Leaders have a lot of inputs to balance. The factors they must consider include:

• Performance KPIs

• Shareholders

• Directors

• Organizational reputation

• Their own emotional and physical wellbeing

• Team dynamics

It's enough to create quiet moments of doubt in even the strongest leader.

When we ruminate, we get overwhelmed. When we get overwhelmed, we try to stop the noise by turning off some of the inputs. We shrink our circle.

For many leaders, this means shutting people out. We start to see colleagues as potential sources of grief instead of trusted assets. We reason that it's easier to focus on balance sheets.

But people don’t show up on balance sheets. Happiness isn’t a line item in the budget.

It's easy to forget culture in challenging times. Ironically, that's when we need it most.