SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2025HR TECH OUTLOOK9Rewards and perks can have a strong impact at the moment, but that impact is usually short-livedshoulder for someone to cry on. Leaders who have the ability to respond with compassion when someone on their team is struggling can not only make an impact on that employee's life, they may also gain fierce loyalty from that individual. 3. `Do I make every decision, or do I provide leeway to act?' It may be `my house, my rules,' but nobody likes it when those rules are applied inflexibly to the point that every decision has to be made by the person in charge. Employees who have the autonomy to make their own decisions in most circumstances are always more engaged in their work than those who must follow orders blindly 100 percent of the time.4. `Do I advocate for my people?' A supportive manager helps clear barriers for their team and backs them up when they're being treated unfairly while also giving them access to new opportunities and career development.5. `Do I show an interest in their lives beyond the scope of our relationship?' You probably know a fair bit about your kids' friends, school life, and extracurricular activities. You should also know at least some details about your employees' lives outside of work. Do you know where they're taking their vacation? Ask them about it when they return. Do you know the names of their children or significant others? Respect boundaries, but generally, employees appreciate when their leader sees them as a person first and an employee second. 6. `Do I generally make life easier for them or harder?' Weak, unimaginative leaders say `no' to everything. This sends a message to their people that the leader's needs, or the needs of the company, are always more important than their own. Try making your default answer `yes.' When it has to be `no' ­ and sometimes it will ­ explain why; they may not agree with your reasoning but should at least understand it. 7. `Do I treat them fairly, relative to their peers?' Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! It can be easy to focus your attention on the extreme ends of the bell curve and forget everyone in the middle. It's important to be present and involved with your entire team. Don't play favorites. 8. `Do I help them resolve conflict?' Unmanaged conflict rarely resolves itself, no matter how hard you look the other way. 9. `Am I comfortable with discipline?' Being able to provide critical feedback, deliver difficult messages with empathy, and even discipline an employee are essential skills that leaders must have.10. Finally, `Do I deliver all of the above consistently?' Few can live those values 100 percent of the time, but if you aren't hitting at least 90 percent, you may be seen as a Jekyll-and-Hyde leader. Authenticity and consistency are important. It can be difficult to put the above into practice at a strategic, organization-wide level because it sounds "fluffy" and insubstantial. It's not a `program' that can be easily rolled out with quantifiable results. But it also isn't an expense line on the financial statement. If you can deliver on the above ten questions on an individual leader level, you will have a strong workplace culture­and it won't cost you a cent.
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