On most mornings, people get up and get ready for work. As they go through their morning routines, they all want the same thing, namely to have a good day. While this varies to a degree by person, most people just want a day where they can make progress on things that are important to them, know that their job matters, and to work with people who are kind, thoughtful, and respectful. And if, by the end of the day, all of this has happened, then they can feel like it was a good day.
Nevertheless, this is not the typical experience for many people. Most people encounter problems that are difficult to define, and have no easy solutions. Most people work with other people, who, at times, do not treat them or others well. And finally, most people don’t feel like they are making progress on things that matter the most to them. Instead, they feel like they are battling poorly designed systems, technology that is not helpful, and a company culture that says one thing, but does something completely different. In short, many people find their work life, frustrating, boring, and unsatisfying. And they feel powerless to change it.
Yet, in the midst of this, most people hope for something better. They want a life and a job where they feel connected with others, and a sense of belonging that comes from doing things that make a difference in the lives of others. They also want a life and a job where they feel heard, and respected for what they know and what they do. At the same time, they want to be seen as a person, rather than just a warm body filling a box on the company’s org chart. And finally, most people want to feel like they have a life of choice and integrity, where they do not need to compromise their beliefs and values in order to make ends meet at the personal and family levels.
As leaders, I think we underestimate the importance of people wanting to have a good day. Typically, we are focused on getting things done, and, if we are honest, the sooner the better. We also are focused on generating positive KPI’s (key performance indicators) that show we are doing the right thing and generating the right outcomes. Then, the people who we report to will be pleased with us, and reward us in various ways, be that a promotion, positive feedback, or some monetary amount.
But, most people do not have this option. They just wake up in the morning, get ready for the day, and then go to work. And everything that they did not get done the day before is still sitting there on their desk, wanting their time and attention. Meanwhile, a wide variety of new problems have surfaced that also call for their time and attention.
So, how do we as leaders create a good day for those we work with on a daily basis?
First, leaders need to invest their time and energy in getting to know the people that they work with on a daily basis. As Marcus Buckingham in his book, The One Thing You Need to Know ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success (Free Press, 2005), explained: “great managing is not about transformation - if you dedicate yourself to transforming each employee into some predetermined perfect version of the role, you will wind up frustrating yourself and annoying the employee. Great managing is about release. It is about constantly tweaking the world so the unique contribution, the unique needs, the unique style of each employee can be given free rein.” As he continues, “To excel as a manager you must never forget that each of your direct reports is unique and that your chief responsibility is not to eradicate this uniqueness, but rather to arrange roles, responsibilities, and expectations so that you can capitalize upon it. The more you perfect this skill, the more effectively you will turn talents into performance.” And when we turn talents into performance, we create the conditions for someone to have a good day.
Second, leaders need to help people achieve their goals on a regular basis. Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer in their article called “The Power of Small Wins” (Harvard Business Review, May 2011), report some interesting results after a decade of research which included a deep analysis of daily diaries kept by teammates on creative projects. What they discovered is something they call the Progress Principle, namely “Of all things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work…. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run.” From what they shared, I am convinced that making progress in meaningful work is vital to people experiencing a good day.
Third, leaders need to be able to work at multiple levels within the company. As F. Scott Fitzgerald pointed out, “The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” I think the best leaders, who create the conditions for optimal performance and positive work engagement, approach the future with three questions in mind, namely Where are we now?, Where do we need to prepare for the future?, and Where do we need to innovate?. This three way approach helps them work on the organization, and in the organization as needed. It also helps them to focus on making current operations better, and focus on preparing everyone for the future.
While leaders may not be able to control everything about the work day, they can take steps on a daily basis to make the work environment a positive and respectful place. As I have learned over the years, leaders get what they exhibit and what they tolerate. Starting this week, we need to get to know our people better, and we need to help them achieve their goals on a regular basis. Finally, we need to ask ourselves the aforementioned three questions to make sure we are working on the organization and in the organization. The weeks and months ahead may be stressful, challenging, and complex, but the importance of people having a good day is a powerful and rejuvenating experience. And we all need to experience more good days rather than fewer good days.
© Geery Howe 2026
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