Blog, culture and engagement | Ambition In Motion

by Grace Tripathy

Tue 1 July 2025

Innovation isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a business imperative. While companies pour millions into R&D departments and flashy brainstorming retreats, they often overlook the simplest, most powerful tool for innovation: curiosity.

Curiosity is the mindset that drives teams to ask better questions, challenge stale assumptions, and pursue creative problem-solving when the way forward isn’t clear. But in many companies, curiosity is unintentionally suppressed. Metrics, meetings, and margin pressures often overshadow the quiet (but vital) work of wondering what if.

Take Claire, a mid-level manager at a growing company in Chicago. A few years ago, her team was tasked with improving user retention for their core product. Rather than jumping straight into solution mode, Claire took a different approach. She encouraged her team to spend a full week doing nothing but asking questions—about user behavior, onboarding friction points, and customer psychology. No answers, just curiosity.

At first, leadership questioned her methods. Wasn’t this a waste of time? Why not just try something and see what happens? But Claire stuck to her guns. And by the end of the week, her team discovered a completely overlooked friction point in the account setup flow. They implemented a simple fix and saw a 38% increase in user retention within three months.

The takeaway? Curiosity creates space for meaningful insights—and in turn, real business growth.

Why Companies Need a Culture of Innovation

An innovation culture goes beyond fancy slogans or hackathons. It’s a systemic commitment to exploration, experimentation, and learning. Companies with strong innovation cultures consistently outperform their peers. According to McKinsey, organizations that invest in innovation are 2.4x more likely to deliver top-quartile revenue growth. This is because they are agile, adaptable, and capable of responding to change before it becomes a threat.

At its core, an innovation culture starts with leadership. Leaders who embrace curiosity signal to their teams that it’s okay to take risks, ask questions, and admit they don’t know everything. This kind of psychological safety isn’t just feel-good fluff—it’s directly linked to higher engagement, creativity, and performance.

Yet many leaders shy away from uncertainty. They want proven playbooks and predictable outcomes. But here’s the thing: innovation isn’t predictable. Thomas Edison famously tested over 1,000 different materials before inventing the working light bulb. Imagine if he’d been an entry-level engineer at a Fortune 500 company—how many quarterly reviews would he have survived?

Fortunately, he was the CEO of his own operation. He had the freedom to fail forward.

That’s the kind of grace today’s leaders need to practice when the answer isn’t obvious. Giving grace means allowing space for trial, error, and reflection. It means rewarding effort and learning—not just outcomes.

When curiosity is embedded into company culture, the outcomes speak for themselves:

Faster problem-solving: Teams that feel safe to question the status quo find better solutions, faster.
Stronger talent retention: Employees are more likely to stay when they feel their ideas are heard and valued.
More adaptive strategies: Curious cultures are more resilient in the face of change because they treat disruption as an opportunity, not a threat.
Competitive differentiation: In saturated markets, the most innovative ideas often come from unexpected questions, not expected answers.

Claire’s story is a perfect example of how one curious leader can transform a team—and a company’s bottom line. By modeling curiosity and championing grace, she created a ripple effect that not only improved customer retention but inspired cross-functional teams to adopt similar discovery-first mindsets.

It’s not enough to say curiosity is valued. It has to be baked into how we lead. Here are three ways leaders like Claire can embed curiosity into everyday management practices:

1. Use Curious Language in Feedback

Instead of:

“Why didn’t this work?”
Try:
“What did you learn from this experience?”
“What surprised you most during this project?”

This encourages team members to reflect, not retreat. Ambition in Motion’s executive coaching for leaders and teams helps leaders build these kinds of reflective habits—transforming feedback conversations into moments of growth, not judgment.

2. Add Curiosity Metrics to Performance Reviews

Performance shouldn’t only be about execution—it should also reflect exploration. Try incorporating prompts like:

“What’s one assumption you challenged this quarter?”
“What question did you ask that led to new insight or opportunity?”
“How have you helped others think differently?”

This communicates that curiosity is not just tolerated—it’s expected. Tools like AIM Insights make the performance review and metric-tracking process simple and insightful for managers.

3. Make 1:1s a Safe Space for Wondering

Claire made curiosity part of her weekly 1:1s. She’d ask:

“What’s something weird or unexpected you’ve noticed lately?”
“If you had more time, what problem would you love to dig into?”
“What’s something we should stop doing that no longer makes sense?”

Over time, her team began coming to those meetings not just to report on tasks, but to explore ideas. That’s when innovation becomes not just a moment—but a movement.

by Grace Tripathy

Fri 13 June 2025

It’s almost halfway through 2025, and the ripple effects of last year’s economic distress is still felt across America. Countless companies—big and small—were forced to restructure, tighten budgets, and let go of team members. While layoffs might have been necessary to stay afloat, they’ve left behind a quieter, more cautious workforce. And the result… employees are hesitant to take risks, propose bold new ideas, or challenge the status quo.

Why? Because employees are unsure if anyone is listening—or if speaking up might put them at risk of being laid off.

But here's the critical truth: if your company isn't innovating, it's falling behind. As leaders, it’s time to move beyond the triage of layoffs and begin cultivating a resilient, forward-looking, and innovative culture once again.

In the aftermath of layoffs, companies often experience a psychological freeze. Talented employees begin to question their value. Communication gaps grow wider. New ideas are seen as risks instead of opportunities. And leaders, scrambling to stabilize, often neglect a key ingredient of success: psychological safety.

Bob manages a cross-functional team at a mid-size tech company in Chicago. In Q4 of 2024, his company cut 20% of its workforce. While Bob retained all his team members, the atmosphere shifted drastically.

Where once his team ideated freely in brainstorming sessions, now meetings were filled with silence. People stopped volunteering for stretch projects. Even casual Slack messages became more formal and distant.

When Bob reached out to HR and upper leadership, they were just as unsure. The company still hadn’t solidified its 2025 goals. Some departments were moving in different directions, and communication was fragmented. Leadership was nervous about clashing visions—so they avoided committing publicly to any strategy.

Bob realized two things:

His team felt like they were walking on eggshells.

2. His company was drifting, lacking clarity and cohesion.

So he decided to lead from where he stood.

Step 1: Clarify the Vision—Even If Others Don’t

One of the biggest mistakes post-layoff organizations make is failing to reset the vision. Employees are left wondering: “Why am I here? What are we even trying to accomplish?”

This is especially frustrating for employees still waiting to hear what the company’s goals are—even though we’re halfway through 2025.

Bob decided to take initiative. He sat down with his leadership team and asked:

“What are our top three business priorities for the next six months?”

“Where does our team fit in delivering on these?”

“Who is responsible for communicating this company-wide?”

Once he had clarity (even partial), he shared it with his team in a direct, transparent way.

Step 2: Remind People Why They Are Still Here

After layoffs, employees often feel “lucky” to still have a job—but that sentiment quickly shifts to anxiety. Why wasn’t I laid off? Am I next? This leads to disengagement, not gratitude.

Bob took a personal approach. He scheduled 1-on-1 goal-setting meetings with each team member and shared:

Specific reasons why they were retained

Their unique strengths and value to the team

What growth he envisioned for them in 2025

This wasn’t empty praise. It was rooted in truth. By reinforcing their purpose, Bob helped rebuild his team’s confidence.

Step 3: Rebuild Psychological Safety Through Action

Telling people they’re safe to speak up isn’t enough. You have to prove it—with your reactions, your language, and your culture.

Bob noticed that in meetings, people rarely spoke first. So he started modeling vulnerability. He admitted when he wasn’t sure about a decision. He actively solicited pushback. And most importantly, when people did share ideas—even ones that wouldn’t work—he thanked them and asked follow-up questions.

Soon, others followed suit.

How-To: Create Micro-Signals of Safety

Say “that’s a great insight—tell me more” instead of “we already tried that.”
Praise effort, not just outcomes.
Reward calculated risk-taking, even when the idea doesn’t pan out.

Step 4: Make Internal Mobility Real

Another innovation killer? Stagnation. After layoffs, promotions and lateral moves often freeze. But people need momentum to feel hopeful and motivated.

Bob worked with HR to reopen some cross-functional project opportunities and mentorship pairings. In addition, he encouraged members of the leadership team to join executive mastermind groups to be paired with executives in other companies and departments to gain fresh perspectives, share best practices, and rebuild their strategic confidence by learning how peers were navigating similar post-layoff challenges.

He encouraged employees to:

Apply for internal task forces

Shadow teams in other departments

Suggest projects aligned with strategic needs

Step 5: Break the Silence From the Top

Bob also recognized a broader issue: employees were afraid to share new ideas because they weren’t sure what leadership actually wanted.

So, he escalated this concern. He advocated for the C-suite to host a company-wide Town Hall where they could:

Publicly share the 2025 goals

Reinforce shared values

Invite input and questions from all departments

This meeting was a turning point. It didn’t answer everything, but it showed employees that leadership wasn’t hiding in silence. That alone helped shift the culture from fear to openness.

The Results

By Q3 2025, Bob’s team was not only more confident—they were creating again. They launched a pilot product feature based on employee input. They beat sprint deadlines. And they had the highest employee engagement scores in the company.

All of this came from clarity, connection, and a culture of safety.

Bob didn’t wait for top-down permission. He led from where he stood, and in doing so, re-ignited a team that was once paralyzed by fear.

by Kayla Ambrose

Fri 13 June 2025

Throughout the initial half of 2025, there have been widespread reductions of middle management roles, drastically shifting the structures of corporations. Various sectors are implementing flatter organizational structures to promote efficiency and cost reductions. This shift, sometimes referred to as the “Great Flattening”, leaves middle managers in a challenging position, whether to remain with their current employer and adapt to the structural changes or seek new opportunities.

When a company initiates large-scale structural changes to reduce management positions, it can be difficult to understand what the implications are for current roles. With this increased uncertainty and changes in workloads, managers must reflect on whether it’s strategic for their career progression to remain with their current organization and work to adjust to the role they end up in after the structural shift, or if they should explore other opportunities.

Staying and Adapting: Benefits

When undergoing structural changes, the responsibilities of management roles may be condensed into one position. While this allows a more straightforward chain of management, it simultaneously increases the workload of the manager who remains. This manager is now tasked with a heavier workload than they originally signed up for, and often does not receive additional wages to compensate for it. Stuck in a situation such as this one, staying with one's current employer presents many positives and drawbacks.

A benefit of sticking out the position during these organizational changes is familiarity with the company culture. While the company is making changes, having an understanding of the workplace environment is a unique benefit of staying. It can take a while to adapt to a new environment and immerse oneself in the culture of a new organization.

Additionally, taking on increased responsibility from other roles demonstrates adaptability and strong leadership. Displaying such skills can highlight capabilities, potentially leading to promotions later on. If upper management recognizes these leadership skills, staying and adapting to the new corporate structure can lead to impactful career growth.

Staying and Adapting: Drawbacks

While the benefits associated with remaining in the organization are certainly appealing, the reduction in other middle management positions will leave gaps within the organization. These gaps will result in the remaining managers being left to fill the gaps. Managers might be expected to learn new skills, assume more direct reports, and lead unfamiliar initiatives. Furthermore, these shifts in roles can lead to unclear expectations, making daily workloads to become more challenging. Ultimately, this uncertainty may cause burnout and increased stress.

Given that the organization has already undergone structural changes, it’s possible that changes may persist in the near future. The organization is still adapting, which may lead to more roles being removed or replaced. It’s important to consider role security as well as career progression. With fewer management roles available within the organization, be realistic when considering the future pay for promotion.

Insulating Oneself from Layoffs

Given the organizational changes, prioritize becoming indispensable to the organization. While the changes may already be in effect, that doesn’t necessarily mean more changes won’t occur in the future. Using this time as an opportunity to demonstrate strengths to upper management can build a strong foundation for career advancement later on.

A strong capability of a good leader is embracing cross-functional teams. With fewer managers in the organization, it is critical to leverage cross-functional teams to fulfill objectives. Cross-functional teams encourage collaboration throughout the organization, which can increase morale as well as create more efficient operations. Drawing on the departmental expertise can promote better solutions since certain areas are now lacking expertise from managers.

Another strategy to demonstrate value to upper management is through developing specialized expertise. Leaning into new responsibilities and gaining important insights about specific organizational practices or initiatives can truly set someone apart. Being able to not only take on new roles but thrive in doing so demonstrates strong adaptability and willingness to learn.

To gain insights on direct reports and continue to develop leadership skills, utilize performance management tools. Not only will such tools support management duties, but they will also help create solutions to better manage teams and improve leaders’ performance. Performance management tools are a strong asset for managers looking to set themselves apart following large structural changes.

Considerations for Seeking New Opportunities

While staying and adapting to the organizational changes presents opportunities to grow in responsibility, seeking a new opportunity may be the more advantageous solution. With the removal of other middle managers, roles will shift drastically, resulting in considerably more work and new workplace challenges to navigate. Electing to seek a new position can allow for a career that has more defined responsibilities and expectations.

Additionally, seeking a new opportunity allows for the ability to find a role with a more adequate workload.

Seeking a position elsewhere is not without challenges. Entering a new organization will entail transitional challenges as well as potential for underemployment. Consider what to prioritize when navigating whether to stay or go.

Navigating the Decision-Making Process

When determining whether to stay amidst a reduction in middle management, utilize resources to weigh the options. Reach out to horizontal mentors and executive mastermind groups to gain their insights on the situation and learn from their shared experiences. Mentors may have a meaningful perspective or key considerations to help guide the decision-making process.

During this time, it’s critical to identify career aspirations to consider how the next step could help or hinder these goals. Be introspective and identify what aspects of an organization are most important for the next phase of your career.

by Ritika Vijay

Fri 13 June 2025

On the surface, Micheal looked like a dream hire. As the VP of Technology at a fast scaling fintech firm, he moved fast, delivered faster, and held his team to exceptional standards. Colleagues praised his work ethic. The CEO trusted his judgment implicitly. Micheal didn’t just meet deadlines, he bulldozed through them, building systems that scaled and workflows that hummed with efficiency.

But there was something building slowly.

It wasn’t anything major at first. A bug in the product’s dashboard that should’ve been caught. A delay in a data migration project with no proactive heads up. A misconfigured server that took days to surface. These were minor errors, but they shared a troubling theme: no one knew about them until they became unavoidable.

Micheal’s instinct wasn’t to hide. It was to fix it. Quietly. Silently. After all, in his mind, owning mistakes was a weakness. Admitting fault would diminish his authority. The less leadership had to worry, the better. But that’s where the danger crept in: small mistakes left unspoken that compounded over time. And for a business growing fast, every day a mistake goes unaddressed is a day risk quietly metastasizes.

Why Pride Fueled Silence Poses a Business Risk:

When Micheal chose not to surface small mistakes, he didn’t do it out of malice, he did it out of a sense of responsibility. But that sense of “I’ll fix it myself” gradually evolved into a pattern of withholding information. In a leadership role, withholding, even unintentionally, becomes dangerous not just for the team, but for the organization.

Delayed Visibility = Escalated Cost: What starts as a minor issue can quickly evolve into a major operational disruption when not surfaced early. Small bugs become cross functional fire drills simply because leadership wasn't informed in time.

Poor Data Leads to Poor Decisions: When issues are hidden, leaders make strategic decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information which impacts everything from resource allocation to investor communications.

Silence Breeds More Silence: When a senior leader withholds problems, it sets a cultural precedent. Teams may follow suit, eroding trust and psychological safety. Without a culture of transparency, systemic risks go unnoticed until they explode.

How to Lead Through Pride: 5 Steps to Support High Performers Who Struggle with Transparency

When a high performing employee begins withholding mistakes out of pride, leaders must act quickly, but thoughtfully. Here's a clear 5 step approach to address the issue while preserving trust and performance:

Start with a Personal Check In

Before assuming the worst, pull the employee aside, and have a transparent conversation of what is going on. It could be work related stress or a personal issue. Showing empathy, not suspicion opens the door for honest dialogue and signals that you care about the person, not just the output.

Coach to Understand the ‘Why’

Dig deeper into why mistakes weren’t communicated. Avoid blame, instead, ask, “What made you feel like you had to handle this on your own?” Often, pride is a shield for fear or pressure. Use coaching to uncover the root cause and align on shared expectations.

Redefine Strength and Normalize Vulnerability

Clarify that real leadership isn’t about perfection, it’s about visibility. Frame early communication as a strategic behavior. Then model it yourself. Share your own mistakes in team settings and how transparency helped prevent larger issues. This redefines what “strong leadership” looks like. Opening up to that vulnerability will also build a stronger relationship.

Create Regular Spaces for Open Conversations

Build simple routines that make it easy, and expected, for your team to surface issues early. Something as quick as a weekly 15 minute “Red Flag Roundup” can give everyone a low pressure space to share blockers or risks. Pair these check ins with transparent performance updates so everyone knows how their work stacks up against expectations. When transparency becomes part of the rhythm, it feels safe and normal.

Recognize Honesty, Not Just Achievement

Make it a point to praise people not only for delivering results, but for speaking up when something’s off, even if they had a hand in the mistake. When someone flags a problem early, thank them publicly. This shows the team that being upfront isn’t damaging, it’s leadership. Over time, this reshapes the culture from “look perfect” to “work smart and stay accountable.”

Final Thought: When Pride Clouds Visibility, Performance Suffers

High standards are an asset, until they’re paired with ego that discourages openness. Even top performers can become blind spots when they value perfection over transparency.

The takeaway for leaders is clear: Don’t wait for avoidable crises to expose cultural weaknesses. Create an environment where speaking up is rewarded, not penalized. Redefine strength as accountability, not invincibility. Because in business, it’s rarely the initial mistake that causes the most damage; it's the silence that follows.

by Ritika Vijay

Sun 1 June 2025

Daniel, an executive at a respected mid-sized tech firm, had weathered many challenges, but nothing like the slow burnout caused by one role. Stacy was hired to fill a critical operations position that had become a revolving door. The role focused on cross-functional communication and client delivery, yet no one had succeeded in it for years.

Daniel wasn’t hands-on in the hiring, but he knew the vacancy was a strain. When Stacy came on board, there was hope. She started strong, organized and responsive. She got 80% of her work accomplished successfully, which was great compared to the previous people in this role, but never improved beyond the eighty percent mark. Over time, that slipped. Tasks dragged, follow-ups were missed, and client issues grew.

By month sixteen, her performance was down to sixty percent successfully completed. The team was quietly covering for her, morale was dropping, and productivity suffered. It wasn’t until complaints bubbled up that Daniel fully realized the problem.

Daniel scheduled a one-on-one with Stacy to address the concerns directly. The conversation was professional but firm, but he explained the gaps in her follow-through, the ripple effect it was having on the team, and the need for a reset in expectations. For a couple weeks after that meeting, her performance noticeably improved. Deadlines were met. Communication became more consistent. The team began to breathe a bit easier.

But soon enough, the old patterns returned. Delays crept back in. Priorities slipped through the cracks. And worse, the temporary improvement made it even harder for Daniel to escalate the issue again without sounding reactionary. Now, he faced a difficult choice: fire Stacy and restart the long hiring process or keep her and accept the growing cost to the team. Neither option felt like a solution.

A Common Leadership Breakdown

Across industries and organizational sizes, leaders face a frustrating and familiar scenario:

They hire someone who seems “good enough” for a critical role. But over time, that efficiency significantly deteriorates. Performance declines. Deadlines slip. Accountability fades.

At this point, managers are left with three options:

Hope for lasting change after short-lived improvement
Fire the employee and restart the long, resource-draining hiring process.
Absorb the work themselves, taking on the additional burden of that role while still managing their own responsibilities.

Each option comes with consequences. Many managers hold out hope that an initial performance boost after a tough conversation will lead to lasting progress. But when that progress fades, as it did with Stacy, they’re right back at the crossroads, only now with more frustration and less clarity on what to do next. Firing risks leaving the role unfilled for months, especially when leadership is hesitant to rehire. Taking on the extra work yourself can signal that a backfill isn’t needed, leaving you permanently overloaded.

This isn’t just a personnel issue, it’s a structural and systemic problem. And it’s costing companies in time, productivity, and long-term engagement.

Why Underperformance Lingers

Across industries and organizations, leaders face a frustrating cycle: a “good enough” hire under delivers, managers step in to fill the gap, and organizational systems quietly reinforce the status quo. The following structural problems are what allow this cycle to persist:

The “Good Enough” Trap and Role Drift

Hiring someone who seems mostly capable often feels like a win especially after a long search. But without clear benchmarks, coaching, and accountability, that 80% performance tends to slide downward. When the manager fills in the remaining 20% quietly, it masks the problem and leads others to believe the role is being handled, permanently overloading the leader and normalizing subpar output.

Fear of Escalation and Headcount Loss

Many managers avoid addressing underperformance because they fear it will trigger months of HR procedures or worse, that the role won’t be refilled at all. Instead of initiating formal improvement plans or escalating concerns, they tolerate the problem just to avoid vacancy, creating a dangerous incentive to retain poor performers.

Organizational Complacency and Cultural Erosion

Feedback often travels too slowly or not at all; learning is uncomfortable and rarely leads to action. Over time, top performers disengage, while others reduce their efforts to match the lowest tolerated standard. The longer this goes unchecked, the more deeply mediocrity becomes embedded in the culture.

A Leader’s Framework for Rebuilding Accountability

When underperformance lingers and roles erode from within, the instinct is often to focus on the individual: coach harder, manage tighter, or let go. But as Daniel’s experience shows, what often fails isn’t just the person, it's the system around them.

To prevent the next “Stacy,” organizations need to rethink how they define success, intervene early, and build safeguards that don’t rely on heroic management. Here’s a five-part framework leaders can use to protect team performance and rebuild accountability from the ground up:

Set Clear Performance Standards From Day One: Too many roles begin with vague goals and unspoken assumptions. Instead, tie every new hire to a 30-60-90 day plan that defines:
1. What success looks like through specific milestones
2. What tools, support, and cross-functional inputs are required
3. What “not working out” will look like early on - establishing consequences

2. Create Protected Channels for Early Feedback: Feedback should flow freely, not just upward, but across and down:

Establish quarterly anonymous pulse surveys focused on team workflow health
Skip-level check-ins that offer a voice outside the chain of command
Offering feedback normalization training for managers, and if needed flagged employees early on

3. Guarantee Role Backfills for Business-Critical Positions: Leaders will avoid letting go of underperformers if they fear losing the headcount.

Pre-approved backfill plans for critical roles like operations, delivery, or revenue impact
A living talent pipeline of internal candidates, contractors, or short-term stopgaps
Leadership commitment that removing someone doesn’t mean removing the role

4. Recognize Impact Without Penalizing Initiative: Too often, high performers or managers who quietly carry failing roles get punished with bearing the burden of that role.

Publicly recognizing load-bearing behavior (but treating it as unsustainable)
Separating temporary role absorption from long-term ownership
Rewarding transparency, not silent sacrifice

Underperformance is rarely just about one person. It’s a slow, systemic leak that if ignored can rot a team from the inside out. But with the right frameworks, leaders can catch the signs earlier, act with clarity, and prevent culture decay before it takes hold. Daniel’s story isn’t rare. Most companies fall into this trap, and being able to resurrect this dilemma is the rate.

by Kayla Ambrose

Sun 1 June 2025

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has led many organizations and managers to begin incorporating AI systems into their daily operations. Given the speed of providing information and the dynamic nature of AI, it is a powerful tool businesses can leverage to make transformative changes. Despite these appealing benefits, AI also presents considerable challenges that must be navigated appropriately by managers and employees when implementing such software.

Concerns with Using AI in the Workplace

Biased and Historical Nature

When creating algorithms for AI applications, specific data is chosen for the training of the system. Oftentimes, this data can be biased and discriminatory against different groups of people or specific facts. These biases can lead to unfair outcomes when utilizing AI for hiring practices, promotions, and access to resources.

Not only can this bias impact hiring practices, but the historical information AI is based upon can lead to inaccuracies and biased information when conducting research. When using AI as a search engine or source of inspiration, outdated information can cause employees to draw outdated conclusions, thus impacting the accuracy of their work.

2. Privacy Concern

As a manager, there are dual responsibilities to support team needs as well company company-wide goals. While employees may feel compelled to utilize AI to complete minuscule daily tasks and expedite their processes, it’s important to ensure privacy measures are considered to protect important company information. AI collects and stores various personal data when interacting with it, which poses a threat when employees use the software for sensitive data.

These dynamic AI systems can gather personal and sensitive company information. Without proper safeguards in place, these can lead to a myriad of privacy violations. It’s crucial to ensure that employees comply with data protection regulations, ensuring the safety of personal and company information.

3. Ethical Usage

Another important consideration is the ethical usage of AI and the potential to generate misleading information. The inability of AI to properly aggregate information or summarize important facts can lead employees to make inaccurate decisions. These slight errors can undermine the communication of information and the functionality of teams.

Another concern regarding ethical usage is employees failing to disclose their AI usage. Employees may utilize AI to complete some or the entirety of a task, but fail to communicate the AI usage to their manager. This lack of disclosure can lead to inconsistencies in the quality of work produced as well as additional security vulnerabilities.

Strategies to Navigate AI in the Workplace

While AI does present challenges with biased and outdated information, potential privacy concerns, and complex ethical usage concerns, the increased efficiency and productivity from the incorporation of AI can provide immense benefits for a team. It’s important for managers to develop effective strategies for how their team should utilize AI in order to ensure safe and productive use.

Establish Specific Usage Policies

If not already predetermined by the organization, develop and communicate clear AI usage policies to each member of the team. Ensure that the policy includes specific AI software that can be used and guidelines for what information can be handled with AI. Furthermore, address the ethical and legal concerns surrounding AI usage.

2. Practice Regular Monitoring

Implement regular check-ins to evaluate how team members are using AI. Evaluating how team members assess the quality of information provided by AI, what tasks AI is being used for, and looking for any discriminatory patterns manifesting from the usage of AI can help prevent problems from persisting.

3. Incorporate Training Sessions

Help equip the team with proper knowledge and skillsets for using AI through regular training sessions. Some team members may be incredibly familiar with AI, while others may have no background in it. Providing comprehensive training that discusses the basics of AI and best practices can help all team members feel comfortable with the software. Consider implementing additional periodic training sessions to expand on the team's AI capabilities and reinforce the ethical considerations associated with AI.

4. Develop Response Plans

An important tool when navigating AI in the workplace is the development of a response plan. Preparing for how to handle a potential data breach or other privacy concerns can help minimize the harm and prevent the escalation of the issue. Establish a clear protocol within the team for handling potential privacy concerns so all team members are prepared for issues they may encounter.

5. Encourage Cross-Functional Interactions

Encourage the collaboration of cross-functional interactions when incorporating AI within the team. Collaborate with departments such as IT and legal to ensure cohesive and effective AI risk management strategies. Utilizing an approach that leverages the competencies of other departments can ensure optimal AI practices are utilized.

To mitigate potential concerns with leaking important customer or company information through AI, hold meetings or provide training sessions for employees on how to properly use AI within their role.

Navigating unprecedented circumstances can be challenging as a manager who has various responsibilities to their team and the organization as a whole. For support in navigating such circumstances, it’s helpful to leverage horizontal mentorship to gain insights from peers in the same position. Sharing experiences and learning other strategies for best incorporating AI within the workplace can ensure a smoother transition.

Another powerful way managers can utilize AI is by leveraging these tools to gather problem-solving insights. When managers use AI, it’s important to utilize industrial-organizational psychologist-reviewed prompts in order to ensure the accuracy of the solutions the AI provides. Management software such as AIM Insights utilizes industrial-organizational psychologist-reviewed prompts in order to provide tailored feedback, ensuring the implementation of effective management styles. AI management software can transform how managers manage.

Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can positively impact team functions. Although AI does present new challenges to the workplace, they can be tackled with the implementation of clearly communicated strategies. AI is constantly adapting, and strong leaders can adapt with it.

by Julia Gonzalez

Sun 1 June 2025

In today's dynamic business landscape, effective communication isn't just a desirable trait; it's essential for any organization. For managers, this often boils down to the quality of their one-on-one meetings with direct reports. These sessions foster connection, drive alignment, and empower employees. They are the key to team health, providing a forum for nuanced discussions that simply can't happen in group settings. However, many managers find themselves juggling numerous responsibilities, from strategic planning and client management to daily operational hurdles, making it challenging to consistently deliver personalized and impactful feedback. This is where innovative tools like AIM Insights step in, offering a data-driven approach to enhance these crucial interactions and transform them from mere check-ins into catalysts for growth.

Applying AIM Insights

Consider a busy marketing manager, Emily, who oversaw a team of five. Before adopting AIM Insights, her weekly one-on-ones sometimes felt reactive and, frankly, a bit superficial. She would address immediate concerns and touch upon project updates, but often struggled to provide truly insightful and personalized feedback. The preparation for each meeting felt like another tedious task on an already overflowing to-do list. Emily, like many managers, understood the immense importance of connecting with her team, delving into their individual progress, and offering tailored guidance. Yet, the sheer volume of information she had to process—project deadlines, individual performance metrics, team dynamics, and overarching company goals—coupled with the pressure of her own daily tasks, often left her feeling like she was just scratching the surface in these meetings.

While she deeply cared about her team's growth and development, finding the dedicated time to synthesize everything and tailor her feedback to each person felt too complex for her busy schedule. There were weeks when she would leave a one-on-one feeling dissatisfied with the feedback she gave, knowing she hadn't truly connected or provided the depth of support her team members needed to thrive. This struggle is not unique; it's a common struggle in organizations where existing performance management systems might be inefficient, relying on outdated methods or lacking the actionable insights managers need. Without a streamlined, intelligent way to track and understand individual contributions, managers are left to piece together information from fragmented sources, often leading to generic feedback sessions rather than truly impactful ones that resonate with an employee's specific experiences.

Then, a pivotal moment arrived when her company introduced AIM Insights. Initially, Emily was skeptical; another new tool promising to solve all her problems? But as she began to integrate it into her routine, Emily soon discovered the transformative power of these insights. AIM Insights was designed to integrate with their existing communication channels and project management tools. It didn't require manual data entry; instead, it gathered data points related to individual and team activities, conversations, and progress. The key benefit, however, wasn't just the data collection itself, but how this vast amount of information was synthesized and presented – moving far beyond a complicated, dull, dashboard to offer truly dynamic and actionable feedback that was easy to understand.

Each week, Emily received an automated email recap from AIM Insights. This was not a dry list of completed tasks or generic KPIs. Instead, it offered concise, data-driven feedback based on each team member's current projects, their future goals, and their historical performance trends. This automated yet personalized summary was a game-changer. Emily was able to see this feedback for all of her employees at a glance, making it incredibly easier for her to prepare and deliver personalized feedback in her one-on-ones. This feature alone drastically improved her proper planning for each meeting, allowing her to walk into every one-on-one feeling confident, prepared, and genuinely informed about each team member's week. She could now dedicate her limited time in the meeting to deeper coaching and connection, rather than information gathering.

This monthly recap proved to be a significant improvement in her workflow. Suddenly, Emily had a concise, insightful, and actionable summary of each team member's month delivered directly to her inbox. Highlighting their achievements, flagging potential challenges she might not have been aware of, and giving an overall better insight into their work performance and engagement patterns. It was as if she had a dedicated assistant helping her prepare for each individual meeting. The days of frantically sifting through project management tools and email threads before a meeting were over.

The immediate impact on Emily's team was clear. Employees felt more seen and understood. The feedback they received was no longer generic or vague but felt directly relevant to their specific contributions, efforts, and challenges. This fostered a significantly greater sense of connection, trust, and transparency within the team. They recognized that Emily wasn't just "checking boxes"; she genuinely understood their work.

AIM Insights Impact

The profound impact of using a tool like AIM Insights on team engagement became abundantly evident. Employees often feel more understood and are consequently more willing to openly discuss challenges and roadblocks when they sense their manager has a clearer, data-backed grasp of their month. Feedback became noticeably more targeted, and individuals could readily see how it related directly to their day-to-day work and their broader professional development goals.

Furthermore, the data-driven nature of AIM Insights played a critical role in ensuring better team alignment. By providing managers with a holistic understanding of individual contributions within the broader context of team objectives, managers could provide feedback that strategically reinforced the larger vision and company goals. Consequently, employees gained a much clearer understanding of how their specific work, even seemingly small tasks, contributed directly to the company's overarching objectives. This fostered a stronger sense of shared purpose and collective responsibility. AIM Insights facilitated the connection between individual efforts and overarching team goals. Managers could effectively highlight how a specific contribution directly impacted key targets, therefore strengthening alignment and instilling a deeper sense of value in each team member's role.

Ultimately, AIM Insights can serve as a powerful catalyst for stronger relationships and more effective leadership. It transforms one-on-ones from routine, sometimes obligatory check-ins into truly valuable opportunities for genuine connection, deeply personalized feedback, and the cultivation of a workplace culture characterized by transparency, trust, and strategic alignment.

Managers who wisely utilize such tools often find they become significantly more effective leaders. It can free up their time, previously consumed by manual data compilation, to focus on higher-level strategic thinking and genuine mentorship. It provides invaluable insights that might otherwise be missed, and most importantly, it helps them build stronger, more meaningful relationships with their team members. The focus shifts from merely managing tasks to truly leading and supporting their people's growth and well-being.

AIM Insights, by equipping managers with personalized insights and actionable communication guidance, empowers them to move beyond superficial interactions and cultivate a more engaged, aligned, and ultimately more successful team. For managers seeking to elevate their one-on-ones and foster stronger, more productive relationships with their direct reports, AIM Insights offers a compelling and practical path forward in the complex landscape of modern leadership.

by Ritika Vijay

Fri 16 May 2025

At first glance, innovation sounds exciting. Companies talk about transformation, agility, and leveraging artificial intelligence to unlock new potential. But behind the strategic roadmaps and glossy presentations lies a quieter truth, change is hard. Especially when employees feel that their expertise is being replaced, they protect what they know, but the true danger lies in inaction. Companies that ignore resistance can result in stagnation, slowing productivity and putting their competitive edge at risk.

The solution: Helping Employees Embrace the Shift:

Change management is not just about rolling out new tools or restructuring an entire team. It's about shifting mindsets. Delivering immediate gratification using new innovations helps teams see that their work can become easier and more impactful. Change management can help create a bridge between fear of adoption, using empathy, clarity, and tangible results.

Let’s give an example: Imagine a team member spends two hours every week manually compiling reports. By introducing a simple AI tool to automate that task in seconds, it sends a clear message: “This change gives you time back.” The result isn’t abstract, it becomes concrete. This immediate gratification can help break through doubt and hesitation, emphasizing the psychology of quick wins.

Teams can build momentum, rebuild trust, and signal that change can lead to something better. It turns an intimidating process into an achievable one, showing employees that their roles aren’t being erased, but used in better ways.

The Steps Needed to Achieve Success:

Successful implementation requires more than simply providing teams with resources. It takes time for them to understand the technology and gradually integrate it into their daily workflows. The following steps will help ensure a smooth transition:

Open Communication : When the company needs to make drastic changes like this, it is imperative to communicate with affected managers throughout the process. Opening the floor to their opinions and inputs allows for a smooth transition that can be handled efficiently. It fosters an atmosphere of collaboration rather than dictation.

2. Offering Mentorship/ Coaching. Pairing employees with mentors gives a sounding board to allow their feelings to get heard. Employees could voice their concerns, get advice, and grow through uncertainty. It gives the employees an opportunity to learn, helping those positions in transition succeed.

3. Learning From Feedback: it is imperative that managers meet regularly with their teams to gather updates and feedback. The task force should remain focused, continuously improving the transition strategy by integrating feedback from different parts of the organization. If there are significant obstacles, managers should be able to mitigate any issues and improve any steps to resolve said problems.

What had initially felt like a tense and uncertain environment slowly began to transform. Employees started to view the change not as an imposed directive, but as a process they were actively shaping.

Feedback Loop:

The most important factor in a successful transition is listening to employees' opinions and concerns. Regular check-ins create consistent touchpoints to track progress and address issues as they arise. It is important during these meetings not to enforce any rules, but rather listen. Seeing what members found helpful, what they still struggled with, and where the tool could better fit into their workflow. The feedback loop became its own source of momentum. Over time, employees began suggesting additional use cases for the new technology that was implemented. What began as resistance turned into ownership.

Issues that Can Arise if Not Implemented:

Teams that resist change won’t just be “missing out”, they will be actively falling behind. In today’s fast-moving business environment, where agility and optimization are no longer differentiators but expectations, the cost of inertia compounds quickly. Efficiency, adaptability, and data-driven decision-making have become the baseline for staying competitive. Organizations that hesitate, risk being surpassed by faster-moving, more adaptable competitors.

The market doesn’t pause for internal buy-in. While some companies stall in debate or discomfort, others are relentlessly optimizing, automating, and leveraging tools like artificial intelligence to enhance productivity, cut costs, and uncover new insights. These forward-thinking organizations are widening the performance gap, not through reckless change, but through deliberate, incremental innovation that keeps them moving forward.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, is not just a passing trend, it offers a structural shift in how work gets done. It’s transforming roles, workflows, and decision-making across industries. Companies that view AI as a threat to be resisted, rather than a tool to be integrated, are more likely to face obsolescence. But that doesn’t mean handing over the reins entirely. The key is framing AI as an enabler, not a replacer, but a tool that empowers employees to offload repetitive tasks, make faster decisions, and focus on higher-impact work.

Fueling Progress:

The good news with this type of change is that not everything has to shift overnight. Change happens through making small shifts, assessing the response to the shift, and celebrating the small wins. Acknowledge the team’s efforts through immediate gratification, like celebrating the results, and reinforcing the long-term value which become the building blocks of lasting transformation. Most importantly, through each step of this process, never underestimate the power of a clear, meaningful win.

by Kayla Ambrose

Fri 2 May 2025

Managers are often encouraged to listen and collaborate during decision-making, but sometimes, this democratic leadership style isn’t the most effective approach. While inclusivity and participation can empower employees, certain decisions require managers to be more direct. Understanding the balance between executive authority and team involvement can transform a slow, confused organization into an efficient and motivated one.

Executive Vision vs. Day-to-Day Decisions

A company’s vision is the purpose and direction of a company, which should largely be shaped by executive leadership. Long-term goals set the path for the organization and require a high-level understanding of the environment in which the organization operates, including markets, competitors, and brand identity. While gathering input from various department heads may provide valuable insights, the ultimate decision should fall within the scope of executives.

Vision setting and other large-scale corporate decisions are not situations well suited for a democratic process. Working to incorporate too many opinions can dilute focus and prevent decisive action. It is the responsibility of leadership to guide the organization toward a strong, cohesive future, even if decisions aren’t popular in the short term.

With all this being said, managers should still gather feedback. Successful leaders consistently gather data from employees, not to vote on strategies, but to inform them. Surveys, one-on-one conversations, and management insight tools can support leaders in gathering information from their workforce.

When to Leverage Democracy

While strategic decisions may require top-down leadership, day-to-day decisions often benefit from a democratic approach. Processes that affect how employees do their work, such as communication channels or workflow tools, are great opportunities for collaborative decision-making.

When employees are involved in decisions that directly impact them, they are more likely to feel empowered and valued within the organization. Consequently, this can improve retention, morale, and overall productivity. Conversely, top-down decisions about operations can lead to frustration and inefficiency if they don’t reflect the needs of the workers these decisions are impacting.

Consider a team that is told to adopt a new communication software. An executive decision might prioritize cost without considering the ways in which workers actually utilize their communication channels. However, if the team is involved in a trial period or able to provide their input to select a communication software, there will be better adoption and reinforcement of a culture of trust.

Evaluating the Level of Democratic Input

To decide if a decision should involve democratic input, weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of involving employees in each scenario. Here are some things for managers to consider when weighing the pros and cons:

Pros of a Democratic Process

When people help shape a decision, they have an increased sense of ownership and buy-in.
Employees closest to the work often have a perspective that upper management lacks, so there may be outcomes more catered to the needs of employees.
Involvement fosters psychological safety and shows that leadership trusts their team.
The organization will have higher morale when employees feel recognized and understood.

Cons of a Democratic Process

Gathering input takes a lot of time and can delay the decision-making process.
Without clarity, teams may assume decisions are up for debate when they aren’t, which can confuse roles.
Not all input from employees is informed or strategic, so democracy doesn’t guarantee good decision-making
Trying to satisfy everyone can result in a solution that ultimately doesn’t satisfy anyone.

Using some of these points of consideration, managers can weigh the stakes and evaluate the context to better inform their decision-making approach. When making decisions, managers may struggle to communicate with their employees about how and why a decision was made. These are some tips that managers can use when implementing a decision-making process.

Be transparent about decision-making boundaries. Clearly outline which areas are open for collaboration and which are leadership calls. This avoids false expectations and builds trust with employees.
Use strategic feedback mechanisms. Even when decisions are made top-down, implement mechanisms to gather insights from various levels of the organization. Leveraging anonymous surveys or roundtable discussions can allow executives to make decisions that work throughout the organization.
Pilot large-scale decisions before implementing. For operational changes, create a test group to try a new tool or process and learn from their experience before doing a company-wide rollout. This may not be feasible for all large-scale changes, but it can be incredibly informative of actual feasibility.
Foster a culture of accountability and respect. Democratic processes work best in environments where individuals are informed and respectful of differing perspectives. Collaborative decision-making processes won’t be effective if those involved in deciding don’t value others' opinions and consider them.
Invest in leadership development. Teach emerging leaders how to engage their teams in decision-making and when it is appropriate to do so. Sometimes leaders will need to make difficult decisions, and emerging leaders should be prepared to handle such situations.

Utilizing democratic decision-making styles is not suitable for every situation. Managers should consider the context of a decision and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of leveraging a more collaborative approach. The key for managers is to find a balance that allows for efficient and aligned with the company’s larger mission.

A well-functioning organization uses more directive leadership when supporting the company’s vision, but gives a voice to employees when decisions relate to day-to-day operations. Managers who understand the difference between leadership and collaboration create more effective organizations.

by Julia Gonzalez

Fri 2 May 2025

Being one of the first few employees of a rapidly growing company can feel like a pivotal opportunity for your career. The upward trajectory of the company and the scale of growth can feel like an invitation to ascend alongside it. But in these situations, people often end up not growing with the company, mistakenly assuming that they are locked into these seemingly advantageous positions simply because they were present at the start of the company. They forget that the company's growth does not automatically translate to individual advancement. Especially in the business world, personal advancement is not a passive occurrence, but an active pursuit, demanding intentional effort and adaptation.

What does this mean for professionals?

When professionals find themselves in this position where they have been with an organization since the start, where they were picking up any jobs they can – the “Jack-of-all-trades” phase that’s common in early stage companies – a critical realization must be had. As the organization matures and becomes more serious in its operations, that initial versatility, while valuable for survival, needs to evolve into focused expertise.

Clinging to the comfort of handling a bit of everything, without developing a distinct area of specialization, can lead to stagnation, limiting both individual potential and the organization's overall efficiency. The seemingly advantageous position of being an early employee can become a trap if not accompanied by a proactive commitment to personal and professional growth that meticulously aligns with the evolving needs of the expanding organization.

How to Make a Change:

To navigate this critical transition and ensure continued growth within a fast-expanding organization, professionals must actively embrace a strategic and forward-thinking approach to their careers. This involves a few key strategies to create personal growth within your fast growing organization.

Embrace Specialization:

While you might have held a broad role in the early days of your company, often out of necessity, now is the opportune time to introspectively identify your core strengths, the areas where your talents truly shine, and choose a specific department or function to truly make your own. You possess a unique opportunity, having witnessed the company's foundational growth and understanding its inherent culture: by specializing and deeply investing in a particular sector, you can build it out, shape its future direction, and grow inextricably with the company, ensuring you remain a vital, leading contributor whose expertise is essential, rather than being outpaced and potentially rendered less relevant by its rapid expansion and increasing complexity.

2. Get Certified:

As the organization matures, so too does its expectation of its talent. Professional certifications serve as tangible proof of your competence and commitment to industry standards. Investing in relevant certifications, whether in project management (PMP), your specific industry (e.g., marketing, finance, technology), or leadership, demonstrates that you are serious about your professional development and possess a recognized level of expertise. Certifications not only enhance your credibility within the organization but also make you a more attractive asset as the company attracts new clients, partners, and talent who value recognized qualifications. It signals that you are not resting on past laurels but actively investing in your future and the future of the company.

3. Training isn’t just for Newbies

The mindset that only newly onboarded employees require formal training is a demonstrably dangerous one within a rapidly evolving business environment. The foundational skills and knowledge that were sufficient in the early, more agile days may quickly become outdated or inadequate as the company adopts cutting-edge technologies, implements more sophisticated processes, and embraces new strategic directions. Proactively seek out comprehensive training and targeted development opportunities, encompassing both internal programs designed to address company-specific needs and external resources offering broader industry insights.

This could involve actively participating in online courses, attending specialized workshops and seminars, engaging in valuable mentorship programs, or even strategically pursuing cross-functional training initiatives to gain a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of the growing business. This unwavering commitment to continuous learning ensures that your skill set remains not just relevant but also adaptable and forward-thinking, empowering you to confidently take on novel challenges, contribute meaningfully to increasingly complex projects, and effectively navigate the evolving landscape of the company's scaling operations and diversification efforts.

4. Be Careful with Titles

It's common in early-stage companies to reward early supporters with impressive titles, perhaps like naming a friend with an accounting major as the CFO. However, as the organization scales and attracts more experienced and specialized professionals, these premature or ill-fitting titles can lead to confusion, erode credibility with both internal teams and external stakeholders, and ultimately impede the company's long-term, sustainable growth. Align titles and promotions thoughtfully with actual responsibilities, demonstrated experience, and the strategic needs of the maturing organization.

5. Cultivate a Culture of Improvment and Accountability

Personal growth within a fast-growing organization is intrinsically linked to a mindset of continuous improvement and a strong sense of accountability. Embrace feedback, both positive and constructive, and use it to identify areas for development. Take ownership of your work, both successes and failures, and demonstrate a commitment to learning from mistakes. Proactively seek ways to improve processes, enhance efficiency, and contribute to a culture where everyone is striving for excellence. By demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement in your own work and encouraging it in others, you position yourself as a valuable and forward-thinking contributor who is invested in the long-term success of the organization.

In essence, the journey of a rapidly growing organization demands a journey of personal and professional growth from its initial team. The initial broad contributions paved the way, but sustained success, both for the individual and the company, relies on a proactive embrace of specialization, a commitment to continuous learning validated by relevant certifications, a pragmatic understanding of titles, and a dedication to cultivating a culture of improvement and accountability. By actively embodying these principles, early professionals can ensure they not only keep pace with the company's exciting trajectory but also become the keys of its future success.

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Just because you were there at the beginning doesn't guarantee your role as the company grows

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