Motivation - Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training

Motivate your team with self-esteem, which makes them feel better, and self-actualization, which encourages them to try harder.

Confident leader in naval uniform standing at attention, embodying calm, steady leadership presence.

How Leadership Presence Brings Your Values to Life — Especially on the Hard Days

December 12, 2025

Trust and Building Teams

Leadership presence is tested when pressure rises, emotions run high, and people look to you for steadiness. Key Takeaways When things are calm, leadership presence is easy. Most leaders show up as their best selves. Values feel clear. Decisions feel rational. Teams feel steady. But leadership isn’t measured by the easy days. Who you are as a leader—and how others see you and respond—is defined by how you handle the hard stuff. Leadership presence is what allows you to live…

employee engagement vs employee satisfaction at work

Employee Engagement vs Employee Satisfaction: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters for Your Business

December 5, 2025

Motivation and a Culture of Performance

When comparing employee engagement vs employee satisfaction, which should you measure? If your company is still relying on employee satisfaction surveys, it may be time to shift toward measuring employee engagement — the metric most strongly linked to performance, retention, and profitability. For more than a century, researchers have tried to understand what helps employees thrive and what drives productivity. Today, most organizations focus on employee engagement, not satisfaction, because engagement is what truly predicts effort, innovation, and long-term value.…

How to Get Promoted: 5 Traps That Hold High Performers Back

December 2, 2025

Motivation and a Culture of Performance

Thinking about how to get promoted often brings out our best instincts — ambition, motivation, and the desire to grow. But for high performers, it can also activate habits that quietly work against promotion. Many people assume advancement comes from working harder or speaking up more. In reality, leaders are promoted for how they make others feel: respected, trusted, aligned, and supported. If you’re aiming for your next step up, here are five promotion traps to avoid — and what…

Try empathy kindness compassion for My Gratitude Project

Preparing for Empathy: 5 Questions Before You Begin | My Gratitude Project Day 29

November 29, 2025

Gratitude Project

As you would with any other important conversation, take time to prepare for empathy. Preparing for empathy will help you improve your results. If you want to use empathy tactically to influence somone, take time to prepare. Empathy as a skill is not to be taken lightly. Here are 5 questions to prepare yourself before you try to empathize with someone else. 1. What are their motives? Consider what they are doing now and their reasons for doing this. Do…

Empathy and Leadership: What Gen Z Gets Right | My Gratitude Project Day 21

November 21, 2025

Gratitude Project

A new poll reveals how empathy and leadership work together. Ask your grandfather about empathy and leadership, and he might draw a blank. His attitude about empathy and yours probably differ significantly. These generational expectations are showing up in the workplace and in polls that help us understand important trends. In a recent poll, Deloitte Digital asked Gen Z what they wanted most in their boss. Empathy ranked second for Gen Z, and fifth for their bosses. What is happening…

The Psychology of Empathy: Why Acceptance Heals | My Gratitude Project Day 16

November 17, 2025

Gratitude Project

The psychology of empathy is the science behind empathy. It works in everyday life and also in extraordinary moments. What exactly is the psychology of empathy? Psychologists have been studying empathy for decades. They are in the business of helping people change, and they are academically minded. So, psychology has been an invaluable source of data on what works to help people change. I’m deeply grateful for the brilliant researchers who have studied empathy and alerted us to its power.…