Sandler Toronto

06/01/2026

This time of year adds something we often overlook.
The warmer weather, longer evenings, and more time outdoors have a way of resetting perspective. Add in meaningful time with family over the weekend, and Monday starts to feel different.

Not heavier.
Not harder.
Just different.
More grounded. More focused. More energy.

It’s not about motivation. It’s about rhythm.

When your life has the right rhythm outside of work, it changes how you show up inside of it. You don’t chase energy on Monday… you bring it with you.

Live well. Sell well.

05/28/2026

When people have meaningful goals connected to their health, family, finances, growth, or overall quality of life, they tend to show up differently. They become more focused, more engaged, and more intentional in every area of their lives, including work. https://hubs.ly/Q04hFgvs0

This is why personal goal setting can be such a powerful leadership tool.

One of the most effective exercises we use with teams is the “Wheel of Life.” Instead of focusing only on business outcomes, we ask individuals to think about the kind of life they want to create over the next 12 months.

Where do they want to grow?
What area of life needs more attention?
What would meaningful progress actually look like?

Explore how leaders can build stronger accountability cultures by helping employees connect personal goals with professional growth. Learn leadership strategies that improve engagement, ownership, motivation, and team performance through intentional development.

05/27/2026

Wanted to share the example we discussed on our video on Monday. These are the life categories and personal goal-setting examples you can use with your team. Feel free to DM if you'd like an editable version.

For people who have never done personal goal setting in a professional environment, there’s often an assumption that they should only focus on work-related accomplishments. Because of that, when they first map out their “Wheel of Life,” it may look something like this. [See below]

Remember to encourage them to:
- Reflect on accomplishments from the previous year
- Consider whether those achievements happened “by default or by design”
- Categorize accomplishments across different areas of life
- Identify where they want to create more intentional growth moving forward

05/25/2026

The shift HAPPENS when goal setting becomes personal, not just professional.
People start thinking more intentionally about their lives, not only their performance.

Because when people become more intentional outside the business, the business eventually benefits from it inside the organization. We create people who are more connected to purpose, growth, and accountability.

One exercise we use is asking people to fast forward to December 31, 2026, and reflect on the life they want to have lived over the next year. We walk through the “Wheel of Life” and ask them to identify areas where they want to improve.

The key is this: it does not matter which area they choose. What matters is that they choose growth intentionally.

For one person, it might be health. For another, relationships, finances, family, or personal development. The reason the Wheel of Life works is because all the areas are connected. Improvement in one area tends to create positive momentum in the others.

That is the dividend impact.

When someone becomes more disciplined and intentional in their personal life, those behaviors naturally begin showing up in their professional life as well. Accountability outside the business strengthens accountability inside the business.

This is why strong leaders do not leave personal goal setting up to chance. They understand that people are most motivated by the goals and passions that matter personally to them.

After spending time building out these goals, we encourage people to visualize them, celebrate them, and connect their personal growth directly to their professional responsibilities. Vision boards, goal maps, and visual reminders help reinforce that connection.

I firmly believe new levels of personal success often come before new levels of professional success.

If we want more accountable people in our organizations, we have to focus on developing people first. When leaders invest in helping individuals grow personally, the business receives the long-term benefit through stronger engagement, ownership, and accountability.

05/23/2026

Accountability becomes more powerful when goal setting moves beyond business metrics and includes what people actually care about in their lives. That’s where ownership replaces pressure.

05/21/2026

Adam, appreciate the shout-out on our recent post! It means a lot that you took the time to share. We’re thankful to have played a role in your growth!

'Christopher Kelly, MBA day one, your guidance has pushed me to grow professionally. I am truly grateful to have you as both a mentor and a friend. - Adam Kurgatnikov '

05/20/2026

Here’s the 4th hinge we spoke about at the Sandler Summit around Leadership Accountability.
This is more of a long-term hinge. It’s a slower burn. The good news is that if you’re patient, it’s really just a refinement of behaviors many of you are already practicing in your business.

This idea comes from Gallup research. Many of you probably know Gallup, and maybe even this specific research. The bottom line is that we have an engagement problem in business. Only about 30% of employees would say they are highly engaged at work.

What’s interesting is that the research also tells us what creates engagement.

That highly engaged 30% says they get two things from their leaders.

First, they feel supported in their work tasks and responsibilities, things like hitting quota or achieving goals.

But second, and even more importantly, they feel supported by their leaders across multiple areas of life.

When you dig deeper into the research, those areas are mostly outside the four walls of the business. In other words, Gallup suggests that if we want to build greater trust and accountability, leaders need to become more personal with their people.

The hinge here is goal setting.

Most organizations already have some kind of formal or informal goal-setting process each year. But the gap I often see is that goal setting becomes too business-heavy.

When it’s all about business results, it can unintentionally disengage the person.

When I ask leaders to describe their goal-setting process, I usually hear about sales goals, territory goals, profit goals, account goals, and quotas.

All important. All valuable.

But incomplete if we truly want to drive engagement the way Gallup suggests.

In my experience, when leaders begin guiding people to reflect more intentionally on how they’re living their lives, something shifts.

They create more intentional people connected to areas of true passion outside of work. And the interesting part is that the positive impact eventually shows up inside the business as well.

The shift is not about removing business goals. It’s about balancing professional and personal goal setting.

Too often leaders focus only on what the business wants. The real opportunity is understanding what the individual wants too.

05/19/2026

Accountability gets stronger when leaders understand this 4th hinge we covered on accountability at the Sandler Summit ...
Here’s why it matters.
Gallup’s research points to a hard truth:
Business doesn’t have just a performance problem. It has an engagement problem.

And disengaged teams rarely create consistent accountability.

When we ask leaders about their goal programs - You can imagine what they share...Important but incongruent with the gallup research.

In my experience, when brave leaders subtly guide people to reflect on how they’re living —they experience a shift. People become more intentional.

The opportunity…is to shift our business and professional goal setting to PERSONAL and Professional goal setting…making it about their best interests, not ours and a result building deeper trust.

And that starts by making these conversations safe.

05/18/2026

Only about 30% of employees say they are highly engaged at work, and the difference is not better targets, it is leadership that understands how both performance and personal goals drive engagement.

05/13/2026

The sales landscape is shifting, and technology is at the center of it. . . .
Join us for a complimentary session NEXT WEEK: Bridging the Sales Evolution: Embracing Tomorrow's Technology. Access your guest spot: https://hubs.ly/Q04fyXQv0

Join us for this free learning session to learn how top teams stay agile and competitive in a tech-driven world.
📅 May 20, 2026 - 2 PM ET