Wireback Works

Leaders shape and create the environment. It all starts with a foundation of psychological safety and trust. Without that foundation, the culture will not be great. Think about your culture as a garden. You must focus on the foundation first, ensuring there is great soil and it has the nutrients needed for growth. Once the soil is ready, you plant the seeds. And they need tended if you want them to grow. ☀️Light. 💦 Water. ❌Weeding. Your culture is the same. You need to provide what it needs and your people need to flourish. 🔸Trust 🔸Safety 🔸Support 🔸Connection 🔸Recognition 🔸Engagement 🔸Communication And sometimes you also need to do some weeding to remove what may be trying to takeover or infect what you are trying to grow. It is all needed for a healthy environment. It requires time, care, and attention. How are you ensuring your environment is healthy? Have you done a pulse check of it lately? Where is this responsibility on your task list or strategy plan? Don’t lose sight of what is happening in your culture and environment. It requires regular tending and it needs to be an area of focus and responsibility for leaders.

Fear-based leadership rarely looks like yelling or intimidation. More often, it looks like: 🔸 constant urgency 🔸 withholding information 🔸 reacting poorly to mistakes 🔸 shutting ideas down too quickly And over time, teams stop taking risks. They stop speaking up. They stop bringing creativity and ownership to the table. Most leaders never intend to create this kind of culture. But it happens quietly. In our latest blog, we explore: ✔️ how fear-based leadership shows up ✔️ what it actually costs teams and leaders ✔️ practical ways to build more trust, hope, and psychological safety One question worth reflecting on: ➡️When people leave conversations with you, do they feel more capable… or more cautious? Read the full blog post: https://lnkd.in/ghJNF855

There’s nothing quite like working for an employer who truly supports your growth and wants you to succeed. These leaders at Premier Linen Company have that. They showed up, shared vulnerably, and fully engaged in every session. We talked about trust, conflict, feedback, accountability, coaching, and delegation. But what I loved most was watching the shift happen over time. They started coaching one another — sharing what they had tried, what was working, and what they were still figuring out together. The group included leaders with all levels of experience, from brand new managers to seasoned leaders who had already completed leadership programs before. And every single person still found something to learn. That’s leadership development. The journey never really ends. We keep growing ourselves while learning how to better support the growth of others. 💭What are you working on in your leadership journey? Supporting leaders as they grow is some of the most meaningful work I get to do. If your team is exploring leadership development or coaching, feel free to reach out.

In a series of interview conversations, something became really clear to me. The same questions led to very different conversations. I had the person who was direct and to the point. Answered everything quickly, and we were done. (D-style) I had the person who shared context, stories, details, and we used the full time allotment. (i or S) I had the person I had to prompt and pry, even offer examples to help them open up. (S or C) And I had the person with a clear solution, and it was hard to get them to step outside of it. (often C… sometimes D) Same questions. Different styles. This is where your style shows up. And where it matters even more as a leader. Because if I only ask questions my way…I won’t get the full picture. I get the version that fits how they communicate. So the work isn’t just asking better questions. It’s adjusting how you ask them. 🔸Creating space for some 🔸Adding structure for others 🔸Redirecting when needed 🔸Knowing when to let someone think out loud DiSC helps us understand why. Leadership is deciding what to do with that. 💭Are you adjusting your approach, or expecting others to adjust to you?

My husband and I were working on a project together. I hit a step I couldn’t figure out. We were missing critical labels needed for the instructions to work. My frustration was building. (And, I was also probably hungry.) 😩 So, I said, “I need a break.” We stopped, ate lunch and came back. I figured it out almost immediately. Same problem. Same person. Different result. The difference wasn’t the instructions. It was my state of being. This is where your style shows up, especially when you are frustrated. Because under pressure: 🔸some of us push harder 🔸some lose focus 🔸some get stuck 🔸some of us (me 🙋♀️) get caught needing it to be right Under pressure, we default to our habits, just with less patience. Your tone shifts. Your patience drops. Your openness closes. And people don’t experience your intent, they experience your frustration. The moment that changed it in this situation ➡️ “I need a break.” That’s the work of leadership. Recognize your state. Choose how you show up. 💭What does your style look like when you’re frustrated?

What messages are you sending to your staff? “Go back to your office.” “Trust needs to be earned.” “Stop asking for more to do.” “I hate HR.” “Promotion, but no salary increase.” “You are spreading negativity.” These are all things I hear from clients. Messages they have been told. What do you think those messages say to them? Go back to your office → We don’t trust you to manage your work Trust needs to be earned → We don’t trust you now Stop asking for more to do → Stay in your lane I hate HR → You’re not respected here Promotion, but no salary increase → Your value isn’t recognized You are spreading negativity → Don’t speak up Whether you intend it or not…you’re always sending a message. And those messages shape how people show up. What they share. What they hold back. Whether they stay. 💭Are your words reinforcing the culture you say you want?

You know that conversation you’ve been avoiding? We think we’re saving ourselves… and being kind to them. But the reality is, we’re not saving ourselves. And we’re not helping them. We’re making it a much bigger deal than it is. We’ve overthought it so much that it feels like a mountain. When it was really a speed bump. Slow down. Take a breath. Plant your feet. Have the conversation from a place of stability, support, and care. Until they know, they can’t change. And until we tell them, it keeps growing. If you’re avoiding a conversation, have it. Then notice how it actually felt. Reward yourself for having it, so you remember next time that it is easier than you thought. ➡️What conversation are you putting off right now?

You can’t show up well for your team if you’re running on empty. And yet, a lot of leaders try to push through anyway. The leaders who sustain strong teams over time do something different. They pay attention to themselves. They notice what’s draining them. They recognize what actually gives them energy. And they make small shifts before it starts to impact how they lead. A quick reset you can try this week (5 minutes): • What’s been leaving me depleted? • What actually feels energizing? • Where am I saying yes when I need to say “not yet”? • What’s one thing I can protect so I show up better? This kind of reflection isn’t extra. It’s part of leading well. I shared more in this week’s blog and we put together a short guide: 3 Leadership Shifts that Change Team Performance linked in it. https://lnkd.in/e9EMsDGC

“It’s not about the perks.” is often said about our workplaces. And I agree… to a point. But I’ve been thinking about this. What if it’s not that perks don’t matter… it’s that we’ve misunderstood WHY they matter? Because the pizza lunch? It’s not about the pizza. It’s about creating space to connect. It’s about a leader saying: Take the time. Share a meal together. This matters too. I worked somewhere that offered exercise classes. On paper? A perk. But what it actually did… was change how I live my life to this day. I tried yoga for the first time there and it wasn't because I suddenly became a yoga person, but it was because it felt safe to try. I learned how to lift weights because someone created an environment where I didn’t feel judged for not knowing what to do, or for starting with the tiny weights. I also did Zumba and Tae Kwon Do because they were offered at my workplace. That wasn’t a perk. That was care in action. The perks reinforced the culture. They created the space for us to connect, try new things, care for ourselves and remember that this was a place where people mattered. ➡️What's a perk that made a lasting impact on you, and why?

Your team shouldn’t have to guess which version of you is showing up today. And yet, this happens more often than leaders realize. One day expectations are clear. The next day priorities shift. Feedback changes depending on the mood of the meeting. Over time, something subtle starts to happen. People stop focusing on the work… and start focusing on reading the leader. That’s where consistency matters. Not because leaders should be rigid in their thinking. But because leaders shape the environment around them. When leaders show up consistently: 🔸 People know what success looks like 🔸 Teams prepare with confidence 🔸 Honest conversations happen sooner 🔸 Feedback becomes easier to receive 🔸 Creativity and ideas are shared more openly Consistency doesn’t limit innovation. It actually makes it safer for people to take risks. Because when the environment is stable, people spend less time protecting themselves and more time contributing. So here’s a question worth reflecting on: What do people experience from your leadership on a consistent basis? If you’re curious about the answer, leadership coaching can help uncover perspectives we often can’t see ourselves. #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #workplaceculture #coaching