There's a phrase I use constantly with leaders: connect the dots.
Leaders see their organization like a collection of separate puzzle pieces — marketing does their thing, operations does theirs, finance lives in spreadsheets, and everyone shows up to meetings wondering why nothing actually moves forward.
And then they're shocked when morale tanks.
Here's what they miss: people don't disengage because they're lazy or ungrateful. They disengage because they can't see the picture you're building.
"We Thought Paying Lots of Money Makes People Want to Be Here"
I'll never forget the CEO who said this to me — genuinely confused, I might add — when I was brought in to help with their leadership issues.
"We thought paying lots of money would make people want to be here."
This perfectly captured the problem: Money doesn't buy meaning. Compensation isn't connection. You can't throw cash at a culture problem and expect people to suddenly care.
Because here's the truth: people don't just want to be paid well. They want to matter.
And when leaders fail to show them how they matter and are valued— when no one connects the dots between their daily work and the bigger mission — you get exactly what this CEO had: high salaries, low morale, and a revolving door of talent.
The Real Problem Isn't Engagement — It's Clarity
Walk into most struggling organizations, and you'll hear the same diagnosis: "We have an employee engagement problem."
No. You don't.
You have a leadership problem.
When people don't understand how their work connects to the mission, when they can't see how their role matters beyond their job description, when no one's bothered to show them the bigger story they're part of — of course, they check out.
And no, they're not being difficult. They're being human.
People need purpose. They need to know their work means something. And when leaders fail to connect those dots — between individual contributions and organizational impact, between daily tasks and long-term vision, between departments that should be collaborating but are instead competing — you get exactly what you'd expect:
Silos instead of synergy
"That's not my job" instead of "How can we succeed together?"
Survival mode instead of innovation
What Happens When the Dots Stay Disconnected
Let me paint you a picture.
An employee shows up. Does their work. Hits their metrics. But they have no idea how their piece fits into the larger puzzle. No one's told them. No one's shown them. They're just… executing.
So they stop asking questions. Stop offering ideas. Stop caring about anything beyond their narrow lane.
Meanwhile, leadership is baffled. "We pay them well. We have good benefits. We even have pizza Fridays and a ping-pong table! Why aren't they more engaged?"
Because perks aren't purpose. And benefits don’t replace feeling valued.
When people aren't developed, when communication flows one way (down), and when collaboration is a buzzword on a values statement rather than a practice, the culture shifts.
It becomes transactional, stagnant, even toxic.
Everyone retreats to their corner. Cross-functional collaboration dies. Innovation stalls. And the best people leave — usually for less money at a place where they feel like they actually matter. At least that's what I have done in the past. Not just once, but a few times.
The Leader's Job: Drawing the Map
Here's the truth most leaders fail to recognize:
Your job isn't to manage tasks. I dare to say it’s not even about managing people! It's to create meaning.
Great leaders connect the dots. They help people see:
Why their role matters — not just what they do, but why it's essential to the whole
How teams depend on each other — breaking down silos so people understand they're not isolated islands
Where the organization is going — and how each person's contribution moves everyone closer to that destination
What success looks like together — not just individual wins, but collective impact
This isn't soft leadership. This is strategic leadership.
Because when people understand the interconnectedness of their work — when they see how marketing's campaign supports sales' pipeline, how operations' efficiency enables customer success, how client services can inform product decision, how finance's discipline protects everyone's future — they stop working in isolation.
They start working in concert.
And suddenly, you don't need to motivate them. They're already motivated. Because they finally understand the "why."
Communication That Inspires, Not Just Informs
And here's the seemingly obvious: none of this happens without communication.
Not the kind of communication that's a quarterly all-hands where leadership talks at people while everyone secretly checks their phones.
The kind that's ongoing. Transparent. Two-way. The kind that says, "Here's where we're going, here's why it matters, and here's how you're essential to getting there." The kind that asks “what else can you do to support our collective success?”
The kind that develops people, not just directs them.
The kind that makes someone think, "I'm not just a cog. I'm part of something bigger. And what I do actually matters."
That's when performance shifts. Not because you demanded it. Because you inspired it.
The Choice Every Leader Makes
So here's the question:
Are you connecting the dots as an inspirational leader—or are you just in a position of power dictating people?
Because the wrong leaders look at low morale and think, "We need better engagement surveys," or "Maybe we should raise salaries again."
The right leaders look at low morale and think, "What am I not communicating? What connections am I not making clear? How am I failing to show people their value?"
Good leaders look inward and take ownership.
They help people see the questions that matter — and their role in answering them.
So connect the dots. Between purpose and performance. Between teams and outcomes. Between people and possibility.
Because when you do, you don't just build a better organization.
You build one where people actually want to show up — not because you're paying them well (though that helps), but because they know they're part of something that matters.
Great leaders aren't born. They're built — one conversation, one insight, one shift at a time.
If you're ready to stop managing and start leading, to stop reacting and start inspiring, to stop wondering why things aren't working and start making them work — let's do this together.
Hire me as your coach (or your organization’s consultant), and let's develop you into the leader you're meant to be.
Learn more about why employees are seeking more than a financial paycheck on our Big Boss Biscuits podcast episode about the Emotional Paycheck with Jaime Leal.