A business is a collection of written and unwritten contracts with and between employees, vendors, governmental agencies, and customers. A high functioning business is one that takes those contracts seriously and establishes clear and concise rules of engagement along its vectors of interaction both internally and externally. To connect this back to previous conversations, a high functioning business builds and installs a management operating system that’s rooted in a foundation of continuous improvement and organizational health. Guardrails, systems, and processes are established and continually refined/reinforced to allow for trust to flourish.

Everyone wins when “my word is my bond” becomes woven into the fabric of your organizational culture. Accountability and trust simultaneously improve as the nooks and crannies to hide half-truths, speculation, and agendas that run counter to the company North Star become fewer and farther between.

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How can we reduce political polarization? I fear that we are becoming anesthetized to what would be considered vicious, uncivil, unacceptable, and unproductive discourse to a prudent, independent observer.

One of the unpleasant truths of leadership is that the people who populate your organization (at all levels) are constantly trying to divine your position on myriad topics - everything from purpose and vision to the stack ranking of current-period priorities. Like it or not, as a leader, you are a significant topic of conversation and your position on issues matters.

The less visible you are, the more active the water-cooler will be. Infrequent communication from the top provides more oxygen for conspiracy theories and rumors to thrive. Conspiracy theories and rumors breed significant emotional waste that can negatively impact morale, engagement, and productivity.