Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

The infamous Robert De Niro line may invoke some memories, but I want to take it in a different direction today.

Gallup’s latest research tells us something we should pay attention to: only 29% of U.S. employees were engaged at work in the third quarter of 2026. That’s the lowest level in 15 years. Another 53% are “not engaged,” and 18% are actively disengaged. (Gallup.com⁠)

That tells me:

• We need more engaged people at all levels.
• We need more people who care.
• We need more leaders.
• We need more leadership.
• And we need more leaders willing to find people who care, engage them, and help develop them into leaders themselves.

Most of you reading this have some level of leadership responsibility. That means part of our job is preparing the next generation to lead.

So, are you preparing one successor?

Or are you looking around and identifying multiple people who could step up and take on the challenge?

Am I lookin’ at you? Yes.

Should you be lookin’ at many? Again, yes.

Maybe you’re asking yourself, What am I supposed to do to help with this? I’m too busy. I’m not sure where to start.

The answer can be pretty simple.

Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying, “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” Interestingly, Roosevelt himself attributed the phrase to Squire Bill Widener. (Theodore Roosevelt Center⁠)

Start there.

And maybe some of you are thinking, I don’t have the title, the authority, or the expectation to develop leaders. That’s not my job.

I would challenge that thinking.

John Maxwell’s concept of the 360-degree leader reminds us that leadership isn’t limited to leading those who report to us. We can lead up, across and down—regardless of our title. (Maxwell Leadership |⁠)

So here’s my challenge for the weekend:

Look around you.

Who cares?

Who is engaged?

Who has potential?

And who might become a great leader if someone simply took the time to invest in them?

Take that challenge seriously.

Because the person you develop today may someday lead your organization, your community—or even your family.

And your child, friend, or sibling might be the beneficiary of someone else doing the same for them.

You get what you give.

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric