02.25.2026

IGNITE

Where Dr. Tom Webb sparks your curiosity and inspires action!

Reader picture this,

You lead a school, a factory, a crane branch, a business team, or your family. Someone’s struggling, underperforming, missing expectations.

So what do we do?

We rush in with more: more support, more training, more resources, more staff, more coaching, more of our leadership time.

Now flip the camera to your strongest players.

The people meeting expectations. The ones quietly carrying the load. The ones who solve problems before they become problems.

What do they get?

Often… less. Less attention. Less celebration. Less support. Less resources. Less influence. Less opportunity.

And without realizing it, we start running a reward system that says: If you struggle, you get the leader. If you shine, you get silence. That’s how morale melts. That’s how culture cracks. That’s how performance gets stuck on repeat.

The hidden message your team hears

Your time is your trophy.

Every team is watching who gets it.

When underperformance gets disproportionate time and resources while “top work” gets taken for granted, your best people don’t get inspired… they get exhausted.

And eventually they do what high performers do.

They leave and go win somewhere else.

The BOOMLeader shift

Here’s the simple system I believe in:

1) Celebrate the standard and spotlight the standouts.​
​

Meeting expectations should be noticed. Overperformers should be honored.

Not with some cheesy “employee of the month” poster that nobody reads.

With real recognition that lands:

• A specific written note that names what they did and why it mattered
• Extra time with you, not just when something’s wrong
• Additional help or resources to expand what’s working
• Influence over how to grow the department, grade level, or team
• More responsibility with real authority
• More opportunity, and yes, when possible, more pay

Because in a lot of organizations, 20% of the people carry 80% of the load.​
And those are the people quietly thinking, “Does any of this matter?”

2) Systemize the underperformance.​
​

Underperformers don’t need endless emotional energy. They need a clear, consistent structure.

A scripted system to operate within:

• Expectations written down
• The routine they follow
• Checkpoints and timelines
• Support that is specific, not scattered
• Consequences that are fair, not furious

Then one of three things happens:

• Results improve
• The system gets tweaked
• The person shifts roles or exits

But the organization stops revolving around one recurring problem like a washing machine that never finishes the cycle.

The tough question

When you read this, you probably agree. Most leaders do. The real issue is whether we actually practice it.

So here’s my challenge:

Name the top challenge you faced under your leadership in the last 12 months.

Now replay the tape:

• Where did your time go?
• Who got the attention?
• Who got the resources?
• Who got celebrated?
• Who got overlooked?

Because the next time the next issue shows up, you have a choice.

React the old way… or respond like a BOOMLeader.

If your top performers feel invisible, your culture is on a countdown.

Onward >>>

Tom

#TeamBOOM

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