Stop Throwing 7% of Your Revenue Down the Drain!

Cathie Leimbach • March 26, 2024

There is a lot of evidence that the biggest potential for growing your organization’s top line, bottom line, or mission impact this year is through leadership development!


Lack of strong leadership skills and behaviors impacts the bottom line.

  • “For every year a company delays leadership development, it costs 7% of their annual sales.” - Blanchard – “Making the Business Case” Report


Lack of strong leadership skills and behaviors impacts retention.

  • “1 in 2 people state that they’ve left a job at some point to get away from a bad manager.” - Gallup


Lack of strong leadership skills and behaviors impacts engagement and productivity.

  • “Managers control 70% of the factors that impact employee engagement.”  -  Gallup


In 2024, for the first time, managers and supervisors are more disengaged than frontline workers. - Gallup

  • “There aren’t a lot of tools that promote leadership development.” -  Bravely


The need for leadership development has never been greater. With few people applying to your job postings, you don’t want a right-fit hire to become disenchanted and leave in 3 to 6 months. Managers of remote workers have to be more intentional about communicating with their employees because they can’t touch base in the break room or drop in as they are walking past their office.


Today’s employees want a positive workplace culture but 90% of leaders aren’t focusing on building rapport, increasing engagement, and providing the various types of support team members need to become high performers.  

Yet, there is very good news in the leadership development space! Culture Impact has developed a stellar management training course which helps leaders:

  • realize the need for trusting and inspiring employees,
  • learn about effective leadership practices,
  • develop the foundational skills for engaging and empowering team members, and
  • build confidence to regularly use these effective leadership practices to support employee and organizational success.


If you have been losing sleep at night, or pulling your hair out, over low employee morale and productivity, it will be well worth your time to investigate the highly effective Conversational Management training. Click here for more information and to register for a 2-hour interactive workshop experience. Attending a remote Test Run of this highly effective leadership development program could transform your work and personal life – and the workplace reality for everyone on your team!  When you decide to offer Conversational Management to your people leaders, the training can be delivered in-person or via Zoom. 



I look forward to seeing you at one of the upcoming Test Drives! Register Now!

Please reach out with any and all questions about leadership development or Conversational Management. Contact  Cathie Leimbach of Agon Leadership at 440-320-3113 or cathie@agonleadership.com.

Why New Tools Don’t Change Behavior

By Cathie Leimbach • January 27, 2026
New tools promise big results. New software, dashboards, and systems all look great on paper. But months later, many leaders are still asking, “Why hasn’t much changed?” Because tools don’t change behavior — leadership does. A system can organize work, but it can’t create ownership. It can’t set expectations. It can’t follow through. Without strong leadership habits, even the best tools just make problems more visible. What really drives results? Clear expectations Consistent follow-through Helpful feedback Leaders who model the right behavior When those are missing, people work around the tool instead of with it. Adoption drops. Frustration rises. And the old problems stay. So the better question isn’t, “What tool do we need next?” It’s, “Do our leadership habits support the results we expect?”  👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation to explore the habits that actually drive performance.

If Nothing Changes, What Will This Cost?

By Cathie Leimbach • January 20, 2026
When things feel “manageable,” leaders often continue with status quo. People are busy. Work gets done. But small issues quietly add up. Rework becomes normal. Deadlines stretch. Decisions take longer. None of it feels like a crisis, but together it eats away at time, energy, and profit. Inconsistent leadership makes it worse. When expectations change from day to day or from one manager to another, people stop giving their best. Some coast. Some get frustrated. Some start looking elsewhere. Turnover rises, along with hiring and training costs. The warning signs are usually right in front of us: Work keeps getting redone. Managers avoid tough conversations around poor performance. Good people are doing less than they could. Progress feels slower than it should. The real question isn’t, “Can we live with this?” It’s, “What is this costing us if nothing changes?” 👉 Join our 60-minute Leadership Conversation to explore how today’s patterns may be impacting your results — and what small shifts could make a big difference.