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What does it take for a team to gel? How do you keep employees motivated in the midst of layoffs? How can you ensure everyone — not a vocal few — participates in team projects?
These are just a few of the topics High-Performance Orgs founder Michael O. "Coop" Cooper wrote about this year. Coop's columns are informed by his 24-year career as an executive coach and his work teaching leadership skills within 1000+ companies. Although every company has its own organizational culture, a number of recurring challenges apply across industry and organizational size. His columns go beyond identifying these obstacles to providing leaders diagnostic tools and solutions.
Below are a few of the big takeaways from Coop's columns in 2025:
Internal Misalignment Leads to Burnout and Inefficiencies
People commonly associate VUCA — volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity — as an external force to reckon with. In his inaugural column, Coop argued VUCA also seeps into the workplace as people hurry to adjust to the new realities the external VUCA creates. In "Fixing Internal Misalignment in 2025: A VUCA Framework for Leadership Clarity in Uncertain Times," Coop explains the corrosive effects of misalignment and how leaders can build internal alignment to better handle the next upheaval.
Misalignment isn’t a surface issue. It’s the root cause of hesitation, inefficiency and burnout. The companies that thrive in 2025 won’t be the ones reacting to external chaos. They’ll be the ones proactively aligning leadership, teams and priorities to move with clarity and confidence so they can navigate market uncertainties.
Communication Is More Than Just Messaging
Communication skills are often taken for granted. Sure, they're included in the job listing, but rarely arise after. But rather than just being about messaging, Coop recognizes communication as a strategic tool that requires intentional design. Effective communication can decrease decision fatigue, cut down on uncertainty following layoffs and encourage participation from traditionally reticent teammates.
Every mixed message hinders productivity and every redundant meeting saps momentum. We’ve all heard it and felt it: this meeting could have been an email. How much is this costing your team?
Teamwork Doesn't Happen by Accident
The benefits of effective teamwork are manifold: the organization sees gains in productivity and profitability; and the teams in question report increased energy, satisfaction and engagement as a result. The good news is underperforming and average teams can improve when leaders — and specifically, their managers — take deliberate action to encourage and reward the behaviors that set high-performing teams apart.
The gap between good and great is not defined by talent or resources. The difference lies in understanding and practicing the behaviors that create team cohesion. The good news? These behaviors can be learned, measured and improved.
