At least monthly, an audience member will come up to me after a presentation and say something to the effect of, “I love your ideas but hesitate to try anything new, because I’ll irritate my boss or coworkers.” Despite all the research and words we've expended pointing out that engaged team members are more productive, some leaders still enforce the old my-way-or-the-highway attitude. They don't see (or don't care) that unhappy, bored people have low productivity, so they just push them harder, further damaging their performance. Many employees want to help improve processes for the better, but often others aren’t willing to try anything new.

Even some leaders who know there's a better way often hesitate to make changes, because their own leaders remain stuck in the past.