The Leadership Pulse: Why Managing People Feels Harder Than Ever—and What Actually Works

After more than three decades of research across hundreds of organizations, one finding stands out above all others:
It is getting harder to manage people.

That’s not a complaint—it’s a reality. And it’s one leaders must confront head-on if they want consistent execution,
strong performance, and a workplace where high performers thrive.

Why Leadership Has Become So Challenging

Our research shows two forces colliding at once:

1. Work is more intense than ever.

Organizations are asking people to do more—better and faster—with fewer resources, constant change, and higher
expectations. That pressure is unavoidable. In fact, organizations not operating this way are being left behind.

2. The workforce is more high-maintenance.

People are quicker to push back, ask for accommodations, resist direction, or disengage when expectations aren’t clear.
Leaders feel squeezed from both sides—higher demands above, more resistance below.

The result? Too many managers retreat. They soften their authority. They avoid structure. They “touch base” instead of leading.

The Missing Ingredient: Leadership Fundamentals

Despite all the talk about engagement, empowerment, and motivation, our research shows something surprising:
What’s missing in nine out of ten management relationships is not inspiration—it’s fundamentals.

Specifically: high-structure, high-substance communication.

Leadership isn’t about charisma or personality. It’s about how clearly, consistently, and intentionally you communicate—every day.

That means:

• Well-run team huddles with clear priorities and next steps
• Regular one-on-one conversations that spell out expectations
• Following up—again and again
• Solving small problems before they become big ones
• Documenting performance (good, bad, and average)
• Coaching people based on what they need, not what feels comfortable

These aren’t new ideas. They’re the basics. But they’re routinely skipped.

Why Leaders Avoid the Basics

When managers don’t practice these fundamentals, it’s rarely because they disagree with them. It’s because of a handful
of persistent myths:

• “If I empower people, I should leave them alone.”
  False. Real empowerment is hands-on. It requires guidance, support, and coaching.
• “Being fair means treating everyone the same.”
  False. Treating high performers and low performers the same is profoundly unfair.
• “If I get too involved, I’ll look like a jerk.”
  In reality, people think leaders are jerks when they’re too weak, not too strong.
• “I want to avoid difficult confrontations.”
  Avoiding structure creates difficult confrontations. Ordinary conversations prevent them.
• “HR will get me in trouble if I manage too closely.”
  Documentation protects leaders. Writing things down is a leadership strength, not a liability.
• “I’m not a natural leader.”
  Leadership is a learned skill. Anyone can master it with the right habits.
• “I don’t have time.”
  You don’t have time not to lead. Firefighting costs far more time than prevention.

Management Is Fire Prevention

Most managers spend their days putting out fires—problems that never should have happened in the first place.

Strong leaders do something different. They prevent fires by:

• Creating clarity before confusion sets in
• Holding people accountable early
• Talking about the work—constantly
• Making expectations visible and unavoidable

Think of leadership as daily maintenance. Boring? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

One Simple Commitment That Changes Everything

If you want to start leading more effectively, here’s the challenge:
Set aside 30 minutes a day to lead—before anything goes right, wrong, or average.

Use that time to:

• Clarify priorities
• Coach performance
• Follow up
• Write things down
• Ask: “What are you doing next?”

Those minutes will save hours later. Guaranteed.

The Bottom Line

No one needs a weak leader.

High performers want clarity, support, and accountability. Low performers want to be left alone.

The choice is yours.

Leadership works when you commit to the fundamentals—one conversation at a time, one person at a time, one day at a time.