Your team didn’t wake up cynical.

They learned it.

When standards feel flexible, decisions feel opaque, and feedback feels empty, people stop believing the process is about performance. They start believing it’s about proximity.

That’s when effort drops, trust erodes, and your program earns a label you never intended: a good ole boy process.

If your best people are disengaging, the issue isn’t motivation.

It’s the system they’ve experienced.

LEADER SELF-ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST

Use this to pressure-test any awards, development, stratification, or selection process you own.

Clarity

Are the standards clearly defined, published, and understood before the cycle begins?

Could a junior member articulate what “right” looks like without guessing?

Consistency

Are standards applied the same way regardless of name, rank, or relationship?

Would similar performance produce similar outcomes across the board?

Transparency

Can you explain how decisions were made without hiding behind generalities?

Do participants understand not just what happened, but why?

Feedback

Does every participant receive specific, actionable feedback tied to observable performance?

Would that feedback help them improve for the next cycle?

Documentation

Are decisions recorded in a way that can be reviewed and defended later?

Could another leader step in and understand the rationale without re-creating it?

Alignment

Do the behaviors you reward clearly reinforce mission execution, professionalism, and trust?

Are you developing people, or just selecting winners?

Trust Check

If outcomes were shared without names attached, would they still make sense?

Would you be comfortable explaining the results to the person who fell just short?

If you answered “no” or hesitated on more than one of these, your process may already be teaching lessons you never intended.

Fix the process, and you fix the perception.

Protect the process, and you protect the culture.