I’ve seen firsthand how constant changes to expectations, priorities, or compensation structures can break trust with people. When your employees feel that the rules or criteria for success can be changed at any time, even after an agreement has been made, it makes it difficult for them to achieve YOUR objectives. For high-achieving individuals, the goal posts always moving is frustrating, and they will quit.

I remember in the late 80s when my dad stopped working for Snapper Lawn Mower and bought a company. His reason: they started changing the commission structure every month. A friend told me their dad left Xerox and joined Apple for the same reason.

I experienced this first-hand when I stepped into a PMO role where the leader kept changing their program objectives every week. The result was missed deadlines and financial targets, as well as high turnover due to employee frustration and low morale.

These issues were severe enough, but given the nature of the program—Disaster Recovery—the company’s risk to brand, reputation, operations, and revenue increased.

In my situation, leadership was changed, and when the goalposts finally stopped moving, people aligned, developed trust, and morale increased. When this happened, all energy was directed toward achieving the objectives, which over time reduced brand, reputation, operational, and financial risk to the organization.

Making these decisions can be challenging, but they are critical for a company’s success. High achievers want clarity, they want to win, and they will quit on you if you keep changing the rules.

Ask yourself, are you unintentionally moving the goalpost?

If your team is frustrated, turnover is climbing, or you feel like you’re stuck in reactive mode, it’s time to bring in backup. I help organizations cut through chaos, fix what’s broken, and build leadership trust from the inside out.

Visit RKCMANAGEMENTCONSULTING.COM for ideas and methods to guide your organization from chaos to clarity.