Wait. Am I the problem?

And by 'I'...I mean 'you'.

(Originally published 2.3.26)

Hmmm. Ever ask yourself that question? It’s not an easy one. If you consider yourself a leader in any capacity, you should. Here’s why: because there’s a good chance even if you’re not…you are.

Stick with me.

I came across more gold in The Leadership Freak blog recently, talking about how your ‘invisible impact’ is holding you back. Take a look at his opening:

“Leaders don’t know they intimidate, frustrate and de-energize people. Invisible impact holds leaders back.

You care on the inside. On the outside you’re scary.”

Are you scary on the outside? Good bet you are so money, I mean scary, and don’t even know it. Which is why I highly recommend reading the whole blog.

Onto the rest of what I’ve ‘Ben Thinking’ about:

Are you ‘carewashing’ your employees? (Fast Company)

Holy smokes. What an eye-opening article about how organizations are transferring the onus of self-care and mental wellness work onto the employee.

“You good? Cool. Keep. Using all those apps and tools we’re forcing on you.”

Turns out, mo’ apps, mo’ problems.

In fact, a recent Deloitte Well-Being at Work survey revealed that 80% of employees feel work is the main obstacle to improving their well-being.

I hope you read the whole article, but if not, there is a solution in this piece that jumped off the page to me:

“A simple yet impactful practice is to assign a low/medium/high rubric to every project or task, with these definitions in mind:

Low: a few hours a week
Medium: a steady weekly commitment
High: a significant portion of someone’s time, impacting other priorities

After this is mapped across the entire team, leaders should be able to see certain patterns, especially if the trend is ‘high’.”

The 2026 Manufacturing Outlook is here (Deloite)

Akhia has digested this report in full and recently shared three takeaways – which I thought were worth featuring here as well:

Aftermarket services are becoming a strategic growth engine.
Manufacturers are seeing an opportunity in their aftermarket services, not just as a support function, but as a revenue and profit driver. Deloitte highlights that aftermarket services can generate margins above traditional equipment sales and help create predictable, less cyclical revenue streams.

Smart manufacturing and agentic AI are moving from pilot to scale.
Investment in smart operations such as automation, data analytics, and agentic AI, is no longer optional. About 80% of manufacturers plan to dedicate at least 20% of their improvement budgets to smart tech initiatives that boost competitiveness, agility, and uptime across facilities.

Workforce transformation remains a top strategic priority.
Amid tech adoption and evolving production models, adapting workforce planning is critical. Deloitte calls out frameworks like “build, buy or borrow” to close skills gaps and support resilience, especially as digital and automation skills become table stakes.

If you want to discuss any of these in-depth or hear more about our thoughts on this report, you know how to find me.

The impact of loneliness in the workplace. (Psychology Today)

In 2024 Gallup released its State of the Global Workplace report which discovered that 1 in 5 employees report being lonely at work.

In 2026, Psychology Today conducted its own interviews and research with several companies (largely UK-based) about this issue. The findings were shocking from revenue impact to what leaders can actually do about it. Read it for yourself to learn what you can do to address this issue in your workplace.

Thanks for reading and sharing. Remember, I’m here to help you through anything you want to talk more about or feel you are struggling/behind with.

We’re about to get ‘flattened’. (TechTarget)

Oh boy…we named it. It’s official.

What’s it? The (welcome) movement to less layers, faster decision-making and a necessary pace we need to strive for in the future of work.

If you aren’t having this conversation already, you will be.

Quick Callout

“A new study finds that the percentage of U.S. employees who are actively engaged at work averaged 31% in 2025, unchanged from 2024.

HR leaders should view flat engagement as a clear signal that incremental tweaks aren’t working and that bigger changes to how work is designed, led, and experienced are overdue.”