👓 Workplace Shifts, Leadership Gifts, and Practicing Gratitude!

Hey Leader!

This issue is a collection of curated content from this week that would be helpful for you and your leadership!

Any of it you like? Email me back and let me know which one you found the most valuable!

Article - 7 Workplace Challenges in 2025

As we approach 2025, organizational leaders face critical challenges that demand immediate attention. Employee engagement and wellbeing have hit concerning lows, with only 50% of U.S. employees thriving - the lowest since 2009.

Despite significant investments in AI, adoption remains stagnant, with 70% of employees never using it. The workplace is experiencing a dramatic shift in expectations, particularly around hybrid work arrangements and support for working parents.

The data reveals striking gaps: while 50% of managers believe they provide weekly feedback, only 20% of employees agree. This disconnect, coupled with the fact that working mothers are twice as likely as fathers to decline promotions due to family obligations, signals a clear call to action.

For leaders, the message is clear: success in 2025 demands a fundamental rethinking of workplace culture, management practices, and support systems.

The organizations that will thrive are those that can bridge these gaps while creating meaningful workplace value propositions that address both in-person and remote workforce needs.

The one concern from this article that I will be focusing on is preparing for the Great Detachment, paying attention to the experiences my team and my clients team’s are facing that impact employee engagement.

Which one of the 7 Workplace Challenges has your attention? Reply back and let me know!

LinkedIn Post - 9 Leadership Skills You Might Already Have

Shout out to Dave Kline, a leadership expert I follow on LinkedIn!

I found this post to be very uplifting for the person who might struggle with knowing what strengths they already have to lead a team.

These 9 skills do not require extensive degrees; just intentionality on what type of culture you want to create through your presence.

My favorites are “#2 Be Enjoyable to Work With” and “#9 Lead Before the Title, Not Because of it.” And I’m learning how to do “#4 Have the Courage to Say ‘No’,” especially if I want to focus on the main things in my business while being a great husband and father of three young kids.

Which skill stood out to you?

Instagram Post - Gifts to Give Your Staff this Holiday Season

Alright, shameless (but not so shameless) plug. Here is a post I did highlighting the 4 gifts leaders can give their staff during the holidays (with a bonus gift as well).

These are actions that will help increase team morale, provide clarity through your leadership, and strengthen the connection between yourself and your staff.

Plus, this post was also a youtube video and podcast episode too (more shameless plugging lol).

Which gift stands out to you? What gifts would you add?

Ray’s Reminders - Practice Gratitude this Holiday Season

In this final section, wanted to provide you with some reminders for you:

1. Thank you to those who have filled out the survey letting me know more about your leadership journey! I am excited to dive into the results over the next couple of weeks to provide you with resources and content that will support your leadership! If you haven’t filled it out yet, do so by clicking the link here!

2. I am thinking about developing a free 90-day leadership challenge that will include a journal, community group, weekly email check-in, and a bi-weekly community call. The goal will be to help us kick off 2025 with a clear vision, intentional leadership practices, and tactical actions to help build a strong workplace culture through our leadership. Are you interested in that resource? Simply vote below what aspect of the challenge interests you!

3. Take a moment over this holiday stretch to practice gratitude and being present. For some of us, this has been a phenomenal year. For others, we have experienced some hardship. And a lot of us a mixture of it all. Leverage this time to take a breath and explore what you’ve learned through it all. Experience is the best teacher that will shape your perspective on how you can navigate this world. So take a minute to do the following:

• Sit in a secluded place for at least 30 minutes and ask yourself, “What am I grateful this year?” and “What are 3 things I have learned from this past year?”

• If you find yourself in the midst of holiday chaos, pause in the moment, smile, and find one thing that brings you joy in that moment.

• Set some intentions to stay in the moment. It can be easy for your mind to wander, worry, or wither if we do not make it a point to refocus ourselves to what is happening in front of us. Being in the moment can help us stay grounded to what is important, which is what is happening right now!

Thanks for reading! I’ll see you in the next issue!

Ray