Morale Hidden Obstacles: Regret, Jealousy, Resentment | Leadership

The morale hidden obstacles that are getting in the way of leading your organization are not insurmountable. In this post, I highlight the hidden obstacles and clarify their source and what to do.



Morale Hidden Obstacles: Image is Door Cracked Open.

Morale Hidden Obstacles. Image by PurpleMattfish via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Image by PurpleMattFish via Flickr Creative Commons License.


Leading Morale Hidden Obstacles

Beyond what you can see regarding morale, as a leader you must find the hidden obstacles to great morale and address them. Such as …

  1. Regret. This can occupy your employees’ minds and reduce morale and performance. Sources of regret can include regret that they didn’t take the other job offer, dismay that they asked for help with a project and others labeled them needy, disappointment over trusting a co-worker who betrayed them, etc… Suggestion: Learn about your employees and establish good relationships with them. You will more likely see this hidden obstacle the more you know them. Also, lead with the phrase, “we all learn every day. Let’s not regret our missteps; grow from them!”

  2. Biases. The combination of differences among employees and learned thoughts and entitlements can feed biases. Yet biases block teamwork and this hurts morale and performance. Suggestion: Respect feelings and diverse views to overcome biases.

  3. And …

  4. Insecurity. Even those who seem the most confident, can be insecure about their abilities. This undermines morale and performance. Help everyone to see their true potential. Suggestion: Hold a team session to highlight employees’ individual talents and how they contribute to the whole organization.

  5. Jealousy & Resentment. Jealousy and resentment grow when people don’t see other’s struggles. Their insecurity drives them to feel bad about themselves and resent others. Suggestion: Leadership steps to reduce jealousy & increase performance.


Summary

As you uncover morale hidden obstacles and address these factors, you will lead morale and great performance. Replace any desire you might have to overlook these obstacles with your emotional intelligence to remove these hidden obstacles.

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Related Post:
Prevent Professional Jealousy From Ruining Your Career

©2025 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.


Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.


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2 Responses to “Morale Hidden Obstacles: Regret, Jealousy, Resentment | Leadership”

  1. Dave Moore says:

    Kate,
    One of my big things is the morale of your team, and your friends and Family. As they say in Godfather 3, Our Ships Must Sail In The Same Direction. One person off course or out of direction can mean disaster rather than success.
    Truth is, when morale goes without us noticing we can unwittingly leave people behind. They go off and do something else or are just not involved. Reading your people comes from knowing them and studying them. What makes them tick?
    Having a new client or project can mean you have to pick a person to oversee it. For them to oversee it they need to delegate to others who specialize in the various details and disciplines required. If you give it to someone who has lost their drive, energy, focus…all of them clear signs of loss of morale, you are doomed to failure…as are they. another nail in the morale coffin.
    I have read your book and refer to it again and again. Thank God you work and specialize in this as many trainers teach without ever considering it.
    My best regards and
    Love to you and yours…
    Dave

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