A manager once asked what it would cost to keep the office open all night so she could watch a team she didn't trust. On micromanagement, the hidden cost of not trusting your people — and how that distrust travels, unchanged, all the way to the customer.

Every workplace runs on rules — the only question is whether they're written where everyone can see them, or unwritten and known only to the insiders. Why explicit rules are fairer, kinder to newcomers, and freer than unspoken norms.

Mix the right skills, personalities and behaviours and you get a team — or, really, you get batter. Something still has to add the heat. On motivating a team: the kinds of energy a leader can apply, and which ones actually cook.