Episode 28: People & Profits: Why Investing in Your Team Pays Off | 12MinuteLeadership

Stop choosing between people and profit. In this episode, we dig into why the best-performing teams are built on engagement, leadership development, and purpose—and how those three levers translate into measurable gains in productivity, retention, and customer loyalty.  The fastest route to better results runs straight through your people.

We start by dismantling the myth that attention to people pulls focus from outcomes. Engaged employees don’t just complete tasks; they take ownership, anticipate customer needs, and protect quality under pressure. You’ll hear how small habits—clear expectations, timely coaching, and meaningful recognition—turn compliance into commitment. From there, we zoom out to leadership as a force multiplier. Train one leader to communicate with clarity and manage conflict with skill, and you shift performance for dozens of others. We share a client case where a targeted development strategy lifted engagement and stabilized turnover, unlocking growth without changing core systems.

Purpose ties it all together. People want more than a paycheck—they want to see how their work matters. We explore techniques to connect day-to-day tasks with mission, the surprising power of volunteer-driven performance, and why companies like Chick-fil-A invest in leadership at every level. We also name the real barrier: fear. Fear of losing control, fear of no immediate ROI, fear of trying something new. Courageous leaders bet on relationships, growth, and trust, and the numbers follow. You’ll leave with reflection prompts and a simple next step to invest in your team this week.

If this resonated, share it with a leader who needs the nudge and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Want to go deeper? Pick Elise's book-Lead Anyone on Amazon or reach out to us at eliseboggs.com.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker (00:02):
Welcome to the 12-Minute Leadership Podcast,
where in 12 minutes or less,I'll share small things that you
can put into immediate practicethat will make a big difference
in your leadershipeffectiveness.
I'm your host, Elise BoggsMorales, leadership professor,
consultant, and coach.
For the last 17 years, I havehelped thousands of leaders

(00:25):
level up their influence andachieve remarkable results.
If you want to trade compliancefor true commitment and create
your dream team, you are in theright place.
Get ready for a quick hit ofpractical wisdom to increase
your team's engagement, inspiretop performance, and retain your
best talent.
Ready to level up yourinfluence and get better

(00:46):
results?
12 minutes starts now.
Hi everyone, Elise here.
Welcome to episode 28.
Today we're tackling a mindsetthat I still hear far too often:
the belief that focusing onpeople somehow takes attention
away from results.
I recently led an executiveretreat for a client where some

(01:10):
of the senior leaders expressedreal resistance to investing in
their people.
Their logic was our focusshould be on the client.
Our team should just do theirjobs.
But here's the problem withthat thinking.
When leaders fail to invest intheir people, performance and
retention always suffer.
You can't get sustainableresults if the people on your

(01:30):
team are disengaged.
So in today's episode, I wantto reframe this conversation and
share three compelling reasonswhy people and profit aren't
competing priorities.
They're connected ones.
Compelling reason number one,engaged people drive better
performance.
Let's start with the obviousbut often overlooked truth.

(01:53):
Happy engaged employees createhappy, loyal customers.
Research from Gallup shows thatcompanies with highly engaged
employees are 21% moreprofitable and experience 59%
less turnover.
When people feel seen,supported, and developed, they
don't just do their jobs.
They take ownership.

(02:14):
They become ambassadors foryour culture and your clients.
Think about your best teammember, the one who goes above
and beyond, anticipates clients'needs, and solves problems
before they escalate.
That's not compliance, that'scommitment.
And commitment is born fromconnection.
Leaders who take time to investin people through coaching,

(02:35):
feedback, and recognition seedirect business outcomes, higher
productivity, greaterinnovation, and more consistent
execution.
When you lead people well, theytake care of your clients.
When you neglect people, theyeventually neglect the clients.
The key takeaway here is thatpeople aren't a distraction from

(02:57):
performance, they're the sourceof it.
Compelling reason number two,leadership investment creates a
competitive advantage.
Investing in leadershipdevelopment isn't just good for
culture, it's a strategicadvantage.
When you look at the mostrespected organizations, whether
it's Delta Airlines, Microsoft,or the Ritz-Carlton, they all

(03:19):
have one thing in common.
They invest in developing theirleaders at every level.
Why?
Because leadership isn'tstatic, it's a multiplier.
When you train one leader tocoach effectively, communicate
clearly, and manage conflictwell, that one person impacts 10
others.
Those 10 then impact 50.

(03:39):
And soon the entireorganization begins to shift one
conversation, one relationshipat a time.
And it's actually why I choseto get into leadership
development work because you geta really good return on your
investment.
Investing in one leader canhave an enormous impact on a lot
of people all at once.

(04:00):
I once worked with a companythat had a really strong
technical culture, but verylittle leadership development.
Their turnover was high,burnout was common, and morale
was really low.
I helped them design aleadership development strategy
that focused on communication,emotional intelligence, and
people development.
And within a year, theirengagement scores improved

(04:24):
significantly and theirretention stabilized for the
first time in a long time.
And no surprise, business grewas well.
The CEO I worked with said thatit wasn't our systems that
changed, it was how our leadersshowed up.
So the key takeaway here iswhen you invest in leadership,
you're not taking people awayfrom the work.

(04:44):
You're making every hour ofwork more effective.
You've probably heard thatillustration of sharpening the
axe.
Leadership is leverage, itmultiplies the potential of
every person you lead.
And here's a third compellingreason why people and profit
aren't competing priorities.

(05:04):
People don't just want apaycheck, they want purpose.
When leaders connect daily workto a meaningful mission, they
activate a level of engagementthat money alone can't buy.
But too often, leaders focusonly on external results, the
client, the revenue, thedeliverables, and forget to
connect the why behind it all.

(05:25):
Simon Cinex says that peopledon't buy what you do, they buy
why you do it.
When you help your team see theimpact of the work they're
doing, you create alignmentbetween personal motivation and
organizational goals.
I learned this firsthand when Iworked for a nonprofit
overseeing 300 unpaidvolunteers.

(05:45):
The more that I connected to abigger vision and a purpose,
despite not being paid, myunpaid volunteers began
outperforming the paid workers.
Another example is Chick-fil-A,who trains leaders at every
single level.
They invest heavily inleadership development, not just
for managers, but even for highschool students working

(06:06):
part-time.
And they coach for values, notjust tasks.
The result?
They have some of the lowestturnover in fast food and the
highest revenue per store in theindustry, more than McDonald's,
Starbucks, and Subway combined.
And they're closed on Sundays.
So the lesson here is that whenyou develop leaders at every
level, performance multiplies atevery level, and profits

(06:30):
reflect that.
So here's a bonus thoughtbefore we close things out.
Resistance to this type ofinvestment often comes from
fear.
And I want to name something.
When leaders resist investingin people, it's often not
because they don't care, it'sbecause they're afraid.
Afraid of losing control,afraid of spending time or money

(06:51):
without an immediate ROI.
But real leadership requirescourageous investment in
relationships, in growth, and intrust.
Because when you stop seeingpeople as expenses and start
seeing them as assets,everything changes.
So in closing, remember youdon't have to choose between
people and profit.

(07:12):
When you invest in your people,you're investing in your profit
because performance followsengagement.
And here's your reflectionquestion for this week.
Where might you beunderinvesting in your people?
And how is it showing up inyour results?
And one more, what's one smallway you can invest in your team
this week?
Not because you have to, butbecause it's good business.

(07:36):
So, I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
Share it with another leaderwho needs a reminder that people
and profit can go hand in hand.
I'll see you next time.
Like what you heard on today'sepisode and want to go deeper?
Subscribe to this podcast soyou never miss an episode.
You can also pick up my book,Lead Anyone, on Amazon.

(07:58):
Then, go to my website to checkout ways that we can support
your leadership goals.
From executive retreats tocustomized training and
coaching, my team of expertswill help you level up your
leadership and accelerate yourresults.
Go to www.eliseboggs.com formore info.