LEADERSHIP WEATHER UPDATE: ARE YOU BRINGING THE SUNSHINE OR BRINGING THE RAIN
- B B
- May 28
- 4 min read
☁️ Leadership Climate: Are You the Storm?
We hear it all the time: "Climate change is the existential threat of our lifetime."
But here's a better question: As a leader, are you the existential threat to your team?
In a recent post, I talked about climate.
Not the kind with rising oceans and melting glaciers.
I mean the kind that forms on the front lines—in breakrooms, emails, and team meetings.
Where it really matters.
Let's keep that conversation going.
Whether you're a boss, a team leader, or just someone with a reserved parking spot...
You're creating the climate.
And the climate you create?
It can be just as toxic as any polluted atmosphere.
A recent Gallup survey found that a team's manager directly influences 70% of its engagement.
Translation?
The air quality of your workplace is more about who walks in than what’s written on the walls.
🧪 Leadership Pollution Starts Subtly
You may not be dropping chemicals—
But if you're bringing pressure, fear, or passive aggression into the room...
You're creating a toxic environment.
You're cloud-seeding your staff.
☁️ I Remember the Oxygen Thieves
I remember a few of my oxygen-stealing bosses.
You'd never see them—
Unless they had someone to chew out.
They floated in like cold fronts,
Dropping the pressure and darkening the mood.
Like a cat swatting at a toy it doesn't even like—always irritated, never engaged.
Here's the scene:
We were in open cubicles, with half-walls and shared spaces.
We joked. We helped each other. We got through the day's chaos.
The atmosphere? Casual. Professional. Respectful.
Then someone whispered: "The boss is coming."
Immediately:
Conversations died,
Smiles vanished,
People sat up straighter,
The mood shifted- from lively to inmates awaiting sentencing,
Some disappeared to the restrooms,
Not out of need, but out of survival instinct.
Why?
Because when that Leader walked in, they didn't inspire—
They suffocated.
You don't need to drop toxins to pollute the air.
Sometimes, all it takes is:
Pressure without clarity
Passive aggression cloaked in feedback
Your stress is projected onto your staff
Urgency weaponized into fear
🌧️ Let's Be Honest…
Outside of passion professions—
Medicine, law, creative arts, skilled trades—
Most people didn't grow up dreaming of being:
Regional logistics coordinator
Store Manager
Analyst
Barista
Spreadsheet Gladiators
Customer service rep.
Or reconciling vendor invoices or answering emails about back orders at 9:47 AM.
Most just fell into that job.
I've been there, done that.
They're here because the job pays the bills.
That's reality.
Here's another reality: Most people still want to do good work.
And if you're leading people through a job they didn't dream of.
The least you can do is not make it a nightmare.
Some leaders walk in and bring a sense of calm with them.
It allows you to breathe easier.
To Grow.
To Flourish.
Thinking clearly & better.
Or to get through the day.
They set the tone for clear, respectful communication.
Others? They walk in, and it's like the room gets vacuum-sealed.
The mood drops.
Jokes stop.
Professionalism becomes forced.
It's not fear—they're not that important.
It's fatigue.
Emotional oxygen loss.
When you walk into the room—
Do people relax?
Or do they brace for impact?
Are you the kind of Leader who brings calm?
Or calories to someone's stress diet?"
You may not control:
Compensation
The corporate structure,
Or the color of the carpet, which the previous company had left.
As someone in charge, you control the climate in your office, the warehouse, outside in the field, and the control room.
🌡️ Micro Forecast Check:
Ask yourself:
Do I interrupt more than I listen?
Do I give clarity, or just urgency?
Do my people speak up—or shut down?
Am I managing with presence or proximity?
If your team adjusts when you enter,
It’s not always respectful.
It might be relief when you leave.
🌀How do you know that your Weather Pattern is getting Unstable?
Life leaves little clues for us.
Your team might not tell you directly, but they will show you:
High turnover
More callouts (they'd rather burn a sick day than spend one with you)
Missed deadlines
Mediocre work
More friction, fewer solutions
That's not laziness.
That's atmospheric pressure.
🌦️ So What's the Forecast When You Enter the Room?
☀️ Sunshine?
🌧️ Rain?
🌀 Or a full-blown emotional hurricane?
So tomorrow morning, before your first meeting, ask yourself:
What’s the weather forecast today... and what part are you playing in it?
Are you walking in like fresh air?
Or a low-pressure system with last week’s storm still stuck to your shoes?
🌦️ Part 2 Sneak Peek: Resetting the Weather Pattern
You’ve just realized your leadership forecast might be cloudy.
That’s okay—storms pass, climates shift, and even cold fronts can warm.
In Part 2, we’ll cover:
How to bring oxygen back after you've been the thundercloud
Simple shifts in tone and behavior that re-establish trust
Rewiring your team’s emotional barometer—without sounding like a TED Talk reject
You'll learn that the most powerful thing a leader can do isn't command attention—
It’s to calm the air so others can breathe, speak, and think clearly.
Because leadership isn’t about control.
It’s about clarity, consistency, and creating conditions that allow others to thrive.
Pictures by iStock Photos (nice site).
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