Sales Manager

When Good Employees Stop Communicating

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“When an employee goes out of communication, good leaders step in and resolve the issue.” Jeannette Seibly

It’s important for leaders and bosses, actually crucial, to recognize when employees stop asking for help, information, or background insight when addressing and learning about a new assignment, new client, or workplace changes.

When employees, even top talent, fail to ask or update you, it’s not because they already know their job so well. It’s because they remember the bad vibe they received the last time they asked you for help. Or, they lack insight into potential challenges or opportunities. Or, it’s because they have simply given up.

Silence is rarely about whether or not your employees knowing their job. It’s almost always about psychological safety, trust, or past experiences.

A few of the many red flags to pay attention to and resolve:

  • Drop in quality
  • Errors rise
  • Morale erodes
  • Attitude shift from positive to neutral or negative
  • Assignments are late
  • Team members or customers are complaining

As the leader and boss, being proactive can prevent upsets, frustrations, and miscommunication. Ignoring the red flags only widens the communication gap and makes a good employee-leader relationship harder.

Solutions to Resolve an Employee’s Lack of Communication

Communication Is Required for Successful Employee-Boss Interactions

When making new assignments, or when there has been a change in client engagements, even slight, it’s important to have a pow‑wow and talk through these small but never insignificant changes. Even if it is about a co‑worker or team issue, talking it out instead of waiting it out keeps people communicating and intended results occurring. Silence grows in spaces where leaders assume instead of ask.

Solution: Embrace the tough conversations; these can offer the greatest rewards. Get in communication with your executive coach if you’re concerned about what and how to do this.

The Employee Was Moved to a Different Position or Given Responsibilities That Don’t Fit Them

Too often, we ignore job fit as an important component of someone’s success in the job. But when you place employees in jobs that don’t fit them, silence ensues. Misalignment creates insecurity, and insecurity shuts down communication. Not only does this diminish the employee feeling valued, it’s the most expensive and overlooked issue in companies today.

Ask these questions, “Have you placed:

  • A detail‑oriented person in a high‑ambiguity role?
  • A creative thinker in repetitive tasks?
  • A technical expert into a manager role?
  • A conflict‑averse employee in a negotiation role?”

These scenarios don’t support their growth, and they will avoid you out of fear of you finding out they are failing.

One company took a top‑producing inside sales person and placed him in an outside sales role in a different state per the employee’s request. He failed miserably, and the few times he asked for help, the boss didn’t know how to help him since he didn’t have objective data to guide him or the knowledge of how to best coach the person. The employee eventually took a job with a competitor. Job fit isn’t optional … it’s foundational.

Solution: Get employees back in jobs that naturally fit them, even if they made the request for a job change. Without objective data, you cannot make a valid decision and will make an error in changing their job.

Check in on You: A Change in Your Leadership Habits

Answer these questions:

  • Are you normally good at responding to your employees? But now are short-tempered.
  • Do you keep the door open for their questions? But now keep it closed?
  • Have you had a difficult interaction with your boss, board, co‑workers, or other team members?
  • Have you failed to get the issue resolved?
  • Have you experienced a personal or professional failure or mistake?

If you’ve answered yes to more than one of these questions, its impacting employees feeling comfortable talking with you. Yes, really. Remember, nonverbal communication accounts for more than 90 percent of what someone is communicating (gestures, tone, energy level).

Leaders and bosses love to think staying quiet about their own challenges protect their employees, and hope the issue resolve itself. It rarely does. Staying quiet and withdrawing actually leaks into other areas of your leadership and management styles. Employees stop wanting to talk with you since you’re not focused on them, just yourself. Your silence signals that communication isn’t valued, even if that’s not your intention.

Solution: Hire an executive coach and get this handled ASAP. Waiting only makes it worse and can take a small issue and balloon it into a huge one.

© Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience guiding leaders and executives to achieve exceptional results. She delivers practical coaching and innovative solutions for hiring, leadership development, and performance success. Successful leaders have coaches—connect with Jeannette to elevate your results and impact in 2026.

Communication is the backbone of any employee‑leader/boss relationship. If an employee has gone quiet, it’s up to you to resolve the issue. Contact me for a confidential conversation to identify the gaps and strengthen your impact as a leader.

Believing You’re the Exception Is a Very Expensive Leadership Mistake to Make

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“When you feel that you’re the exception to the rules and policies because of your job title, you can destroy your career and company.” Jeannette Seibly

Has this ever happened to you? 

  • Believing you’re the exception to the rules
  • Ignoring basic business practices because you think they don’t apply to you
  • Getting upset when employees mimic your behavior as if the rules don’t apply to them either
  • Feeling embarrassed or defensive when your decisions are questioned
  • Relying on gut reactions instead of objective data and the company pays the price for it

Believing you’re the exception doesn’t elevate you … it accelerates your downfall. 

  • It’s the fastest way to fail as a leader
  • Trouble follows quickly
  • You put your career at risk
  • You put yourself, your team, and your company in danger
  • You’re seen as going “off the rails” and not trustworthy

Leaders who see themselves as exempt from basic business practices inevitably create the very problems they think they’re avoiding.

This is when you must dial up your humility and dial down your ego.

The bottom line: Leaders fail fast when they believe they’re the exception to the rules. It’s the most expensive mistake they can make.

Example: Too often, these leaders don’t follow their own hiring policies because they believe they can tell who is going to be a good fit (aka intuitive hiring). Without using objective data during their hiring process, it’s predictable (and avoidable) they will experience of turnover, disengagement, customer loss, and lawsuits.

It’s Time to Get Real and Drop the Superiority Mindset

Leaders who do this strengthen their credibility, improve decision‑making, and create workplaces where people want to stay and contribute.

Remember, you can’t go back and undo business errors, repair a damaged reputation overnight, or easily recover from financial failure. But you can prevent them by setting aside your ego and being aware of how often you hold yourself as the exception to the rules.

Develop trust. Your ego can make you difficult to work with, especially if you dismiss others’ input or rely too heavily on your own instincts. When your ego (male or female) kicks in, pause. Breathe. Identify what triggered you. Then re‑enter the conversation with curiosity instead of defensiveness. This simple reset builds trust and keeps communication productive.

Grow your emotional intelligence. Your interpersonal skills may need recalibrating. If you’ve relied on your title, financial status, or the ability to push or manipulate situations or people into compliance, you’ll miss important details and then blame others when things go wrong. That pattern drives away top talent, customers, investors, and financing. Strengthening emotional intelligence helps you listen better, respond better, and lead better.

Be realistic. When you assume you’re performing better than you are, mistakes happen. Sometimes big ones that are difficult, if not impossible, to fix.

Overconfidence blinds leaders to risks such as:

  • Incorrect accounting practices
  • Technical issues you were warned about
  • Poor hiring and management decisions
  • Recurring quality problems
  • Miscommunication created by employees trying to protect themselves

Staying grounded and realistic keeps you proactive instead of reactive.

Build competence. Leaders who let their ego drive their decisions often struggle with people issues, technology concerns, or financial responsibilities. Competence can be built. Skills can be learned. Job fit can be found. But only when ego steps aside. Seek out an executive coach, and hire the person now.

Ask for help. When your ego blocks delegation or collaboration, you limit your own success. Believing you’re the only one who can do something “the right way” slows progress and increases burnout. Leaders who ask for help, share responsibility, and trust others build stronger teams and better outcomes.

Your leadership grows when you set your ego aside. When you realize you are not the exception to the rules, you elevate your leadership. You make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and create a culture where people feel safe to contribute their best ideas. You also protect your reputation, your business, and your future. Great leaders aren’t defined by being the exception. They’re defined by their willingness to learn, listen, and grow.

© Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience guiding leaders and executives to achieve exceptional results. She delivers practical coaching and innovative solutions for hiring, leadership development, and performance success. Successful leaders have coaches—connect with Jeannette to elevate your results and impact in 2026.

Every step in the right direction, away from the belief you are the exception to the rules, strengthens your leadership and sets the tone for your team, your company, and your legacy. Contact me. Your leadership growth starts now.

Communication Realities Every Leader Must Understand

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“Leaders, it’s important to take responsibility for your communication style to achieve intended results.” Jeannette Seibly

Leaders must understand that communication requires courage, clarity, and care. It takes time, intention, and experience to teach us that communication is not just a skill, it is a responsibility.

Effective leaders do their best not to hurt feelings while ensuring they understand and are understood.

Leaders who succeed take responsibility for both sides of communication. They ensure they are heard and consider how others hear them. Communication is a two‑way process, not a one‑way act.

None of this is new, but the stakes today are higher.

The Modern Communication Crisis

Today’s work environment makes communication even more challenging:

  • AI, messaging systems, and lower reading levels weaken clear expression.
  • Emotional reactivity makes people easily offended, afraid of the side effects, or hesitant to tell the truth.
  • Social media distortions cause people to trust posts over real conversations.

One employee, after discovering an online error, asked, “Why would they write something that wasn’t true?” Errors happen due to multitasking, poor attention to detail, lack of verification, and not understanding the impact on others. Yet people believe what fits their comfort zone.

It’s why leaders must stay alert. Remember, if you weren’t there, you don’t know the facts and many people talk as if they do know.

Common Communication Challenges and Solutions

The myth of “I’ve got it handled.” Effective communication is a lifelong process. If you think you’ve mastered it, you’re already behind. Everyone listens through filters and those filters shift with world changes. Remember, you don’t have it handled.

Leaders who rely on ego fail. “It’s up to them to understand me.”  Leaders who continually improve their communication style succeed. Legacy leaders know mastery is never final; it is sustained through humility and practice.

Know your audience. People learn and process information differently. When leaders talk too much, offer no context, or make everything about themselves, people tune out. Learn to keep it simple.

  • Use words people can understand
  • Avoid insider language (jargon)
  • Speak for clarity, not to show expertise
  • Use open‑ended questions to engage others

Use tools that help people understand. When someone struggles to understand you, help them out.

  • Use graphs
  • Use flowcharts
  • Use physical examples
  • Keep it simple

Communication is more than words. Tone, gestures, impatience, and emotional reactions can undermine your message. If this happens often, reflect. If it persists, work with an executive coach. If deeper patterns appear, explore them with a therapist. Many habits come from old roles we’ve outgrown.

Perception shapes reality.  This requires taking responsibility for how people hear you and each other. Everyone listens through their own filter and these filters shift with world and company changes.

Brainstorming and Storytelling. Good communication skills make brainstorming productive and helps people feel valued. Storytelling inspires only when done well.

  • Use Round‑Robin input (go around more than once)
  • Value each person’s contribution
  • Keep stories on point and don’t lose the thread mid-story
  • Don’t dismiss unusual ideas
  • Use open‑ended questions to keep people talking and listening

What leaders must avoid doing when talking and listening with others. These blind spots are fixable and communicate one message: “I don’t value you.”

  • “I’m too busy.”
  • Multitasking
  • Talking over someone
  • Having a ready answer before they finish talking
  • Unexamined biases and judgments
  • Being dismissive or joking about others’ ideas

Effective communication has always been hard and requires courage, clarity, and care. Also, it requires awareness, emotional intelligence, and the willingness to take responsibility for what you say and how you say it. Great leadership demands nothing less.

© Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience guiding leaders and executives to achieve exceptional results. She delivers practical coaching and innovative solutions for hiring, leadership development, and performance success. Successful leaders have coaches—connect with Jeannette to elevate your results and impact in 2026.

You may not be aware that your communication style is getting in the way of achieving your intended results. Blind spots are very difficult to see. Contact me for a confidential conversation to identify the gaps and strengthen your impact as a leader.

Are You Feeling Restless and Not Clear About What You Need to Do?

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“If you’re feeling restless and have decreased job satisfaction, consider you don’t know what you really want to do.” Jeannette Seibly

There are many reasons you could be feeling restless in your career or job, and unsure what to do about it (pick one or two that resonate with you):

  • Poor job fit (you have the skills, but not the interest)
  • Plateau in career (hit a ceiling and need a new direction)
  • Doing the minimum work (lack of initiative)
  • Unable or unwilling to move forward (self-doubt)
  • Need more variety (boredom – your daily tasks or responsibilities haven’t evolved)
  • Time to expand (not clear how or what to do)
  • You’ve outgrown your current role or professional identity (your skills and capacity have expanded, but your job hasn’t)

Many times, when restlessness appears, there is a sense your current role isn’t matching your capacity or values. Or, another way of saying it, you may not be in the right job anymore. Yes, you have the skills, but the work doesn’t awaken your inner leader, or as others call it, your inner dharma or purpose.

Sometimes restlessness shows up when your professional identity has grown, but your current role hasn’t evolved to match it.

You may be bored because your boss fails to give you new projects, or because you fail to take initiative to ask for more or get involved in other opportunities.

You may have outgrown an old definition of yourself and your external world hasn’t caught up.

You blame your boss, company, or other external factors.

But … let’s look internally.

Here’s a quick self-check (a suggestion from AI):

“If I took a week away from work, would the restlessness disappear or still be there?”

  • If it disappears → it’s job fit or role design.
  • If it stays → it’s career direction or professional identity.
  • If it intensifies → you’re ready for a bigger role or new chapter.

What Can You Do?

Hire an Executive Coach. This is a smart step to ensure you’re clear about what you’ve done, what you want to do, and whether your current role is a true fit. Too many people stay in jobs that don’t fit them or try to mimic others’ careers and successes. This rarely works out well. Take the time. Get the coaching. Take the actions that actually move you forward.

An executive woman who had built her identity around being “a finance person” moved through several financial roles and clung tightly to that professional narrative. When a coach encouraged her to consider operations, which would have expanded her depth and breadth of career opportunities, she rejected the idea outright because it didn’t align with the vision she tightly held for herself. A couple of years later, she found herself once again searching for another finance position, illustrating how staying narrowly defined can limit growth rather than protect it.

This reflects how strongly people can resist paths that challenge their self‑concept, even when those paths might expand their long‑term opportunities and career fulfillment.

Complete a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. Again, job fit is key. Yes, I keep repeating this because so many people settle for a paycheck while doing work that either stresses them or bores them. Make sure you use a qualified job fit tool that focuses on interests, thinking style, and core behavioral traits. Most employers use assessments incorrectly, so it’s wise to work with an executive coach who uses the right tools.

Envision Your Career Future. Explore what exists beyond other people’s expectations, especially because many of us don’t actually know what we want. It’s easy to fall into imitation, apathy, or well‑meant advice that doesn’t match what we’re truly seeking. Unfortunately, it’s easier to stay in jobs that don’t fit simply because we like the people even while the work drains us.

Clarity becomes essential. If you’re not ready to branch into a more fulfilling role, you can still honor your interests by weaving them into your personal life. Whether that means taking a painting class, repairing bikes, or finding any outlet that reconnects you with what energizes you. This kind of personal expansion can then naturally morph into other areas of your life, including your job and career, opening doors you couldn’t see before.

Honor Yourself. It’s easy to give up and tell yourself that being stuck is for “the best.” Instead, take one small action step forward. Then, another. Keep steps small. For example, block one hour each week to explore roles, projects, or responsibilities that energize you now, not the ones you accepted years ago. Along the way, you will create clarity about what to pursue. Remember, talking about making changes over and over will NOT create a positive difference. Your actions create your motivation for what’s next.

Remember, restlessness is often the first sign that your career is ready for its next chapter.

© Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience activating greatness in leaders and companies. She delivers practical coaching and solutions that elevate performance today, build legacies that stand the test of time, and support people empowering themselves to lead with clarity and impact.

Remember, restlessness is often the first sign that your career is ready for its next chapter. It doesn’t disappear by waiting. Contact me for a confidential conversation today to explore what’s next.

 

Resolve Lack of Communication Undermines Employees

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“Communication gaps limit company growth, innovation, and employee job satisfaction.” Jeannette Seibly

Employees everywhere are navigating rapid change: new terminology, new protocols for working with others, and rising concerns about psychological safety. Yet many leaders still fall short in communicating expectations, giving practical instructions, and offering the direction employees need to perform well. Leaders unintentionally widen and quietly erode the very employee satisfaction they’re trying to build.

Overcome Lack of Communication to Improved Results

Leaders, the key is awareness! And, the willingness to ask the employee what they need. Yes, it may take more time initially. But saves you lots of time, money, and customers in the long run.

Answer the Request for Help.  When employees ask for help, answer in a manner that supports them to achieve intended results. You may not know the answer yourself. In those cases, refer the employee to team members that may know, or a vendor that knows how the system operates.

When an employee asked his manager for instructions on how to proceed with a project, the boss replied, “Just do it. Ask as you go along.” The employee was confused; he had never done the work before and didn’t know where to begin. He simply needed written instructions, or at least verbal guidance. But the boss didn’t know the process either and expected others to compensate for his lack of clarity. The employee eventually created instructions for himself and others, but those instructions disappeared when he and other team members quit. Lack of communication caused a spike in turnover because no one had the direction they needed to succeed.

Learn How to Listen for …

When leaders fail to listen for how they can help employees excel, they unintentionally widen communication gaps. Many leaders don’t listen for, or genuinely invest in, their employees’ career development. They stay focused on getting the job done with as little stress or disruption to themselves as possible. The real key is to care. Provide career‑development opportunities and encourage employees to apply what they learn, because strong communication and genuine support are what support performance.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Never assume you, as the leader, have all the answers. Shutting down an employee who is having difficulty explaining what they want only creates more work in the long run. Take the time to ask open-ended questions, look for examples (e.g., pictures, graphs, or flowcharts) to ensure you are aligned, and remain open to others probing and asking questions too.

Never Assume Employees Should Know

When leaders assume employees should already know what resources and company benefits are available, they unintentionally widen communication gaps. Many employees don’t know what to ask for or even realize which benefits exist.

For example, when employee assistance programs (EAP) aren’t clearly communicated, people miss out on support at the very moment they may need it. Sharing information about free tax advice and other available resources builds trust, reduces stress, and strengthens a positive team culture.

All of this is achieved through full and clearer communication.

When employees can count on leaders to communicate clearly about expectations, opportunities, and the resources available to them, trust deepens and great results become the norm.

© Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience guiding leaders and executives to achieve exceptional results. She delivers practical coaching and innovative solutions for hiring, leadership development, and performance success. Successful leaders have coaches—connect with Jeannette to elevate your results and impact in 2026.

If you and team not delivering the results you want, consider your lack of communication is the barrier. Contact me for a confidential conversation to identify the gaps and strengthen your impact as a leader.

Do You Allow Self-Doubt to Sabotage Your Results?

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“Self-doubt can be a saboteur and cause us to miss out on achieving intended results.” Jeannette Seibly

Self‑doubt is far more common among leaders than most people admit. It shows up when coaching team members, navigating project snafus, or learning new skills. The good news is that everyone experiences self‑doubt, including the most effective leaders.

The bad news is that self‑doubt often convinces leaders to stop doing the work needed to move forward, avoid needed conversations, or allow fear to take over the driver’s wheel. That’s precisely when self-doubt wins and you stop, which is the wrong move.

Self‑doubt may feel like a stop sign, but more often it’s a green light. It signals that you’re entering unfamiliar territory, a place where growth, innovation, and new results become possible. The real challenge is not the doubt itself, but the lack of clarity, skills, or perspective needed to move forward. That’s where mentors, coaches, and collaborators make all the difference.

Using Self-Doubt as Leverage

Take Time for Reflection: What Worked / What Didn’t Work

This simple exercise, grounded in objective data, reveals what needs attention: conversations, work assignments, your expectations, or structural changes to the project or how you leverage an opportunity. Without data, self‑doubt fills in the blanks with fear instead of facts.

Have the Tough Conversations

These conversations aren’t easy, but they don’t have to be painful. Preparation matters. Use your reflection data, stay open to feedback, and be willing to hear what you may have missed.

Plan to Listen for:

  • signals where you’re on the right track
  • where you went off-track
  • gaps in conversations or financial projections
  • team members doing the bare minimum
  • quiet changes that could derail the project

Ask Open‑Ended Questions

Listening is your competitive advantage. There may be unseen dynamics slowing progress: political, relational, or operational. A mentor, executive coach, or industry expert can help you interpret what you’re hearing. Always ask: “What would you do?”

Be Coachable

Admitting there’s a problem is uncomfortable. Hearing someone else point it out can be even harder. But coachability is a leadership multiplier. Stay more committed to results than to ego. If doubt persists, talk with one or two additional mentors (not five or ten) to uncover what’s really driving your hesitation.

A company owner frustrated with poor hiring results blamed candidates, recruiters, and the economy. The real issue? He wasn’t using valid, legal, and scientifically sound selection tools to understand a candidate’s thinking style, behavioral traits, and occupational interests. His biases were not objective data. But he used them to drive decisions. Retention dropped. Customers left.

To achieve true job fit (and keep customers), use objective, replicable data to transform hiring quality and your long‑term results.

Ask Yourself: “What Can I Learn?”

This is one of the most important questions. Self‑doubt always carries a message. Ask: “What is this teaching me?” Listen for the answer in silence, not in the noise of others’ opinions. Then turn insight into action by talking with your coach, taking a course (or teaching one), and having the conversation(s) you’ve been avoiding.

© Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience guiding leaders and executives to achieve exceptional results. She delivers practical coaching and innovative solutions for hiring, leadership development, and performance success. Successful leaders have coaches—connect with Jeannette to elevate your results and impact in 2026.

Overcoming self-doubt when faced with a challenge can be difficult. That’s why having an executive coach to guide you through the process is important. Contact me for a confidential conversation to discover where you are sabotaging your results.

Why Companies Fail to Hire Top Talent

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“If you don’t know what you are looking for, your hiring process will fail, costing you time, money, and sleepless nights.” Jeannette Seibly

If your job ad has been running for weeks, the problem isn’t the talent pool. It’s your hiring preparation, your lack of clarity, and your poor follow through.

We’ve all seen the posts: “We can’t find the right person.” Yet the same ads run week after week, sometimes month after month, while leaders insist they’ve reviewed hundreds of applicants with no success.

Let’s be honest: the problem isn’t the talent pool. The problem is the company, the hiring boss or leader, and/or lack of a clear selection system.

Top talent hasn’t disappeared. It’s being overlooked, filtered out, or scared away by hiring practices that haven’t evolved since 2020.

Why Does This Really Happen?

  • Lack of objective data. This is the #1 culprit. Too many leaders still trust their “gut” which is just bias wearing a nice suit.
  • Lack of clarity. Job descriptions are skimmed, recycled, or written by committee. If you can’t articulate what success really looks like, you can’t hire for it.
  • Combining jobs to save money. Wanting someone who is both detail obsessed and a big picture innovator? That’s not a unicorn. That’s a fantasy. And fantasies don’t reduce turnover.
  • Not involving the team. Instead of asking the people who actually depend on the right person being hire, leaders guess what the job requires.
  • Failure to onboard. If you can’t clearly explain expectations to a candidate and don’t have a 180‑Day Success Plan, you have wishful thinking.

Let’s Get Real in 2026

  • Follow a well-designed strategic job‑fit hiring plan. One client had over 100% turnover. They said, after implementing a structured hiring system and holding managers accountable, turnover dropped below ten percent. (SEE Chapter 2, Hire Amazing Employees for guidance to develop a practical system.)
  • Use qualified assessments. Valid, reliable honesty‑integrity and job‑fit assessments reveal who the candidate really is not who they pretend to be in an interview. (SEE Chapter 9, Hire Amazing Employees)
  • Use a structured interview format. Feelings and intuition derail good decisions. Ask every candidate the same job‑related questions and use the Rule of 3 to dig deeper. (SEE Chapters 4 and 10, Hire Amazing Employees for practical guides to get started. One employment attorney said the questions alone are worth the price of the book.)
  • Stop delaying decisions. Strong candidates won’t wait while you “think about it.” If they meet or exceed requirements, complete your due diligence and make the offer. (SEE Chapter 19, Hire Amazing Employees)
  • Onboard with intention. Culture, expectations, and weekly follow‑up matter. When top talent leaves, others follow. Onboarding is retention. (SEE Chapter 20, Hire Amazing Employees)

The Truth Leaders Need to Hear

  • Companies don’t have a talent shortage—they have a clarity shortage.
  • If you’re still hiring the way you did five years ago, you’re already behind.
  • Top talent isn’t rejecting you because they’re picky. They’re rejecting you because they can tell you’re not ready for them.
  • Hiring is not a scavenger hunt. It’s a strategic discipline.
  • If your hiring process depends on luck, you’re not hiring, you’re gambling.

If you want to win the talent game in 2026, stop treating hiring as a side job. Top performers can instantly tell whether a company is prepared or improvising. The companies that rise will be the ones willing to do the unglamorous work of preparation and follow‑through. Good hiring isn’t luck.

©Jeannette Seibly 2026 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience guiding leaders and executives to achieve exceptional results. She delivers practical coaching and innovative solutions for hiring, leadership development, and performance success. Successful leaders have coaches—connect with Jeannette to elevate your results and impact in 2026.

Need help discerning what is working and not working in your hiring plan? Contact me for a confidential conversation to ensure you’re ready to hire top talent.

2026 Is Right Around the Corner! Are You Ready to Achieve Real Sales Results?

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“If you want to improve your results, focus on objective data to get you unstuck and moving forward.” Jeannette Seibly

As 2025 winds down, every company is asking the same question: are we truly on track for a profitable finish? Some will succeed. Many won’t. And whether you’re ready or not, 2026 is around the corner.

Beyond sales and profitability numbers, objective data is scarce. Too often, we lean on excuses: Why someone couldn’t follow through, or stories like, “our top customer has been out of the country for six months.” We downplay lackluster results and cling to hope. But hope is not a strategy.

In 2026, let’s replace hope with hard data. Let’s turn numbers into strategies, and strategies into results so by year’s end, you don’t just meet your projections, you surpass them.

7 Tips to Achieve Real Results

1. Hire the Right People. Not everyone can sell your products or services, no matter what they’ve sold before. As the old saying goes, “Just because they can sell Cadillacs in Boston doesn’t mean they can sell Lincolns in Denver.” The key is to get real about who you hire and get real data about their natural ability to prospect, persist, and close. Use a qualified job-fit sales assessment that provides consistent, objective data.

  • Low assertiveness: A candidate who is “too nice” may build rapport but struggle to ask for the sale.
  • Team-dependent: Someone who thrives only in group settings may falter when left to hunt alone.
  • Mismatch of style: A polished corporate seller may not adapt well to scrappy startup environments.

2. Coach with Laser-Focused Accuracy. The right job fit assessment also sharpens your coaching. (SEE Chapter 9, Hire Amazing Employees) Address the real “why” behind a salesperson’s struggles. For instance, telling a rep to meet more people when they already have plenty of contacts won’t help. Instead, coach them on how to engage those contacts and uncover buying interest.

3. Stop Relying on Technology to Fix Sales Performance. A new CRM or AI tool won’t magically improve results. These are tools, not producers. Without the right salespeople, technology only makes things worse. Low performers hide behind learning systems, while high performers resent being slowed down from meeting prospects and closing deals.

4. Engage Customers Every Quarter. Quarterly engagement keeps customers loyal and more likely to refer you. Use a scorecard to focus conversations on quality, service, and pricing, and how you can help them in the future. Training is essential to make these discussions effective.

5. Hold Daily Sales Team Huddles. If you’re not already doing this, start now. A 10- to 20-minute STAND-UP HUDDLE each morning keeps everyone accountable. Standing shortens the meetings and makes it harder for low performers to hide. Focus on progress and needed adjustments. Don’t let excuses derail creativity and sales results.

6. Train for the Details. Years ago, a sales expert told me: successful salespeople know the details of their products and services. That wisdom made a huge difference in my own results. Provide weekly training, updates, and stories. And remember, repetition works.

7. Acknowledge Results. Recognition works wonders. Acknowledge individuals and your team by sharing brags. Use a dashboard to show weekly results. This builds support when someone is stuck and motivates everyone to do more of what’s working.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019-2025

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, has guided thousands of executives and business leaders to achieve remarkable success over the past 33 years. Her specialty is delivering innovative solutions for hiring, coaching, and leadership challenges—with excellence and accountability at the core.

Want objective, real-world data on your sales team? Contact me today to find out how.

How Do You Listen Effectively?

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“If you’re listening to respond, cut people off, or have a ready answer, you’re not listening!” Jeannette Seibly

In creating our legacy and shaping our future, we must learn how to listen effectively. How you listen honors your legacy and the legacy of others. This is critical as you move forward in creating and fulfilling projects, supporting communities that are important to you, and supporting neighbors and family who enjoy being with you.

However, too often we listen through our own filters:

  • Biases, judgments, or assumptions about whether someone’s story “fits” what we already believe.
  • Listening to reply, not to understand.
  • Thinking of the next thing we want to say.
  • Making a quick decision that the person isn’t worth listening to.

The above are examples of not truly listening. In fact, if you have a response ready before the person finishes speaking, you’re not really listening!

Why Listening Matters for Your Legacy

Listening is more than a skill. It’s a way of honoring stories, discerning values, and building meaningful connections. For adults 55+, listening deeply allows us to:

  • Capture wisdom that might otherwise be lost.
  • Strengthen relationships by truly hearing what matters.
  • Shape our legacy by aligning words, actions, and values.
  • Create communities where every voice is valued, and every story has impact.

Other Considerations for Listening in Everyday Life 

  • Attention to detail: Do you notice the pauses, memories, and details that reveal care and intention?
  • Reactionary or calm: Do they respond with patience, or with quick judgment? A calm tone reveals resilience. A reactionary tone indicates they are still dealing with their anger and the unfairness of the situation.
  • Community spirit: Are they positively contributing to family, friendships, or community events?
  • Openness to growth: Even later in life, are they willing to learn, adapt, or grow?

Listening Beyond Words 

  • Consistency between words and actions: Do their stories match how they live? Listen for three examples or themes that reveal true values.
  • Ownership of mistakes and failures: Can they admit missteps and explain what they learned? That’s wisdom worth passing on.
  • Curiosity and initiative: Do they ask questions about others, the world, or legacy? Genuine curiosity signals engagement.
  • Values alignment: Notice whether their personal values resonate with the community you want to build. Do themes like autonomy, service, or sustainability keep surfacing?
  • Communication clarity: Can they share complex life lessons in ways others can understand and carry forward?

 Practical Listening Habits to Build Your Legacy

  • Pause before responding. Silence often reveals more than a rushed answer.
  • Listen for patterns, not isolated statements. One polished story doesn’t equal consistency in how one lives life.
  • Note emotional tone. Calm confidence differs from rehearsed charm.
  • Separate impression from evidence. Write down what you heard versus what you felt. Then, compare. If it’s not consistent, ask yourself: Are they truly sharing, or just talking to talk? Or, do I need to “level up” my listening?

Remember, what you do to honor your legacy and the legacy of others begins and ends with the way you listen.

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a legacy-driven Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Amazon Best-Selling Business Author. For over 33 years, she has empowered thousands of executives and business leaders to achieve sustainable success through strategic hiring, values-based coaching, and intentional leadership development. Her work blends clarity, accountability, and soulful impact—activating performance and purpose at every level.

Do you want to improve your listening? Do you journal? Contact me, and I’ll send you a complimentary copy of Journaling Prompts: Practicing Deep Listening.

What to “Listen For” During Job Interviews

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“During interviews, what we ‘listen for’ shapes the quality of the interaction, and ultimately determines whether we hire the right person for the right job.” Jeannette Seibly

As hiring managers, recruiters, and interviewers, too often we listen through our biases and judgments to determine whether a person can do the job or not.

  • We’re listening to respond, which is not true listening.
  • Or, we’re just not really listening for anything and just waiting to ask the next question.
  • Or, we’re contemplating if we’ve already made the right decision about hiring the person (not based on objective data).
  • Hint: If you have a response before the person finishes speaking, you’re not listening!

Skills you may already be listening for:

  • Attention to detail: Do they dot the I’s and cross the T’s?
  • Ability to stay calm under pressure: Do they react impulsively or remain steady when challenged?
  • Be a team player: Do they work well with others, or are they know-it-alls or do-it-yourselfers?
  • Coachability: Ability and willingness to accept feedback and learn from their mistakes and failures.
  • Communication: How well are they listening to you?

How Using Job-Fit Assessments Clarifies What to “Listen For”

Using a qualified and objective job-fit assessment (e.g., PXT Select®) provides “Listen for …” cues in the Selection Reports. These reports outline how a candidate’s thinking style, behavioral traits, and occupational interests align with the role. When you combine these insights with the interview questions in the PXT Select® report, you gain objective evidence of whether the person can do the job, will do the job, and can do the job here.

This clarity helps you know where to probe further, using the Rule of 3 from Hire Amazing Employees, and keeps you emotionally detached from the candidate’s charm or a false impression that can cloud judgment.

Additional Behaviors Worth “Listening For”

  • Consistency between words and actions: Do their examples align with how they describe themselves? Use the Rule of 3 (Hire Amazing Employees) to deep dive into someone’s true ability — not just to complete the skill or task, but to think through the pros and cons of what they are doing.
  • Ownership of mistakes: Candidates who can admit missteps and explain what they learned often bring resilience to the job. Interviewer question: “Tell me about the last mistake you made and what you did to fix it. Who did you talk with?”
  • Curiosity and initiative: Listen for questions they ask about the role, team, or company. Genuine curiosity signals engagement. If they have no questions or it’s clear they didn’t do any prep work on the company, position, or interviewer, you may need to move on.
  • Values alignment: Beyond skills, listen for whether their personal values resonate with the culture you’re building. What common themes do they describe, perhaps without realizing it? For example, if they struggled in the past with a micromanaging boss, how did they handle it? What type of autonomy do they need in this job to be successful?
  • Communication clarity: Are they able to simplify complex ideas, or do they get lost in jargon? Can they explain what they are saying in words others would easily understand?

Practical “Listening For” Habits for You

  • Pause before responding. Give space for silence. It often reveals more than a rushed answer.
  • Notice patterns, not isolated statements. One polished story doesn’t equal consistency.
  • Note emotional tone. Calm confidence differs from rehearsed charm.
  • Separate impression from evidence. Write down what you heard versus what you felt. Then, compare. If it’s not consistent, deep dive into whether they truly want the position or are simply checking a box that they had an interview. Note: If you’re using structured interview processes (questions found in Hire Amazing Employees), it is easier to compare candidates.
  • Document evidence immediately after the interview. Memory fades quickly, and written notes prevent bias and false memories from creeping in later.

©Jeannette Seibly 2025 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly, an award-winning Talent Advisor, Leadership Results Coach, and Business Author, has guided thousands of executives and business leaders to achieve remarkable success over the past 33 years. Her specialty is delivering innovative solutions for hiring, coaching, and leadership challenges—with excellence and accountability at the core.

Remember during interviews, what you “listen for” can make or break an interview. Come prepared, listen, and ask good follow-up questions to transform a good interview into a great one. Contact me to get the highest value out of your interviews.