Problems We Solve
Across our diverse client portfolio, we see the same patterns again and again. Different sectors. But same problems.
Highly capable people. Positive intentions. Strong values. And yet something isn’t working the way it should.
These are the cultural challenges we will help you to solve.
Low resilience and burnout
People are under constant pressure to do more with less. The pace is relentless. The workload is too much. And change never really stops. When boundaries are not upheld, respected, or just don’t exist, capable, committed people start to run on empty. The vibe is low.
Operating from endurance not resilience, for extended periods, means engagement and confidence decline and performance suffers. People begin to question if the organisation is the right place for them anymore.
What this looks like day to day
- People are exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed and disengaged
- Leaders are stuck in survival mode and can’t lead effectively.
- Basic disciplines slip, they become disconnected from their team and no longer role model the important stuff
- People lose confidence, motivation and hope. They start to look elsewhere
- Performance drops, presenteeism increases, organisational goals are not achieved
Why this matters?
- 63% of employees experiencing burnout are more likely to take sick leave (Harvard Business Review)
- 2.6x of employees experiencing burnout are more likely to leave their role (Harvard Business Review)
- Replacing an employee costs 50–200% of salary, depending on seniority (CIPD)
Poor communication and lack of psychological safety
People don’t feel safe to speak up, feedback doesn’t exist, and conversations that matter are avoided at all costs. Performance issues are ignored and never addressed. There is confusion, frustration and a lack of safety, because no one knows where they stand.
Conversations only happen because performance becomes derailed, and they feel sudden and blindsiding, damaging trust and creating a poor working environment that can leave people feeling broken.
Accountability feels uncomfortable, and it quietly disappears. People stop trying, outcomes are not achieved, and the bottom line suffers.
What this looks like day to day:
- Ongoing unspoken tension, and lack of transparency, prevents people from performing at their best
- Conversations that need to happen don’t. Expectations are unclear, accountability is non-existent, and people don’t know where they stand, impacting morale
- No one speaks up, poor behaviour continues, and the team pays the price
- Under performers are left to underperform without consequence, creating resentment and resistance
Why this matters?
- Teams with high psychological safety show 27% fewer errors and have 12% higher productivity (Google – Project Aristotle)
- In comparison poor communication costs organisations over £9,000 per employee per year (SHRM)
Tick-box initiatives that don’t change anything
People are expected to engage in a wide variety of change initiatives, but they only exist on paper. Leadership doesn’t role model the ‘new way’, and people continue to treat each other the same as they always have. Unconscious bias training and feedback development are simply tick-box exercises. There is no support or challenge to embed any learning, creating a costly false economy, where investment delivers no return.
There’s lots of activity but no real change, and people notice. Trust erodes, belief fades, and scepticism and disengagement quickly follow.
What this looks like day to day:
- Cynicism about ‘the next initiative’
- People only doing the right thing when observed
- No one really understanding the purpose of attending ‘training’
- Misalignment between what the organisation says matters most, and what the workforce actually experiences day to day
- People notice when values are talked about but not lived
Why this matters?
- 67% of employees say their organisation’s stated values don’t match their day-to-day experience (PwC)
- Actively disengaged employees cost £2,500–£3,500 per person per year
(Gallup) - Presenteeism is often more costly than absence because people are paid but not performing.
Dehumanised, process-heavy ways of working
With AI, automation, and process increase, people question their value because judgement is replaced by checklists, and thinking gives way to compliance. Innovation, creativity, and critical thinking vanish, progress stalls, and there is no long-term success.
The human side of the workplace is slowly squeezed out.
What this looks like day to day:
- People feeling disconnected from purpose and meaning
- Reduced confidence in decision-making, leaving people feeling empty and disempowered
- The core psychological need to make a difference and have impact is eroded
- Less curiosity, less challenge, no humanity
- People exit emotionally, increasing presenteeism and decreasing the bottom line
- As technology and process increase, people often feel less valued.
Why this matters?
- Organisations that invest in people as well as technology see 23% higher profitability, 18% higher productivity, 43% lower turnover (Gallup)
- Up to 70% of digital transformations fail due to people and behaviour factors (McKinsey). Technology supports systems. People deliver performance.
Fear and confusion associated with the EDI/DEI agenda
Fear of getting it wrong stops people from doing the right thing. Conversations about difference, inclusion, and belonging feel risky. People feel vulnerable, and there is a lack of visible role modelling.
Silence replaces learning, and those most affected are often the first to disengage or leave.
What this looks like day to day:
- Leaders are increasingly unsure what to say or do, driven by fear of consequence
- Complex issues around inclusion, identity, neurodiversity, and the wider social and political climate influence behaviour and leadership, often without being addressed
- Performative behaviours pretend to be allyship, and virtue-signalling takes priority over genuine, values-led action
- Diverse experiences aren’t valued, and organisations miss out on the rich learning opportunity for growth
- When differences are avoided rather than addressed, organisations lose talent and insight
Why this matters?
- Inclusive teams make better decisions 87% of the time (Deloitte)
- Diverse organisations are 35% more likely to outperform competitors (Deloitte)
- Organisations that fail to embed inclusive behaviours are more likely to lose under-represented talent within the first two years (McKinsey)
Resistance to change
What this looks like day to day:
- Pushback on feedback or new ideas
- Slow or no decision-making
- Energy spent protecting rather than progressing
- Time and resources spent on areas of the change that don’t have any significant impact
- People paying lip service to keep the peace. Agreeing publicly, disagreeing privately
Why this matters?
- Only 30% of investment in change initiatives get any kind of return or benefit realisation.
- Organisations that focus on the human side of change are 2.5x more likely to meet objectives (Prosci)
Silo working and self-preservation
Fear, ego, unclear priorities, and pressure to perform drive people inward. Teams protect their own patch instead of working together, with little time spent building truly cross-functional, cohesive groups. People don’t understand (or care) how their role/project/objectives impact others. The wheel is reinvented often. Ideas aren’t shared, processes are duplicated, and there is zero accountability for looking beyond individual roles.
Collaboration starts to feel risky. Sharing feels unsafe. Belonging fades, and despite the focus on speed, everything ultimately slows down.
What this looks like day to day:
- ‘Them and us’ mentality
- Duplication and reinvention
- Functional and departmental misalignment with strategic goals
- People feeling isolated rather than supported
- No opportunity to streamline processes, reduce costs or continuously improve
- Pressure often reduces collaboration
Why this matters?
86% of leaders say siloed working contributes to organisational failure (Salesforce)
45% of employees regularly duplicate work (Salesforce)
Knowledge workers spend up to 20% of their time searching for or recreating information (McKinsey)Cross-functional teams deliver projects up to 25% faster (Boston Consulting Group)
Disconnected leadership
Trust between senior leaders and the wider organisation has broken down. People are not heard, they feel misunderstood and unable to influence. Leadership has no idea what is really going on. They don’t realise this, but the wider organisation sees it clearly. Confidence in the leaders of the organisation steadily fades. Ultimately leading to a lack of respect.
Fear of hierarchy means the real issues at the coalface are kept hidden. Leaders receive little, or no, honest feedback, so the same mistakes keep happening, and no one learns. Unhealthy leadership behaviours are tolerated, and often lead to promotion to move them out, rather than address the issues head on.
Leaders who deliver results are protected, even when their leadership style causes harm. The resulting impact of disengagement, attrition, and broken trust is costly.
What this looks like day to day:
- Eye rolling and disengagement when leaders share their views of the organisation
- Behaviours associated with career progression are misplaced
Because they are removed from the reality of the organisational challenges, leaders who care deeply and operate with positive intent, are associated with those leaders that don’t - Significant challenges never get resolved, because no one is listening
Why this matters?
57% of employees leave roles because of managers, not organisations (Gallup)
Improving leadership capability can reduce voluntary turnover by up to 30% (McKinsey)
When these issues go unaddressed, people rarely leave loudly. They withdraw first, and then they go.
Exit interviews are rich with insight, yet too often this data is ignored, leaving these issues unresolved and on repeat.
This is where Rising Vibe comes in.
We support and challenge leaders to address these cultural challenges within their organisations by:
- Gaining more insight in to how they are showing up, and the impact that has on the organisation
- Changing how they lead when it matters most
- Rebuilding trust, confidence and connection where it has been lost
- Turning values into lived, everyday behaviour
- Being more explicit, transparent and holding themselves and others’ accountable
When this happens, you bring together organisational goals AND human needs.
Each one will deliver some value, but when you bring them together they create something far more powerful.
Organisational goals provide clarity, focus, deliverables, and metrics. Human needs drive motivation, engagement, confidence, and a healthy emotional state. When both are in place, people and performance thrive, and real impact happens.
We’re ready. Are you? It’s time to raise your vibe and have the conversations that matter!
To find out how we can help you, please get in touch today.
