Before Employees Buy Into the Mission, They Need to Know They Matter 👥🎯❤️

Every employee brings two things to work each day: their skills and their humanity. The problem is that organizations often recognize one while overlooking the other. Long before employees care about strategy, goals, or performance metrics, they want to know something much more fundamental: Do I matter here?

I've found that participation rises when leaders answer that question with their actions rather than their words.

I saw this firsthand with the housekeepers at the Golden Nugget. Management had become so focused on productivity that they rarely acknowledged the good work being done every day. Morale was low, absenteeism was high, and turnover remained a constant challenge. When leaders began making a conscious effort to recognize employees for what they were doing right, the atmosphere changed. Performance improved, trust grew, and employees became more invested in their work.

Another lesson came when employees seemed to be sleepwalking through performance and service standards. Management responded with a simple requirement: managers had to explain why whenever they issued directions or introduced new policies. We even told employees that if a manager couldn't explain the reason behind a request, they had the right to challenge it.

On the surface, it sounded a little like planned insubordination. In reality, it was a lesson in respect.

By catching employees doing things right, we acknowledged their value. By requiring leaders to explain the "why," we treated employees as thinking adults whose understanding mattered. Both forced managers to become more engaged in their own leadership responsibilities and created better conversations throughout the organization. Morale improved, performance increased, and employees became more committed to the standards they were being asked to uphold.

When hiring or promoting leaders, don't be shy about discussing these expectations. Technical competence matters, but leadership is fundamentally about people. Make it clear that respect, communication, and engagement are not optional leadership traits; they are part of the job. Just as importantly, model those behaviors yourself. Too often, managers are expected to demonstrate principles they do not see practiced by their own leaders.

When respect starts at the top, it has a much better chance of cascading throughout the organization. When leaders consistently do that, participation stops being something they have to demand and becomes something people willingly give. That's a difference every leader can make today.

 

Pamela Stroko: HCM Thought Leader and HCM Principal Analyst affiliated with 3Sixty Insights.

Take Responsibility for What Needs to Happens Next 🎯 🔄 💡

Everybody loves a rainbow; considerably fewer of us want the weather that comes with it. As your mother probably told you, life requires taking the good with the bad. Rain and rainbows tend to travel together.

In my experience, living and acting responsibly doesn't guarantee success. We can make good choices, work hard, and give our best effort and still encounter setbacks. That's where responsibility reaches maturity. You cannot take responsibility for everything that happens, but you can take responsibility for what you do next. When the rain inevitably comes, don't surrender what you're working toward. Take a step back, think logically, and adjust your thinking and actions.

I've often told the story here about my 15-year quest to develop a paperless HR environment; what I often leave out is the nearly disastrous part of the project we attempted for the opening of Treasure Island.

It started after The Mirage opened, when we debriefed our efforts around recruiting, hiring, and onboarding 5,500 new employees from the more than 55,000 people who applied. We had been so awash in paper that I became determined to find a way to use technology, then still in its infancy, to make the process more efficient.

For the opening of Treasure Island in 1993, I wanted to convert application forms and other new-hire documents into rudimentary databases that managers could access and review electronically. We considered converting those documents into digital text, but optical character recognition (OCR) software was still too new and unreliable. Instead, we decided to scan the original documents into a database and allow managers to review what were essentially electronic copies of the paper forms.

Long story short, the forms containing handwritten information were mostly illegible. Even scanned driver's licenses were often too dark to read. In the end, we went right back to using paper to collect documents that had to be handled, filed, tracked, and processed manually. The paperless project appeared dead.

That's how projects big and small get stalled or cancelled. It's the rain that falls before the rainbow appears.

But by 1995, technology was progressing, and IT executives had become interested in and responsive to my ideas. Even though the concept had been criticized and, in some cases, ridiculed, I never gave up on it. Anyone committed to bringing new ideas to life must learn patience and perseverance. Those virtues are essential companions to responsibility.

We all have dreams. Responsible people don't abandon them at the first sign of difficulty. They adapt, learn, regroup, and keep moving forward.

Even if you have to hunker down in a storm while pursuing your goals, don't let obstacles and challenges cancel them. Keep pushing forward until you find the answers and the rainbow waiting on the other side. Starting today.

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean (née Parton; January 19, 1946 – August 25, 2026) was an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman. Dubbed the "Queen of Country", Parton was one of the most successful performers in the history of country music.

Stop Playing It Safe. Own Bigger Goals and the Results They Create 🎯 🚀 💪

Playing it safe is a decision, and sometimes it’s the riskiest one you can make. There are certainly times when avoiding failure is the responsible thing to do. But don’t make the mistake of believing that responsibility always means caution.

Aiming low is a clever way to avoid embarrassment. If expectations are modest, disappointments usually are too. But if you're going to act, aim high and give it your best. Once you've decided to act, the next responsibility is how boldly you act. Take responsibility not only for trying, but for what you are willing to attempt.

In my experience, that's often easier said than done.

After rejoining Wynn following the sale of Mirage Resorts to MGM, my role was to recruit a new team of executives and mid-level managers to replace those who had chosen to remain with them. These were talented people who had helped us through three previous openings. Their experience had been one of our greatest advantages, and their absence would now be one of our greatest challenges.

We could have limited ourselves to those who wanted to join us and filled positions as quickly as possible. Instead, we raised the recruiting bar. To meet the demands of Wynn's new vision, we needed an entirely new generation of leaders and team members with the skills, stamina, courage, and drive to help us create what we hoped would be our best resort yet. Many were people we didn't know, and who didn't yet know us or the extraordinarily high standards we demanded of ourselves.

If we were going to ask people to build something extraordinary, then every interaction they had with us had to demonstrate what extraordinary looked like. We designed a recruitment campaign that captured their imagination, an applicant tracking system that reflected our service standards, a recruitment center that showcased our culture, orientation sessions that rivaled the best shows and showrooms, an onboarding process that treated employees like the guests they would ultimately serve, training that prepared them to excel, and team-building experiences that helped transform individuals into championship contenders.

I was nervous. We had already achieved operating and service standards that were the envy of the industry, and expectations were that we would outperform our own reputation. But I knew that aiming anywhere but high simply wouldn't do. Not for Wynn. Not for our guests. Not for the industry. And certainly not for the employees who believed that, together, we could accomplish something special.

It reminds me of Babe Ruth in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, pointing toward the stands at Wrigley Field while enduring the taunts of the opposing team before hitting the next pitch out of the park. Whether the story has grown larger with time almost doesn't matter. What endures is the image of someone willing to publicly commit to an ambitious outcome and accept the risk that comes with it.

Ownership means accepting responsibility not only for the effort you give, but also for the size of the opportunity you're willing to pursue. There are times when restraint is the responsible choice. But there are other times when your experience, preparation, and potential demand something more.

Know the difference between reckless risk and worthy ambition. Then, when the moment comes, swing for the bleachers. Starting today.

Bruce Lee[b] (1940 – 1973): Hong Kong and American martial artist, actor, and filmmaker regarded as the first global Chinese film star and one of the most influential martial artists in the history of cinema.

Own the Change ⚖️ Accept the Risk 🔥 Lead the Way 🚀

Nothing changes while you're waiting for something to change. Choice without action is merely intention. Don't just hope for change, take responsibility for creating it.

You can't complain if you're unwilling to move. Sometimes, however, moving forward takes courage. When an idea challenges the status quo, resistance is inevitable. The key is not to retreat when that happens, but to stay informed, listen carefully, and build support one step at a time. I've learned that people become believers when they can see progress for themselves.

That was certainly my experience advocating for and implementing a paperless HR environment. The concept was unfamiliar to many, and skepticism was natural. Success came not from forcing change, but from demonstrating it. By moving deliberately, proving what was possible, and building consensus along the way, doubters gradually became supporters.

Throughout my career, accepting responsibility has often meant making difficult choices and then having the courage to act on them.

When the question of unionization arose prior to the opening of Mirage, there were strong opinions on every side. While many favored remaining union-free, the research suggested that working collaboratively with Nevada's primary labor organization made sound business sense. Through honest negotiations, we established a partnership that benefited both sides and ultimately set a standard for progressive labor-management relations.

Later, when large-scale staffing challenges forced us to rethink traditional recruitment practices, we pioneered the hiring of first-time felons seeking a genuine second chance. Making that happen required collaboration with legal, security, and regulatory stakeholders. Rather than accepting the limitations of conventional thinking, we focused on finding a responsible path forward. The result was a win for our organization, a win for families, and a win for the communities we served.

In these examples, I accepted responsibility for leading significant change, but I also accepted the risks that came with it. My reputation and career were tied to the outcome. I mention that not to boast, but to make an important point. Ownership is more than having an idea. It is being willing to stand behind that idea when the outcome is uncertain.

People are far more likely to support change when they see that you are personally committed to its success. When you are willing to accept accountability, others become more willing to do the same.

The lesson is simple: stay positive, remain flexible, build consensus, and keep moving forward. Not every effort will succeed, but fear of failure should never become an excuse for inaction.

Be proactive. Be active. Take ownership of the change you want to see. Starting today.

Octavia Spencer (born 1970): American actress and author. She is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. 

The Life You Want Begins With the Decisions You Make Today. 🚀🎯🌟

Every ‘yes’ you give your life is also a ‘no’ to something else. Be careful what you keep choosing because eventually your choices become your life. They form the basis of how others view and perceive us.

Once someone accepts ownership, they need to recognize that it expresses itself through decisions. Responsibility isn't merely accepting consequences; it's also having the courage to choose differently when the current path no longer serves them. Our decisions are consequential, not casual, and we are accountable for where they lead.

Too many people spend years wishing they had made a different choice when what they really need is the courage to make a new one.

Few decisions have a greater impact on our happiness than where we invest our time and talents. That's where the recruiter in me has a few thoughts:

• Career choices can be hard – there may not be enough information readily available to make a well-informed decision. The internet contains a wealth of information that wasn't easily accessible when I was starting out. I made appointments with professionals in fields that interested me, and many allowed me to shadow them and get answers to my questions. School counselors also helped me dig deeper and either confirm or challenge my thinking. In later years, I've encouraged employers to make presentations in middle and high schools to expose young people to the many career opportunities available to them.

• Job choices may be even more critical – do your research on the companies that interest you, ask thoughtful questions during interviews, and treat the process with the importance it deserves. Call back and ask to speak with potential managers to learn more about their leadership style and expectations. Whenever possible, talk to current employees to gain insight into the workplace and its culture. The more informed you are, the fewer surprises you'll encounter later.

It's best to go into a new job with positivity, enthusiasm, and the confidence that comes from doing your homework. The information you gain from the efforts above will help you do exactly that. But like most things in life, the satisfaction, fulfillment, advancement, and loyalty you experience will be influenced by how much you invest in your work. Ask questions, do more than what's required, and take pride in what you do.

Because we own our lives, our decisions matter. Right or wrong, they're ours. We must keep our eyes and ears open to what's happening around us and be willing to adjust as circumstances change. Don't be afraid to speak up when it's needed and remain flexible. Change seems to be one of life's constants and managing it rather than resisting it will help us continue to find joy in what we do.

You owe it to yourself to love what you do or change it. Starting today.

Charles Michael “Chuck” Palahniuk (born 1962): American novelist who describes his work as transgressive fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories.

Accountability Starts with the Person in the Mirror 🪞💡🚀

The hardest person to hold accountable is usually the one in the mirror. If your life isn’t going the way you want, you may need to stop looking for someone else to blame.

That immediately removes family, bosses, colleagues, circumstances, bad luck, and other excuses from center stage. That doesn’t mean everything that happens to us is our fault. It means what we do about it is still our responsibility. As with the good things that happen in our lives, we own the mistakes and what we learn from them. The good news is that there is power in that.

Before people can talk about choices, effort, setbacks, or progress, they must establish ownership as a starting point. Especially at work. Countless things happen every day, and transparency and ownership are critical to keeping things moving. Communication must move in every direction. Real-time awareness, continuous learning, and ongoing adjustments must occur. Intentionally.

That allows people and groups to shift from “things happen to me” to “what will I do about what happens?”

One week before Wynn Las Vegas was to open, Mr Big himself found something wrong. Was it in design or construction? Didn’t matter. It was one of those moments when everyone was looking at each other and thinking. Fingers could have been pointed. Instead, solutions were found. Jackhammers started later that day, and the mistake was corrected.

Effective leaders make that happen. That’s ownership.

But ownership also requires an environment where people can tell the truth. If admitting a mistake is more dangerous than hiding one, problems get swept under the rug. Psychological safety and emotional intelligence aren’t separate from accountability; they help make it possible. Otherwise, we give up on our objectives about customer experiences. And that’s not worth it.

Not just in billion-dollar casinos, but in all the small things people do every day in businesses big and small.

When something goes wrong today, resist the temptation to find the guilty party. Find the next right move. Then own it. Starting today.

Allanah Hunt:  Life Coach & Law of Attraction Coach

Turn Mutual Trust and Loyalty into Extraordinary Performance 🚀 🎯 ⭐

"A healthy loyalty is not passive and complacent, but active and critical." Harold Laski

The highest form of loyalty isn't blind agreement. It's mutual trust that fosters candor, engagement, innovation, discretionary effort, and ultimately, excellence.

It's the kind of trust that allows people to challenge one another, grow together, and pursue excellence as a team. That was the challenge when launching Mirage, Bellagio, and Wynn: bringing together an entire management team during the year before opening, many of whom had never worked together before. While each leader had specific responsibilities for their department, they also had to learn how to collaborate across functions and collectively solve the countless challenges that arise when building a world-class organization from the ground up.

Rather than being dispersed throughout a fully operating resort, those twelve months were spent working in close proximity. They learned about each other's strengths, experiences, and perspectives. They built cross-functional relationships, personal connections, and a shared commitment to success. Over time, they developed loyalty to one another and to the mission they were working toward together.

That mutual loyalty unleashed extraordinary performance and demonstrated what becomes possible when authentic two-way loyalty exists. People became more willing to share ideas, help one another, and tackle challenges collectively. They recognized that the strength of the team consistently exceeded the capabilities of any individual contributor.

While this was taking place, the company supported their success in a myriad of ways. In addition to providing the training, tools, and resources they needed, we maintained a steady cadence of communication about mission, vision, policy, process, and people. Employees were kept informed about major developments, milestones, and decisions, creating a sense of inclusion, ownership, and commitment. People are far more likely to invest in an organization when they feel trusted enough to be kept in the loop.

Building teams isn't just about morale-building activities or creating a pleasant work environment. It's a deliberate strategy for increasing performance, strengthening commitment, and cultivating loyalty. Whether you're hiring one employee or one thousand, the principle remains the same: engage with people professionally and personally, demonstrate genuine care for their success, and nurture the loyalty they begin to feel in return.

Apply the same Golden Rule we rely on in our personal lives to the workplace. Treat people with respect, support their growth, and show them through your actions that they matter. The loyalty you build won't be passive or complacent. It will be active, critical, and capable of achieving extraordinary things.

Starting today.

Harold Laski (1893 – 1950): English political theorist and economist, served as the chairman of the British Labour Party (1945 to 1946) and was a professor at the London School of Economics.

Build Loyalty One Employee, One Day, at a Time 👥 ❤️ 🌱

The moment leaders begin taking loyalty for granted is often the moment they begin losing it.

Loyalty isn't something leaders earn once and keep forever. It must be cultivated continuously through actions that build trust, commitment, and connection.

I'm a Baby Boomer and much has been written about how my generation stayed with employers because loyalty mattered. It was often less about how much we enjoyed the job and more about pride, commitment, and character. While that perspective still exists today, workforce expectations have evolved significantly across generations.

Today's organizations are comprised of employees with different experiences, motivations, and communication styles. Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, place a high value on authenticity, flexibility, personal well-being, and meaningful relationships with their leaders. They are independent and pragmatic, and they expect leadership to feel genuine rather than transactional.

The lesson for leaders is not that loyalty matters less. It's that loyalty may need to be built differently.

As leadership continues to evolve, loyalty is increasingly strengthened through personal relationships, meaningful conversations, and an understanding of individual needs. Leaders who develop their emotional intelligence and servant leadership skills are better equipped to create those connections. They recognize that loyalty is often built one employee at a time.

The strongest leaders understand that loyalty is never inherited from yesterday's success. It is earned through today's actions. They invest in people, listen carefully, adapt when necessary, and remain attentive to what matters most to their employees.

Don't take loyalty for granted. Continue earning it. Continue strengthening it. Continue investing in it.

Because loyalty is not a reward for what you've done in the past. It's the result of how you lead today.

Natasha Katherine Pulley (born 1988): British author best known for her debut novel, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, which won a Betty Trask Award.

Want Loyal Employees? Be Loyal to Them First 🤝 ❤️ 🌟

Loyalty must be intentionally developed. Employee loyalty is never created by accident; it is cultivated through deliberate leadership and consistently meaningful experiences.

You can certainly get employees started on the right foot, but building a case for loyalty should not be left to chance. Most organizations already possess the tools needed to foster loyalty. The real question is whether they are willing to make it a strategic priority. In a very competitive market, for employees and customers alike, the companies that do have a natural advantage.

Loyal employees choose to exceed expectations, deliver superior products and services, focus relentlessly on customer satisfaction, and actively contribute to their organization's reputation and success.

Creating that kind of loyalty can't be bought. Yes, you must have competitive wages and benefits, but more importantly you must have a culture of excellence where employees are wanted, treated fairly, acknowledged, trusted, and respected. That's what attracts someone to your company, and that's what will retain them. And retention is a good way to measure loyalty.

It's also a measure of your loyalty to them. It says you like, trust, and respect them. It proves you want them on your team for the long haul. Thought of that way, it's an investment with a great ROI.

This isn't rocket science. I learned this at Wynn, where our annual retention rates were above 90% and our service scores were legendary. It takes focus and discipline, but if excellence is your goal, start by building a culture that earns loyalty every day.

Craig Groeschel (born 1967) American minister, author, and speaker who is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church, an American evangelical multi-site church with locations in 12 U.S. states.

Turn First Impressions into Lasting Loyalty 🚀 💼 ❤️

Every meaningful career decision involves sacrifice, which is why great leaders help people focus less on what they're leaving behind and more on what they can become. Loyalty often begins when people see a future worth pursuing.

Even when employees are excited about a new opportunity, major career changes naturally create uncertainty. Leaving behind familiar coworkers, routines, and responsibilities can lead people to wonder whether they made the right decision. During this transition period, leaders have an opportunity to reinforce confidence in the choice their new employees made.

A great onboarding process during an employee's first 90 days helps build relationships, deepen acclimation, and showcase the opportunities ahead. It also gives leaders an opportunity to fulfill the promises they made, both explicitly and implicitly, during the job posting, interview, and job offer stages of the recruitment process.

• Don't just get new employees signed up and settled into their roles; introduce them to team members who have built successful careers within your organization. Let them see firsthand what long-term growth and success can look like.

• Don't just train employees to perform their specific jobs; provide coaches, mentors, and opportunities to learn from others. Give them time to practice, encourage them to shadow colleagues whose work intersects with theirs, and help them gain a broader understanding of the organization, the people around them, and the possibilities that lie ahead.

• Don't leave employees wondering how they're doing; provide frequent feedback, encourage questions and discussion, and schedule a focused evaluation near the end of the onboarding period to celebrate progress, address concerns, and establish goals for future growth.

As employees begin to understand the vision and believe in the opportunities before them, they're more likely to leave their former job behind. Not because they have to, but because they want to. When leaders invest in people, answer their questions, and demonstrate that their promises were genuine, commitment begins to replace uncertainty.

That's the foundation on which long-term tenure and loyalty are built. Help your new employees begin that journey. Starting today.

Lindsey K. Rietzsch (pronounced "reach"), also known as "The Happy Lady," is an American entrepreneur, author, singer-songwriter, social media influencer, and inventor.

Inspire Loyalty from the Very First Conversation 💬 🌱 ⭐

Loyalty doesn't begin when someone accepts a job offer; it begins when a leader paints a future that people genuinely want to help create. People are loyal to organizations that give them something meaningful to believe in.

The seeds of loyalty are planted before day one. Great organizations attract people by giving them a compelling vision of the future and inviting them to become part of it.

Remember this when you're posting a job. Don't just include a description of duties and responsibilities; consider highlighting your corporate values. Don't just describe your benefits and time-off policies; share the career opportunities that await those who choose to grow with your organization.

Remember this when you're interviewing someone. Don't just ask questions about skills and experience; take time to answer their questions about your leadership style and culture. Don't just talk about the job they're applying for; tell them about the people who started in similar roles and how far they've progressed within your company.

Remember this when you make a job offer to someone. Don’t delegate this to someone else who will convey the message in a perfunctory manner; this is a special moment, and if you really want to hire someone, do it yourself and let them know how happy and excited you are. You only get one chance to make a great first impression and use it to begin building a meaningful professional impression.

You can treat new employees like a commodity or an asset. The first approach focuses on work; the second focuses on people, tenure, and loyalty.

Few moments generate more optimism than a new employee joining a new organization. Leverage that excitement and hope with a deliberate plan that helps them feel welcomed, valued, and proud to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Start new employees on the road to long-term employment and loyalty today.

Greta Thunberg (born 2003): Swedish activist known for pressuring governments to address climate change and social issues and inspiring the worldwide Fridays for Future movement.

Be Known for Your Character, Not Just Your Achievements 🌟 🏛️ ✨

The measure of a life is not whether we always succeed, but whether we remain true to who we are. Winning may impress people, but being true to your principles earns their respect.

Integrity is the standard by which we measure ourselves, regardless of outcomes. You're not bound to be perfect, but you are bound to give your best. That's all anyone should ask or expect. Effective leaders recognize genuine effort and appreciate it, providing praise when it is earned and coaching when improvement is needed.

After the administrative challenges of manually handling 55,000 paper applications and assembling onboarding documents for 6,000 new Mirage employees, I was eager to find a computer-based solution before having to do it all again. Although a viable solution wasn't yet available for Treasure Island's opening, the effort to find one caught the attention of colleagues and technology leaders. Those relationships and lessons ultimately contributed to historic breakthroughs for Bellagio's opening and beyond.

It wasn't that I was an IT expert. Rather, I was determined to keep planning, learning, and searching until the technology was truly available. While some questioned whether the tools would ever be capable of meeting our needs, those efforts eventually resulted in significant improvements in both efficiency and effectiveness.

Abraham Lincoln understood that success is often beyond our control, but character never is. We cannot always determine the outcome, but we can decide every day whether we will act with honesty, perseverance, and integrity.

We must act integrity not because it guarantees success, but because it reflects who we choose to be. We must hold to our dreams and values, lighting the way for others through our example. When organizations encourage that mindset to permeate their culture, they cultivate motivated employees, stronger leaders, and ultimately greater success.

Remember: it's not just what you do, but how you get there today.

Abraham Lincoln[b] (1809 – 1865): American lawyer, politician, and statesman who was the 16th president of the United States, from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

Lead with Integrity to Cultivate a Culture of Excellence 🤝🏛️✨

Character is one of those investments that grows more valuable with time. Anyone can look good for a day; it is much harder to act with integrity consistently over the long haul.

Leading with integrity builds a workplace culture based on trust and respect. But it does not happen overnight. Trust is earned slowly, one action at a time. Character compounds, building strength over the years. The longer someone lives with integrity, the more evidence accumulates, and trust grows accordingly.

It cannot be rushed. People are often slow to believe that companies and leaders are trustworthy. They may have had disappointing experiences in the past or heard stories that suggest otherwise. That is why the onboarding period is so critical. Leaders must engage new employees, coach them, listen to them, and demonstrate what a culture of excellence looks and feels like.

It is what employees are clamoring for: a workplace where fairness, candor, and trustworthiness are more than just words. Those qualities must be consistently demonstrated by leaders. That is what being a most admired company is all about.

At Wynn, it manifested itself in taking the time to explain why and in catching people doing things right. Employees learned that the payoff for hard work, high standards, and attention to detail was more than business success. It was a workplace built on trust, respect, and mutual accountability.

Stop complaining that you cannot find or keep good employees. By leading with integrity, you create a culture of excellence grounded in psychological safety, trust, shared accountability, and ethical consistency. Such environments inspire people to perform at their highest level. They attract talented individuals, retain high performers, and bring out the very best in people.

Be what you want your employees to be today.

Bruce Springsteen (born September 1949): American singer, songwriter, and musician.

Earn Trust. Increase Effectiveness. Deliver Results. 🎯 🤝 📈

Every meaningful relationship is built on a single foundation: trust. It is one of the few assets that takes years to earn and seconds to squander.

Question: What happens when you practice integrity consistently? Answer: People trust you.

Surveys consistently show that employees trust leaders who provide straight answers, act fairly, and do what they say they will do. That trust becomes the foundation for improved performance, greater effectiveness, and higher levels of employee and customer satisfaction.

Earning trust requires daily consistency, transparency, and action over empty words. Leaders build trust by matching promises with engagement, follow-through, admitting mistakes openly, giving team members autonomy instead of micromanaging them, explaining the "why" behind business decisions, and catching people doing things right.

Building that level of trust takes time, patience, and effort. Some leaders question whether the investment is worth it. But when measured against the gains in engagement, accountability, performance, and retention, the return is undeniable.

The most effective leaders understand that trust is not simply a leadership technique. It is a leadership requirement. Managers are responsible for making both themselves and their employees effective. Together, they achieve the organization's objectives through clear communication, focused learning, defined expectations, and meaningful accountability. Integrity builds trust. Trust enables effectiveness.

The most admired organizations understand this principle. Their employees trust leadership. Their customers trust the brand. That trust becomes a competitive advantage. I saw its value firsthand at Wynn.

It may sound daunting, but the formula is simple: do right by people and they will usually do right by you. The Golden Rule still works. Integrity earns trust, trust earns commitment, and commitment drives performance. That's an investment worth making every day. Starting today.

Juliana Vergara (born 1970): Colombian executive leadership coach, author, and clinical psychologist.

Create a Culture Where People Feel Safe to Speak Up 🛡️ 🎤 🤝

Every meaningful relationship is built on a single foundation: trust. Trust is the one asset that takes years to earn and seconds to squander.

Honesty is essential because it builds credibility, strengthens relationships, improves problem-solving, drives better decisions, reduces stress, and promotes continuous improvement. When you tell the truth consistently, people come to rely on your judgment and credibility. They seek your counsel because they know they will get an honest assessment, not simply the answer they want to hear.

The facts are friendly, whatever they may be. People cannot react appropriately to information they do not have. Honest conversations provide clarity, and clarity enables better decisions. It takes courage to present reality as it is, but integrity demands that we do exactly that.

Delivering a hard truth to a leader requires balancing candor with professionalism. The goal is to present the issue as a business problem to solve, not a personal complaint. Focus on impact, not blame. State the core issue clearly so people are not left guessing. Bring solutions, not just problems. Choose the appropriate time to deliver the message. And acknowledge shared goals. Done correctly, difficult conversations strengthen organizations instead of weakening them.

But telling the truth is only half of the equation. Leaders must also create environments where people feel safe enough to speak it.

This is where psychological safety becomes critical. Team members must feel safe to take risks, voice ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of humiliation or retaliation. Leaders set the tone by openly acknowledging their own mistakes and demonstrating how to learn from them. When leaders model accountability, they lower the pressure on everyone else.

Frame failure as a learning opportunity where blame is replaced by curiosity. Seek out differing viewpoints. Respond constructively to feedback. Establish clear channels for communication. Most importantly, ensure people know that speaking the truth will not be punished.

As I write this, I'm reminded how difficult it was for me to fess up to Steve Wynn. Like most visionaries, he was intent on things getting done exactly as he envisioned them. When I fell short, it often felt like a trip to the woodshed. It was never pleasant. But it built in me the discipline to do things right and the resolve to admit mistakes quickly, address them, and move forward. Uncomfortable? Absolutely. Necessary? Every time.

Perhaps most importantly, it taught me how to respond when members of my own team brought difficult news to me. If I expected them to be honest, I had a responsibility to make it safe for them to do so.

Integrity is about more than doing the right thing. It is also about doing it the right way, considering the people involved and the situation at hand. Set the rules and expectations early so that when difficult conversations inevitably arise, people will feel comfortable speaking the truth.

Integrity is not tested when things are easy. It is revealed when honesty carries a cost. Create an environment that supports honesty and integrity today.

Richard Russell “Rick” Riordan Jr. born 1964]: Award winning American author, producer.[1]

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[1] He is best known for his Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, which includes the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, The Heroes of Olympus series, The Trials of Apollo series, and The Nico di Angelo Adventures series. His books have been translated into 42 languages and sold more than 30 million copies in the United States.

Create a Culture Where Integrity Can Thrive 🤝 🏛️ ✨

Integrity begins with a choice, the moment you know what the right thing is, the debate is already over. Stop rationalizing. Stop searching for loopholes. Stop waiting for perfect circumstances. When you know the right thing to do, do it.

The first problem is that we're too often influenced by others, external events, and imagined consequences. It's not that people don't know right from wrong. That's drilled into us by family, friends, and others who helped shape us as we grew and developed.

The second is that character is revealed in moments when action is required. Decisions must be made. Others may be watching. And once the choice is made, there are no do-overs.

We all have experiences and stories about this. In the casino business, employees are tempted by so much activity around them. An item is lost and found by you. What do you do with it? A question is asked and you say you'll get back to someone, but you don't. A customer pleads for an exception to policy, and you're tempted. Those and countless other situations test integrity when no one is watching.

Integrity isn't only about what happens in business. It's an issue in everything we do in life. But my messages are about business, and so I suggest that building relationships based on trust and respect is the stuff that points people in the right direction when decisions are made. Better yet, those relationships create a safe haven where people can come forward and discuss what's on their minds before making a choice they may later regret.

It's no different than what goes on between parents and their children.

Create the conditions that promote integrity. Build trust. Encourage honest conversations. And when the right choice becomes clear, make sure people know they have permission to do the right thing every day. Starting today.

Amy Jade Winehouse (1983 – 2011): British singer and songwriter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Winehouse

Lead with Generosity, Not Ego 💡 🤝 🌟

If you need all the credit, you'll never lead anything worth celebrating. Innovation succeeds when leaders elevate others. Leaders succeed when they act with grace, maturity, and generosity.

 

True innovators are generous. They recognize the contributions of others, share success, and understand that lasting achievement is rarely the work of a single person. In my experience, that is often easier said than done.

 

From an early age, we're taught to strive and achieve, often as individuals. We place children in activities, both individual and team-based, hoping to instill values that will serve them throughout their lives. Yet most of life and work is accomplished alongside others.

 

Navigating that effectively requires empathy and a sense of fair play. Empathy keeps us aware of the people around us. Fair play is demonstrated when we give credit where credit is due and treat others as we would want to be treated.

 

In Yiddish (as in many other cultural languages*), they call that being a mensch; which literally translates to "person" or "human being," but figuratively means a person of integrity, honor, and decency. It is something each of us should strive to become and seek to inspire in others.

 

You know how good it feels to be recognized for your work and contributions. Few things are as motivating as sincere recognition. Remember that when dealing with or leading others.

It's all part of catching people doing things right, which became a cornerstone of Wynn's culture of excellence during my years there and, in large part, remains so today.

 

Be Generous: The highest principle of innovation is sharing success, knowledge, opportunities, and recognition so others can build upon what has been created. Be a role model for that. Starting today. 

 

Loretta Young (1913 – 2000): American actress who’s career spanned from 1916 - 1989. She received an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in film and television.

 

 

 

*Cultural Core Comparison

Culture/Language	Term	Focus of the Concept
Yiddish	Mensch	Individual integrity, decency, and community responsibility.
Bantu / Zulu	Ubuntu	Interconnectedness; treating others with active humanity.
Chinese	Junzi	Moral self-cultivation, humility, and absolute righteousness.
Arabic	Mu'min	Trustworthiness, honor, and faith put into action.
Spanish	Caballero	Nobility of spirit, keeping one's word, and quiet respect.