DeSantis Trusted Advisors

06/01/2026

The most effective managers approach feedback as an ongoing conversation built on trust, clarity, and genuine investment in someone’s growth over time.

When feedback is specific, timely, and delivered with respect, it becomes far easier for employees to learn, improve, and stay engaged instead of becoming discouraged or defensive.

Our Management Tip of the Day continues to be one of HBR’s most popular newsletters. In this article, we’ve compiled eight of our favorite tips on giving feedback, from how to use feedback to give employees a sense of purpose to how to choose the right coaching style for each of your employees.

05/28/2026

A “chrysalis mindset” encourages us to see this stage not as a decline, but as an opportunity for renewal and reinvention. Take this time to reflect on your career and personal achievements and lessons learned. Use this knowledge to set new goals and pursue passions that may have been on the back burner. Embrace new skills and knowledge. Whether it’s a new hobby, a course, or even a career shift, continuous learning keeps the mind sharp and opens doors to new possibilities.

Reaching middle age often brings a mix of emotions and challenges. It's a period of transition that many perceive as a downturn; something to be afraid of or anxious about. The "end of an era." However, I believe

05/26/2026

Leadership development works best when it becomes part of everyday culture rather than a one-time training session or annual workshop.

Strong organizations create opportunities for mentorship, feedback, collaboration, and real-world problem solving so leaders can continue growing through experience over time. This consistent practice creates not only excellent leaders, but also stronger teams and healthier workplace culture across every level of an organization.

Leadership development research shows how development makes a lasting impact on organizations' biggest challenges. Learn best practices.

05/25/2026

People stay where they feel valued, supported, and connected to a larger purpose. Strong retention often grows through consistent leadership habits established from day one.

The best leaders understand that onboarding, communication, mentorship, and day-to-day support all shape whether employees build long-term trust within an organization.

It's a leader's job to build a team that people want to be part of and stay part of.

05/21/2026

Critical thinking is a constellation rather than being a single, simple skill. It includes curiosity, restraint, pattern recognition, and the willingness to sit with ambiguity long enough for insight to emerge. Tech can generate options in seconds. It cannot care which option carries the most weight for a human being on the other side of the decision.

As leaders, encouraging critical thinking means allowing room for imperfect answers. It means creating space where someone can say, “I am not sure yet,” and stay in the conversation. In the end, this will define powerful leaders.

That can feel inefficient in the short term. In the long term, it is the only way to build sound decision-makers and truly battle-tested team members.

There is a quiet shift happening inside every business-- from the world’s most structured, tradition-bound organizations to start-ups and early-stage companies. Even the most exceptional firms built on precision, process, and precedent are rewriting how they develop talent. A recent example from K...

05/19/2026

Meetings have a way of multiplying like browser tabs during a deadline sprint, quietly draining time and momentum when every conversation becomes a standing invite. The strongest teams treat meetings as decision-making tools with a clear purpose, a focused attendee list, and defined next steps rather than default calendar filler.

Research and leadership trends continue pointing toward shorter meetings, stronger agendas, and greater use of asynchronous communication so teams can protect space for deep work and sharper thinking.

Meetings are a leadership mirror. Here's how to run them more effectively.

05/18/2026

Every negotiation carries its own weather pattern. Some conversations call for collaboration and curiosity, while others require clarity, conviction, and firm boundaries. One of the most valuable leadership skills comes from recognizing your default negotiation style, then learning how to adapt it with intention depending on the people, stakes, and long-term goals involved.

This is one of the many reasons that getting to know yourself is one of the most critical things you can do if you want to be the best leader you can be.

Read more here: https://buff.ly/ZEeByAH

05/14/2026

Leaders have a unique perspective on loneliness. There is the weight of knowing that your decisions have far-reaching consequences to the lives of so many. There is the struggle to navigate the power dynamic and build lasting, trusting friendships. There is a specific and unrelenting pressure in today’s corporate landscape to appear cool, collected, and unaffected. Unfortunately, this is unsustainable and unhealthy. The concept of the bulletproof leader hinders a sense of community, performance, and effectiveness.

Loneliness is an epidemic. Each and every one of us has intimately experienced loneliness. Did you know, though, that studies show that loneliness can quite literally be deadly? Just recently, the U.S. Surgeon General announced

05/12/2026

Employee wellness shapes how organizations perform.

More than half of employees report burnout, driven by chronic stress and systems that ask for constant output without enough support.

The companies making real progress are not layering in surface-level solutions. They are redesigning work itself. Flexible structures, clearer expectations, and proactive mental health support create environments where people can sustain performance instead of running through it.

Investing in employee well-being is no longer optional — it's a competitive advantage in today's business landscape.