Sometimes leaders feel the need to talk down another company just to make their own stand out, but the truth is you don’t have to. It might feel tempting to throw subtle or even not so subtle shade to highlight your strengths, but real leadership doesn’t need comparison to shine.

Wellness workshops. Employee shoutouts. Monthly lunches. Mindfulness Mondays. These are all lovely ideas, but in organizations where the foundation is cracked, these efforts become nothing more than paint over rotting wood. You cannot fix deep dysfunction with shallow solutions. You cannot treat emotional wounds with snacks in the breakroom. And you cannot create a culture of wellness in an environment where the air is quietly toxic and unspoken hostility lingers just below the surface. It’s time to stop pretending.

There is a reason the most admired brands, hospitals, and companies feel different. It is because they operate differently. They do not just talk about excellence. They build systems that demand it, reward it, and protect it. But here is the truth that most leaders shy away from: you cannot expect people to care about the little things when they are crushed by the big things. Underpaid, overworked, and unacknowledged.

Let’s get real. There is nothing empowering or strategic about “leaders” who knowingly or unknowingly nurture silos within their organization. It is not just a poor leadership trait. It is a silent productivity killer, a breeding ground for internal distrust, and a direct path to high turnover and low morale.

Recognition is a powerful tool, but only when it’s done right. Many leaders, eager to appear engaged or connected to their staff, rush to publicly acknowledge employees without doing the necessary due diligence. In theory, recognizing employees is a positive gesture. But in practice, surface-level praise can cause more harm than good, especially when it’s directed at individuals who haven’t genuinely earned it.