Building Highly Engaged Teams in Today's Performance-Focused Environment, with Dr. Roger A. Gerard

Mar 25, 2026

Dr. Roger A. Gerard, executive consultant and former Chief Learning Officer with a 52-year career in leadership development. He explores trust and community as the heart of engagement. He contrasts inspiration with mere expectations. He warns how imposed solutions and rewards can kill ownership. He outlines practical promises leaders can make to rebuild commitment.

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INSIGHT

Trust Is The Foundation Of Performance

Trust and inclusion are the foundational inputs for performance, not just outputs like metrics.
Jonathan H. Westover emphasizes people want to be needed, valued, and treated with dignity to contribute meaningfully each day.

INSIGHT

Expectations Crush Engagement

Leading with expectation and imposed metrics damages engagement because people resist being controlled.
Roger A. Gerard says imposing metrics without input treats people with disrespect and undermines connection.

ANECDOTE

Retreat Exercise That Exposed Control Bias

Gerard recounts a retreat where 15 executives returned after observing frontline work and immediately imposed solutions.
He failed them because solving workers' daily problems destroyed those workers' motivation and autonomy.

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In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with how leaders can build highly engaged teams in today's performance-focused environment.

Dr. Roger A. Gerard is the owner of Sloan & Gerard Consulting, a private consulting practice serving executives and boards in strategic planning, operational planning, executive coaching, and management development. He also specializes in process improvement, and the use of lean methodologies in bringing about significant and measurable organizational improvement. He is the former Chief Learning Officer for ThedaCare, an integrated healthcare delivery system, retiring from that position in 2014 after 23 years in that role. Dr. Gerard has a 52-year career history leading executive and management development initiatives, in both large and small organizational environments. His work has been primarily within the healthcare industry, but he has also spent a quarter of his career consulting in manufacturing and service industries nationwide. In addition, he is a creative photographer, and provides help to his wife Debra in her fine art business (www.sloangerardstudio.com). Previously, Dr. Gerard served as Vice President of Northern Michigan Hospitals and as the Director of Organizational Development. Before joining NMH, he was Creative Manager for Quality Systems for Sandy Corporation where he consulted with major clients (Burroughs, IBM, General Motors, Hyatt, etc.) on systemic leadership development and quality improvement projects. Dr. Gerard is the author of Owning the Room: Leading with Mind, Heart and Spirit to Make Extraordinary Choices in a Demanding World and the forthcoming title, Lead With Purpose: Reignite Passion and Engagement For Professionals in Crisis. He also co-authored On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry. Dr. Gerard has presented at numerous national conferences and locally throughout Wisconsin and Michigan on leadership and lean in the healthcare industry. He earned his Ph.D. in Management and Applied Decision Sciences from Walden University in 2001.

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