Creating Great Workplaces

The authors of The Leadership Challenge, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, argue that great leaders create great places to work because leadership is ultimately about relationships, trust, and shared purpose. According to Kouzes and Posner, people do their best work when they feel valued, empowered, and connected to something meaningful. Great leaders cultivate environments where individuals are encouraged to contribute ideas, take initiative, and grow both personally and professionally. Rather than relying on authority alone, they inspire commitment through authenticity, collaboration, and a clear vision for the future.

In this way, leadership is not simply about achieving results; it is about shaping a culture where people want to give their best effort. Employees are more engaged and motivated when leaders model the values they expect from others, recognize contributions, and foster mutual respect. Kouzes and Posner emphasize that leadership practices such as “encouraging the heart” and “enabling others to act” create workplaces built on trust and confidence. These environments become places where innovation thrives, teamwork strengthens, and people feel a genuine sense of belonging.

Ultimately, great places to work are not created by policies or perks alone, but by leaders who intentionally invest in people. When leaders prioritize relationships, encourage growth, and create a culture of shared purpose, they build organizations where both individuals and the organization itself can flourish.
The Positive Workplace Attitude Scale supports the work described by Kouzes and Posner because it provides a way to measure and strengthen the kinds of attitudes that help create healthy, engaging workplace cultures. If great leaders create great places to work, then one important indicator of that success is the attitude employees bring to their work, their colleagues, and the organization as a whole.

The scale also supports leadership development by helping organizations assess the emotional and cultural climate of the workplace. Leaders can use the results to identify areas where employees may feel disconnected, undervalued, or unsupported. In this sense, the Positive Workplace Attitude Scale becomes more than an assessment tool—it becomes a guide for creating environments where trust, motivation, and shared purpose can flourish.

Take a moment to review each question. As you review these statements, you might ask yourself how much you agree with each one. Respond on a five-point scale: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, and Strongly Agree.

The results of this survey will be presented at Head Start WEST's Executive Leadership Council in Denver, CO

T