Andrea Garson

In leadership, we often talk about resilience and accountability, but far less about psychological manipulation. Michael Gips recently wrote an insightful piece on gaslighting in the workplace, and it struck a chord. Over the years, I’ve seen how subtle forms of manipulation can erode trust, confidence, and team morale. Gaslighters are often intelligent and persuasive, they exploit ambiguity, distort facts, and make others doubt their own judgment. The damage can be lasting if left unaddressed. As leaders, we have a duty to create environments where people feel safe to speak up and be heard. That means: * Documenting facts and addressing issues early. * Reinforcing honesty, respect, and psychological safety as non-negotiables. * Supporting those who’ve been undermined, because silence helps the manipulator. A healthy security culture starts with trust, and trust can’t exist where manipulation goes unchecked. #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #SecurityManagement #PsychologicalSafety #ASISInternational

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Most people underestimate how much communication shapes the energy inside a team. We talk about clarity and alignment all the time, but the way leaders show up in conversations often has a bigger impact than the words themselves. When leaders take a moment to acknowledge effort, slow down during stressful moments or ask questions with real curiosity, the whole team feels the change. People step forward sooner. They share problems earlier. They make decisions with more confidence because they feel supported, not judged. Energy-aware communication does not require grand gestures. Small choices in tone and timing can change how a team works together and how they feel about the work in front of them. #Leadership #Communication #TeamPerformance

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A Year-End Leadership Guide: Reflect, Refocus, Reignite For a few months now I've been taking my son to 6am skating lessons and every time without fail I find myself in deep reflection as he carves up the ice. Minus the sounds of his edges digging into the ice, it's quiet and distraction-free. If you're a leader or a parent, that is not a space we find ourselves in very often... so I take advantage for those 30 minutes and enjoy. Tuesdays are usually my most productive days and now I know why! As leaders, this is the season we step back and ask the big questions: What worked? What didn’t? Where did we hit the mark - and where did we miss? Who thrived? Who struggled? Did we focus on what really mattered? But there’s one more layer that matters just as much: How did I show up as a leader? Here’s the approach I use to evaluate the year and lead my team into the next one with clarity and purpose: Start with Objectivity We use an AI-powered call recording tool to review team performance. I’ve engineered a prompt that analyzes each person’s performance across meetings, not to judge, but to understand, develop, and support. This keeps feedback grounded in reality, not gut feelings. It also gives us measurable results to look at and lean into over time. And I use that same process on myself. I ask: Did I add business value? Did I move things forward strategically? Did I uplift, challenge, and support my team? The hardest person to lead is always the one in the mirror. So I hold myself to the same standard. Align Priorities to Purpose I start with our company’s goals. From there, I break down what our business unit can do to support them. I balance what’s possible, what’s probable, and what stretches us. The result: clear goals that serve our customers, our company, and our people. Bring the Team Along Early I don’t wait until everything’s finalized to get buy-in. I breadcrumb the vision, dropping pieces into conversations and meetings to start aligning the team before the official rollout. When the full business plan drops, they’re already with me. One Piece of Advice Spend as much time evaluating yourself as you do your team. Then implement what you find. Growth doesn’t just come from setting expectations; it comes from living them. If you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and listen to the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast - Episode 187 for even more direction! Thanks Craig! You make me better every time. Here's to leading with purpose in 2026.

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Part 1: Servant Leadership Leadership doesn’t have to be complicated. Recently, someone shared that they appreciated my collaborative style - especially how, when I joined the team, I intentionally overcommunicated and led with transparency. That feedback stuck with me because it reflects a core belief: servant leadership is about clarity and simplicity. Great leaders remove the noise. They share context early, communicate clearly, and make the “why” easy to understand. When people aren’t guessing, trust builds… and momentum follows. Clarity serves. Simplicity scales. #ServantLeadership #Leadership #Simplicity #Clarity #Trust

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One of the toughest challenges I hear from leaders is maintaining a team culture that balances delivering results with keeping morale high.  Last week I led a session for ATD–Greater Twin Cities on how leadership simulations help organizations build high-performing leaders and stronger cultures. We used a live simulation focused on how emotional intelligence shapes organizational culture in times of change and disruption. The scenario challenged leaders to leverage empathy, self-awareness, and conflict resolution to drive measurable results. As a leadership development strategist, I know helping leaders take on new mindsets is easier said than done. However, one point in the session stuck out: design experiences that mirror the real decisions your leaders make daily. When leadership simulations feel relatable, even senior leaders open up to new perspectives. And they walk away with a blueprint for more impactful leadership habits. I'm grateful for the engaged audience who leaned into the conversation with thoughtful questions. If you’re curious about the real levers of performance leaders use every day, message me and I’d be happy to share insights from the session. #Leadership #ExecutiveCoach #EmotionalIntelligence

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Challenging observation in developing leaders: some "below the fold" behavior patterns greatly diminish much of the good that leader contributes. For instance you could have a brilliant leader who lacks the discipline in a meeting to identify the important versus the timely: meetings go long, wander, and their brilliance is masked. When hiring leaders, the tendency is to come up with many (say 12) must-haves, but in practice no one person is perfect so how do we work through the compromises? Does a hierarchy of must-haves help (If we said we wouldn't hire a person, no matter how good their other performance on item 4, if they didn't have item 2)? A few of mine: 1) "we" thinking - working from the realization that the larger team (including our customers) are actually one team, leaving no room for "Us" and "Them" 2) positivity - focus on what we're building, focus on creation, on what can be done and what can be solved 3) mental discipline - be able to think ahead 3 steps, listen carefully and capture nuance, and stay on track to completion of the most important What are yours?

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When leaders step in and momentum quietly slips. It usually starts with good intent. A leader joins a meeting to help. They ask questions to get clarity. They offer suggestions to unblock progress. The team listens carefully. Notes are taken. Follow-ups are created. And something subtle changes. Decisions that were clear now feel provisional. Teams pause work while they wait to see if direction has shifted. What felt like momentum becomes caution. No one did anything wrong. But leadership presence replaced leadership structure. This is one of the quiet ways transformations slow down. Not because leaders are disengaged. But because intervention begins to substitute for rhythm. When leaders step into delivery too often: - Teams wait for reassurance instead of acting - Decisions feel open even when they are not - Progress depends on who is in the room, not on the system Strong transformations do not rely on leaders being present everywhere. They rely on clear structures that hold when leaders are not. Momentum returns when leaders: - Reinforce decision pathways instead of reopening them - Trust agreed forums to do their job - Focus on removing constraints, not re-solving the work Leadership creates confidence when it strengthens the system, not when it replaces it. The Business Technology and Transformation Impact Report (BTIR) and the Transformation Health Check (THC) both surface leadership intervention patterns as early indicators of delivery strain. If this feels familiar, feel free to message me. #Transformation #Leadership #DeliveryExcellence #OrganisationalReadiness #ProgramManagement #Clarity #Governance #CTF #BTIR #THC #TRI #TVI

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The future of work isn’t happening in Silicon Valley boardrooms—I saw it unfold in the shoe aisle at Dick’s Sporting Goods. My son needed new shoes for school. The salesperson knew they had his size but couldn’t find them. If you’ve ever tried to find shoes at Dick’s, you know how hard it is! But here’s where it got interesting: She checked the computer system, which showed the inventory. “I know it’s here, I just have to find it and this will help,” she said, grabbing an RFID scanner (my 6 year old got to wave the wand too!). 15 minutes later, she found them on a different aisle. My son got his shoes, we were in awe, and I witnessed the future of work in action. This wasn’t human vs. tech. It was human persistence + AI and automation powered intelligence = customer delight. Here’s what made it work: The AI system provided inventory intelligence, the automation handled systematic scanning (RFID technology), and the human brought emotional investment, contextual judgment, and persistence. Without AI confirmation or automated RFID locator she’d still be searching, and we likely would have given up. Without human care, the system would have just said “not available on sales floor.” This matters more than you might think. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retail salesperson is the most common paid job in America with 3.9 million people in this role (2024). If we can crack the code on human-tech collaboration here, we’re not just talking theory. We’re talking about improving work and customer outcomes for millions. The pattern is clear: success requires human advantages, AI and automation advantages, and successfully working together. * Human advantages: emotional intelligence, adaptability, creative problem-solving, relationship building * AI advantages: predictive insights, pattern recognition, intelligent recommendations, contextual analysis * Automation advantages: consistent execution, systematic processing, precise measurement, scalable operations * Hybrid result: enhanced customer experience + improved organizational effectiveness To move from theory to practice we have to stop talking and start building. How do you map this into your organization? Four practical approaches: 1. Identify your “moments of truth” - When do customers most need human care, AI intelligence, AND automated capability? Start there. 2. Map current job success factors - What makes someone great at this role today? Which factors are uniquely human? Which need AI intelligence or automation? 3. Look for complementary capabilities - Don’t ask “what can AI replace?” Ask “what can AI and automation amplify about human strengths?” 4. Measure customer outcomes, not just efficiency - The Dick’s salesperson spent more time on our transaction, but created loyalty worth far more than saved minutes. The future of work is aboit creating value that none could achieve alone. #FutureOfWork #HumanAI #CustomerExperience #OrganizationalEffectiveness

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