Blog, culture and engagement | Ambition In Motion

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.

by Kendall Barndollar

Fri 2 May 2025

Effective leadership has become increasingly complex and important in today's fast-paced workplace. Leaders must align communication methods with team culture to optimize results and create psychological safety within teams. Each team or group in the workplace, classroom, or any environment creates its own specific culture and dynamic. Teams go through stages of development that contribute to building a productive team culture. These phases are form, storm, norm, and perform. Following through phases of meeting, role alignment, conflict, resolution, and completion, teams create a curated dynamic. Much of a group's culture is developed in the storm and norm phase, where teammates are enabled to establish team processes and group values. Understanding the developmental stages of a team's experiences enables leaders to foster connections with team members, support groups through challenges, and improve overall engagement.

Although there are a variety of factors contributing to these team cultures, Dutch author and researcher Fons Trompenaar has established a model breaking group types down into two spectrums: relationship-oriented or task-oriented, and egalitarian or hierarchical. Relationship-oriented cultures value personal connections over a focus on goals and work towards building relationships early on. Task-oriented cultures value objectives, prioritize goal completion, and do not necessarily emphasize personal connections. Hierarchical cultures emphasize titles, roles, and the overall structure of the organization, whereas egalitarian cultures value achievement, ability, and experience. The various combinations of these aspects create 4 different group types: Family, Eiffel Tower, Guided Missile, and Incubators. Trompenaars' model has explained that the overlap of these dimensions creates these categories of general team environment habits, values, and norms.

Family Culture

The family style culture is hierarchical and relationship-oriented. Leaders of family-style groups create nurturing team cultures that foster personal and professional growth for team members. As implied by the name, this group type generally has a tight-knit, loyalty-based culture for support and mentorship from the top down. Family-style cultures focus on communication and trust within the group or organization. Because of the emphasis on personal relationships, communication may be informal, and group members may be more expressive in their emotions.

Mentorship programs would be particularly useful for this culture, reaching alignment in prioritizing relationships, growth, and connection within a team. In such hierarchical environments, leaders serve as leaders, mentors, and friends who support both professional and personal growth. These programs can aid in formalizing connections in the workplace, to ensure that each member has a mentor or guide to help support them.

2. Guided Missile Culture

The guided missile style culture is egalitarian and task-oriented. The guided missile group type values direct communication and is driven through results-oriented processes. Furthermore, teams of this type generally have a shared goal and work towards efficiency and specific objectives. This group type heavily emphasizes feedback and enables opportunities for professional growth, but relationships are not personal. The Guided Missile group thrives in a fast-paced, results-driven environment where collaboration is structured around expertise and ability over role or title.

Groups of this type may benefit from utilizing a tool such as AIM Insights. AIM Insights enables managers and their teams to view goals, progress, and benchmarks. A transparent platform works to build team alignment and enables timely and objective feedback to optimize productivity and reach team goals.

3. Eiffel Tower Culture

The Eiffel Tower group culture type is hierarchical and task-oriented. In these groups, leaders and roles are distinct, and expectations should be clearly communicated across individuals. Teams in this category prioritize direct communication and emphasize the importance of formal processes and standardization. Because this group type concentrates on clarity, these teams tend to be very organized and decisive. To best align with team culture in this environment, members should focus on organization and prioritizing procedures and efficiency in their work.

Leaders of these groups may experience some isolation due to the emphasis on hierarchy; many of these leaders may benefit from horizontal mentorship programs. Horizontal mentorship programs enable executives to connect with their peers for mutual growth, learning, and guidance. These peer-to-peer relationships foster a sense of mutual support and collectiveness that enable members to learn from each other. Additionally, horizontal mentorship programs enable leaders to continuously learn from each other's experiences and provide a private setting to discuss challenges.

4. Incubator Culture

The incubator group culture is egalitarian and relationship-oriented. These teams generally communicate informally but form close relationships across peers. These teams focus on self-expression, personal growth, and innovation. Furthermore, these relationships and growth efforts create environments where team members are connected and engaged in their work and environment. Incubator cultures often build environments where team members can learn from their failures, and open communication is encouraged. Aligning with these cultures requires individuals to be adaptive and free-thinking to engage in team-wide collaboration. This group type is well-suited for startups or innovation hubs that value entrepreneurial efforts, curiosity, and creativity.

Although challenging, recognizing and adapting leadership and communication styles to team cultures is crucial to enable long-term success. To foster a collaborative and productive environment, leaders should prioritize aligning their communication methods and styles with the group culture they have observed. Each of the group culture types, Family, Guided Missile, Eiffel Tower, and Incubator, represents an overlap of two key dimensions driving workplace cultures. Through analyzing the dimensions of relationship or task orientation and egalitarian or hierarchical outlook, leaders can better adapt their communication tactics. By aligning leadership, culture, and communication, teams are enabled to reach higher productivity and efficiency. Furthermore, leaders' efforts towards alignment work to foster team values of trust, clarity, and connection. Ultimately, leaders who are attuned to their team's cultures and needs are best positioned to build resilient, successful teams.

by Grace Tripathy

Fri 18 April 2025

At first glance, a culture built on positivity seems like a dream. Uplifting messages, cheerful attitudes, and constant encouragement are all hallmarks of a "healthy" work environment. But what happens when positivity becomes mandatory—when it overshadows reality and invalidates the honest struggles employees face? That’s when positivity becomes toxic.

Toxic positivity is the subtle, yet damaging practice of demanding optimism at all costs. In this kind of culture, employees may feel they are not allowed to express disappointment, frustration, or doubt without being labeled “negative” or “unmotivated.” Over time, it leads to emotional shutdown, superficial conversations, and a lack of real feedback—all under the illusion of morale.

Take, for example, a mid-sized marketing tech company that has experienced rapid growth during the pandemic and was celebrated for its “can-do” attitude and upbeat culture. “We only want positive energy here” became a catchphrase repeated in all-hands meetings and internal Slack channels.

But as the company hit a plateau and began facing delivery delays and client churn, employees started to feel a disconnect. Team members who voiced concerns about deadlines were told to “trust the process.” Junior staff who asked for clearer priorities were reminded to “stay positive.” Over time, employee engagement scores fell and levels of burnout rose. And trust in leadership began to erode.

Why This Matters: The Hidden Consequences of Toxic Positivity

While leaders may adopt positivity as a well-intentioned morale booster, its overuse can undermine team performance, trust, and retention. When people feel they cannot express what’s really going on, innovation stalls, accountability slips, and emotional fatigue sets in. Employees don’t want to work in environments where emotions are filtered and struggles are ignored—they want to feel heard and valued for the full range of their experiences.

Moreover, research shows that psychologically safe workplaces—where employees can voice concerns without fear—outperform those where only agreeable input is welcome. In short, a culture that denies problems denies progress. For companies navigating uncertainty or change, addressing issues with realism and empathy isn’t just important—it’s essential for long-term success.

Leading with Authenticity

Fixing toxic positivity doesn’t mean abandoning optimism. It means rebalancing it with emotional authenticity. The marketing tech company began this shift by implementing three key strategies:

Executive Mastermind Groups

Recognizing that leaders need space to process difficult decisions before delivering them with clarity and compassion, the company instituted quarterly executive mastermind groups. These confidential peer sessions gave senior leaders a space to discuss challenges openly, get advice on how to deliver hard news with empathy, and reflect on how to model vulnerability without losing authority.

One CFO shared, “Being able to talk through layoffs with other executives before I spoke to the team helped me center the message in care and transparency, rather than panic or forced positivity.”

2. Real Feedback Systems

To rebuild psychological safety, the company launched an anonymous feedback platform and encouraged managers to hold monthly “Open Reality” sessions—non-judgmental, structured conversations where employees could discuss what wasn’t working and where they needed more support. This initiative helped surface actionable insights and fostered trust, as employees saw their concerns acknowledged and addressed.

3. Modeling Honest Optimism

Executives stopped ending every company meeting with “everything’s great” and began adopting a new mantra: “It’s okay to not be okay—but we’ll face it together.” By sharing challenges alongside successes, leaders signaled that being real was not only allowed, but valued. This shift helped employees see that optimism wasn’t about pretending, but about committing to progress, even when it’s tough.

How to Implement This Change: A Practical Guide for Leaders

Transforming a culture of toxic positivity doesn’t happen overnight—but it starts with intentional shifts in how leadership communicates and creates space for others to do the same. Here's how business leaders can begin:

Audit the Current Culture

Use employee surveys, listening sessions, or facilitated focus groups to ask tough questions: Do people feel safe speaking up? Are concerns being brushed aside in favor of “staying positive”? Identify areas where feedback is absent or glossed over.

2. Reframe Leadership Messaging

Instead of over-relying on optimistic language, aim for a tone that balances encouragement with honesty. Phrases like “We’re facing a challenge, and we’re working through it together” are more grounding than “Everything’s going to be fine!”

3. Build Support Systems

Set up mastermind groups or peer circles for executives and managers to talk candidly, vent in a healthy space, and get advice on how to communicate tough news with empathy. When leaders feel supported, they’re better able to support others.

4. Train Managers in Psychological Safety

Provide training on active listening, validating emotions, and managing conflict without avoidance. Give middle managers the tools to foster authenticity in 1:1s and team check-ins—without defaulting to forced optimism.

5. Celebrate Transparency

Reward transparency. When an employee voices a hard truth or surfaces a risk, acknowledge it publicly as a courageous and constructive act. This shows that the company values integrity as much as performance.

A strong company culture doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff—it meets it head-on with honesty, empathy, and shared resolve. The marketing tech company’s journey shows that when leaders move from toxic positivity to genuine optimism, they unlock not just morale, but meaning. By embracing reality and building space for honest dialogue, businesses create the kind of trust that fuels resilience, and results.

by Kayla Ambrose

Fri 18 April 2025

The most successful leaders aren’t the ones who stay within their comfort zone but are those who embrace calculated career risks. One of the most impactful career decisions a leader can make is transitioning from one leadership position to another, even though this can be intimidating. Whether it's changing from Vice President of Marketing to Vice President of Sales or shifting to a completely different role, taking these calculated risks can allow for immense personal and professional growth, supporting career development.

Understanding Calculated Risks

Taking a career risk shouldn’t feel like rolling the dice and hoping for the best. Embracing career risks should involve logical decision-making and strategic planning to evaluate the opportunities and setbacks of the decision. Here are some things to consider when calculating the risk of making a large-scale career decision:

Does this align with overall career goals?

First and foremost, reflect on whether the potential career change aligns with overall career goals. Even if a great and exciting opportunity presents itself for a role change, it may not be the right fit if this shift doesn’t align with personal career aspirations. Simply seeking a new role to experience change without considering the broader implications for career trajectory can lead to setbacks rather than progress. Calculated risks are those driven by purpose rather than just curiosity.

2. How transferable are your current skills to the new role?

Another important consideration is the ability to transfer current knowledge and skills to the new role. While leadership experience and strong problem-solving skills apply to various management roles, a lack of foundational technical skills may be a challenge for certain positions. Reflect on what skills may need to be acquired and the time required to develop such skills for the new role.

3. Identify potential consequences

If a new career opportunity aligns with career goals and has a feasible required skillset, the next criterion to consider is the consequences of the career shift. Some consequences may be a steep learning curve, decreased confidence, or even needing to dedicate time to acquire new skills. Considering all the potential consequences will allow for a more informed decision and prevent being blindsided in the future by issues that arise.

4. Develop strategies to overcome these consequences

Once potential risks have been identified, plan strategies to proactively manage them. Taking a proactive rather than a reactive approach to addressing potential consequences is crucial in creating a smooth transition from one role to the next. Some potential strategies could include joining an executive mastermind group for a stronger support system or self-studying to improve upon necessary skills. Preparing for challenges not only makes the transition to a new role smoother but also demonstrates strong leadership qualities that will be recognized by others in the organization.

Overcoming Fear of Failure

One of the greatest obstacles leaders face when considering a career risk is the fear of failure. It’s entirely natural to prefer to exist within the comfort zone and avoid change. Many people tend to experience loss aversion, which is the tendency to avoid the potential feeling of failure despite the ability to experience great successes. Even though leaders may experience a sense of loss aversion, the ability to break down the risk and consider all possible outcomes can work to overcome this cognitive bias. Fear of failure and loss aversion are often rooted in uncertainty. By utilizing the previously mentioned strategies to create a well-thought-out plan, leaders can regain a sense of control.

A powerful tool that can be leveraged to overcome a fear of failure is developing a growth mindset. Transitioning to a growth mindset means embracing each new challenge as an opportunity for improvement rather than an obstacle. Strategies to develop a growth mindset over time can be to start with reframing views on small obstacles and progressing to larger-scale obstacles.

The Consequences of Heavy Risk Aversion

Being stagnant in a role and not pursuing calculated career risks may seem safer, but this can backfire. Hesitating to embrace calculated career risks can cause leaders to miss out of faster career growth opportunities, restrict them to narrowly defined roles, and even create the perception that they lack ambition. Strong risk aversion can also limit the perspective that leaders have within the organization. Leaders who have experience across departments and within different roles can contribute more to strategic conversations that span multiple departments. While avoiding risk can seem inconsequential, this may cause more harm than good.

In the long term, remaining comfortable in one position can decrease momentum and reduce a leader’s competitive edge. Organizations are constantly evolving, so leaders who don’t seek opportunities to grow may find themselves falling behind peers who take advantage of calculated opportunities. Recognizing when opportunities can support leadership evolution can be transformative for one's career.

Strong leaders are created by the ability to seek change and embrace challenges. Embracing calculated career risks can be a pivotal moment within a leader's career to elevate their leadership skills. Beyond personal growth, taking calculated risks can position leaders to become more adaptable and prepared for larger organizational responsibilities. Demonstrating the ability to accept risks signals that a leader is not only capable of navigating uncertainty but also able to lead strongly through it.

by Garrett Mintz

Fri 18 April 2025

Reorgs, layoffs, RIFs, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, business transformation.

These terms have become the vernacular of business today - but what do they really mean? What are the implications of making these changes? And most importantly, how can we do them right?

At its core, corporate change stems from a realization: the current path isn’t working. A new direction is needed. This applies to both big businesses and small businesses - no organization is immune.

Companies pursue change for many reasons:

They see an opportunity in which they feel if they don’t act now, they will miss it.
Profitability is declining and a change needs to be made.
Acquiring another company for their clients or technology opens a door to taking over a new market.
Expenses pile up and implementing a new technology will have a major impact on their bottom line.

These are all valid reasons for making a change. If these changes aren’t made, companies run the risk of going out of business or becoming obsolete.

There is also the human side of change. This includes people getting moved around into different departments, people learning new technologies and adjusting the way they work, people getting fired, and those who are left having to pick up the slack for those who vacated.

Without clarity, the natural result of this is fear. Employees fear:

Will new technology replace my job?
Will these new tariffs impact the economy to cause the company to lose sales/profitability and force layoffs?
Will my increased workload lead to burnout?
Will the merger/acquisition create a scenario where I’m competing with someone for a single position?
Will this new, experimental/unproven business unit fail and risk my job security?

Fear creates disengagement and reduced productivity. Instead of people focusing on their jobs, they begin to focus on beefing up their resumes. They’ll start wondering if they are going to be fired next, and making personal/life/family plans in a stressed-out manner because they are uncertain of their livelihoods.

To implement change successfully - where the team can innovate, profits rise, and confidence can grow - organizations need to build a CLEAR vision that drives execution.

Clear is the most critical word in this statement because that is where most companies drop the ball.

Clear means that people:

Understand why a decision was made
Know why they are left to do the work they are doing
Sees the company’s plans for growth
Know what their success metrics are
Know what success will lead to
Understands that more change will follow if metrics aren’t hit

A litmus test for knowing whether or not your organization did a good job of implementing change is if every employee at the company can go home to their family and say “The company has made some positive changes to the organization and I am excited about my role in this organization moving forward.”

Not just say it to their boss. Say it—and mean it—to their family.

What are common pitfalls companies pursue when trying to create a clear vision that drives execution?

Toxic positivity - A leader who avoids hard truths erodes trust. Employees can handle the truth, because the mythical worst case scenario employees make up in their minds is oftentimes far worse than the actual worst case scenario. But if corporate leadership can’t be honest about the state of the business, employees will make up their own story as to why the changes are happening.
Transparency without context - Being open with financials or goals is helpful—but transparency alone isn't enough. Not every employee understands the implications of “two down quarters.” For some businesses, this means no holiday bonuses. For others, it means layoffs. As leaders, we must connect the dots.
Making abrupt decisions - Some companies are aware of the impending big decisions they will have to make and treat them like a game of “chicken” to see if the business turns around in time. Some companies are not aware of a major economic/business shakeup and they make decisions abruptly. Either way, making abrupt decisions is difficult on every employee impacted by the change.
Not getting stakeholder buy-in - Many companies think that just because the C-suite team understands a decision then all of the employees will fall in line and understand as well. For better or worse, objectivity diminishes the higher anyone goes in any organizational hierarchy. This means that people will tell their boss whatever they want to hear to save their jobs. Employees won’t challenge decisions they don’t understand—they’ll quietly disengage instead.

So how do we build a clear vision that drives execution?

Be transparent - Yes, some employees may leave when faced with uncomfortable truths. That’s okay. Often, they’re the most risk-averse or easily disengaged. Transparency builds trust with those who stay—and they’ll work harder for a company they believe is honest.
Provide context - Don’t just share the “what” - share the “why”. Define your success metrics and the timeline for evaluating the change. Share also the ramifications that success/failure will have on the business and everyone involved. This will build trust from the employees and motivate them to do their best to execute the new plan.
Give a timeline for change - Use a pilot team to test the changes and use case studies and results to bolster the reason for change. But also give people a timeline in which they can make an adjustment. Some people are laggards while others have legitimate concerns about the change. Hear out the concerns and allow the laggards to adjust to the change on the timeline you laid out for them.
Have the team repeat back to leadership why the change is being made - Ask teams to repeat back the “why” behind the change. Let middle managers explain it in their own words to leadership. This equips them to handle pushback from their teams—and prevents the dreaded line: "I don’t know why we’re doing this, but it’s the new way now."

If upper managers, middle managers, and individual contributors can all communicate why a change decision was made, the company is much more likely to pass the litmus test of every employee going back to their families and saying “The company has made some positive changes to the organization and I am excited about my role in this organization moving forward.” If an organization does these 4 things, they will be well on their way to building a clear vision that drives execution.

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

How to Thrive In Your Company Based on its Organizational Culture

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How to Fix Toxic Positivity in the Workplace

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Taking calculated career risks is critical to achieving growth

How to Build a Clear Vision That Drives Execution

A vision needs clarity for the team to successfully execute it

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