Leadership & Management

Frank Besednjak's philosophy on leadership and management is the cornerstone of his coaching practice. He champions a direct, no-nonsense style that prioritizes clarity, accountability, and action over theory and platitudes. He often refers to himself as a "Chief Agitator," a title that reflects his commitment to challenging the status quo and pushing leaders to confront uncomfortable truths within their organizations.

His approach is built on the belief that effective leadership is not about being liked, but about being respected and, most importantly, being effective. He argues that many managers fail because they avoid difficult conversations, lack clear goals, and become disconnected from the day-to-day realities of their employees.

10 Behaviors of Managers That Destroy Employee Performance and Morale

Key Behaviors Destroying Morale

1. No goals, no feedback – Employees want to know what is expected and how they are doing. Too often, attention is only given when mistakes occur, ignoring accomplishments. "If you don't hear from me, you are doing just fine" is disengaging and lazy leadership.
2. Unresolved Issues – Employees raise concerns, but managers avoid action. This stems from either dismissing issues or lacking the courage to intervene. The result is a culture of apathy.
3. Leadership by Computer Screen – Over-reliance on data without direct engagement. Managers base decisions on software metrics instead of understanding the human element. On-the-ground interaction is essential.
4. Public Shaming – Negative feedback should remain private. Public humiliation erodes trust and undermines leadership credibility. Respect for employees is non-negotiable.
5. No Long-Term Plans – Younger generations seek growth opportunities. Managers who ignore career development miss a key motivator for high performers.
6. Toxic Stiffness – Overly rigid supervisors who prioritize tasks over people. This creates a tense, unwelcoming work environment where employees avoid interaction.
7. Conflicting Information – Inconsistent messaging from managers creates confusion. "Rules" that change depending on the audience or day lead to frustration and low trust.
8. Insufficient Resources – Sending employees to perform tasks without proper training or resources sets them up for failure. Preparation is critical.
9. Micromanaging – Constant scrutiny stifles creativity and demoralizes teams. Employees seek autonomy and trust, not constant oversight.
10. Shotgun Solutions – Addressing problems publicly when only a few individuals are involved. This creates unnecessary drama and fails to resolve root causes.

Did you just realize you exhibit some of these behaviors? This doesn't make you a bad manager. Even great leaders had to unlearn poor habits. Keep a journal of interactions to identify patterns and read "The New One Minute Manager" by Ken Blanchard for leadership fundamentals.

Employee Meetings: Bitch Session Or Team Building?

Earlier this year I was working with one of my clients and had the opportunity during one of my visits to attend a quarterly all employee meeting put on by management. So, I just sat in the back of the room quietly and observed.

The manager gave me a copy of the handout for the meeting topics: communicating with dispatch, parts usage, correct work time, posting hours on the job, coming in late, and several others.

After welcoming everyone, the manager proceeded to complain about a list of events that happened over the past few months. In unbelievable great detail he spent almost 20 minutes going over one error that someone made on an invoice. The entire meeting was a negative rant about mistakes found over the last two months.

The crazy part was that these were just common mistakes made by individuals that should probably have been handled on the day of the mistake rather than holding it for ammunition at the next meeting. I could tell by the look of the employees that this was a typical meeting and they were not even actively listening to their boss.

Let's imagine you were coaching a ball team and one of the players was messing something up or doing something wrong. Would you tell that person to handle it correctly right there during the game or wait two months and yell at the whole team about it? Which makes more sense?

For some reason, quite a few managers are reluctant to deal with the issues at hand directly with the culprit; instead they make everyone suffer for the mistakes of one. An employee meeting should be a positive event focused on how to improve rather than a tally of everyone's screw-ups.

Quit being a wuss and deal with issues head-on as they happen, building an ammunition depot for later use adds no value to anything or anyone.