excitement. 



By elevating many employees throughout the initial stages of the change effort, you can create a strong core of employees who are committed to your transformation. And that can make all the difference in your success.

What Changes When People Actually Feel Engaged?

By Cathie Leimbach • April 7, 2026
Most leaders don’t struggle because they don’t care. They struggle because engagement feels hard to influence. But when people are engaged, the impact is hard to ignore: 18% higher sales 23% higher profitability 70% higher wellbeing These differences come from comparing the 25% of organizations with the strongest employee engagement to those in the bottom 25% (Gallup). And the stakes are bigger than most realize— disengaged employees cost U.S. organizations nearly $2 trillion in lost productivity each year (Gallup). This isn’t about perks or programs. It’s about how people are led every day. Engaged teams are clearer on expectations. They feel supported. They know their work matters. And most importantly—those conditions don’t happen by accident. They’re created in conversations: Clarifying priorities Reinforcing what good looks like Checking for understanding Following through consistently Small leadership habits drive big business outcomes. A question to consider: Where could stronger day-to-day leadership conversations improve results in your team? 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation: Inspiring High Performance — Monday, April 13 th at 3:00 PM ET (this is not a webinar) It’s a small-group discussion with other leaders looking at a simple question: What’s actually driving engagement—and what’s quietly holding it back? If a shift in leadership could impact sales, profitability, and wellbeing… it’s worth exploring what that might look like in your world.

4 Leadership Behaviors That Drive Trust, Performance, and Accountability

By Cathie Leimbach • March 31, 2026
Most leaders don’t struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because leadership opportunities show up in daily conversations —and those moments are easy to miss. The difference between average and high-performing teams often comes down to four leadership behaviors: 1. Build Trust Through Everyday Conversations Trust is built in small moments. Listen to concerns Ask thoughtful questions Follow through Address issues quickly and respectfully 🤝 Trust grows through consistent, everyday conversations. 2. Reinforce What Good Looks Like People repeat what gets recognized. Be specific: “I appreciated how you handled that client issue quickly—that made a difference.” 🔒 Clarity + recognition = stronger performance. 3. Address Problems Early—Kindly and Clearly Avoiding issues creates bigger ones. Keep it simple: What was expected? What happened? What needs to change? 👥 Clear, timely conversations reduce drama and improve results. 4. Support People So They Can Succeed Your role is to help your team succeed. Clarify priorities Remove obstacles Provide resources Coach progress 🔍 When people have clarity and support, performance follows. The Real Lever: Conversations None of this requires new systems. It happens in everyday interactions— 1:1s, quick check-ins, and follow-ups. Better conversations → better results. Quick Reflection Which one would make the biggest difference for you right now? Build trust Reinforce performance Address problems early Support success 👉 Join our next 60-minute Leadership Conversation – Inspiring Employee Performance on Monday, April 6, at 3:00 pm ET. Not a webinar. A working session with other leaders looking at what’s actually happening on their teams—and how small shifts in daily conversations change performance fast. If you're curious what even a 10% shift in consistency could look like for your team… this is a good place to start.