A Senator just said something to a CEO that most boards never will.
"I don't think the problem is with the employees.
The problem is with you."
33 million dollars.
45% raise last year.
32,000 workers got 1% over eight years.
And the CEO's answer to underperformance was: if employees would just comply better, things would improve.
I've heard that exact logic in boardrooms for 30 years.
It's always wrong.
Here's what I know after coaching thousands of leaders:
When performance is broken across an entire organisation - you don't have an employee problem.
You have a leadership problem.
Your engineers don't become the best in the world and then suddenly stop caring.
Your machinists don't go from outstanding to disengaged for no reason.
People don't fail organisations.
Organisations fail people.
The fish rots from the head.
And no amount of compliance training, performance management, or culture initiatives fixes a leadership problem at the top.
The Senator was right.
The most important question any leader can ask isn't:
Why won't my people perform?
It's: What am I doing that's making it harder for them to?
That question changes everything.
Most leaders never ask it.
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PS - this isn't related - but my next free workshop is happening.
If you're a leader who wants to break through the system and drive exceptional results through your team, this one's for you.
Register here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/g6VAwbkZ