Profile picture of MARTIN KIPRONO®️™️
MARTIN KIPRONO®️™️
Strategic Human Resource & Administration Professional || HR & Technology Integration || People Operations and Analytics ||Performance & Talent Mgt || HRIS || HRBP || Training & Development || Compensation & Benefits
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July 2, 2025
💭 It’s easy to divide and tear apart. True leadership lies in uniting and building. In a small, ambitious company, tensions brewed between two high-performing teams: marketing and sales. Misunderstandings grew, collaboration broke down, and what was once a thriving workplace became a silent battleground. Then came Mike the newly appointed team leader. Unlike his predecessors, Mike didn’t take sides or stoke the fire of competition. Instead, he saw something else: potential in the chaos. At his first joint team meeting, he brought out a long piece of fabric split down the middle… and a zipper. “This,” he said, “is us right now disconnected. Leadership isn’t about walls. It’s about pulling the zipper… closing the gap… and becoming whole.” That one act changed everything. With candid dialogue, mutual goals, and a culture of respect, Mike transformed rivalry into collaboration. The teams not only started working together, they began thriving together. 📈 Revenue soared. Productivity climbed. Morale was at an all-time high. 👉🏽 Not because of one genius move but because of collective synergy. 💥 4 Powerful Takeaways for Leaders: 🔺 Inclusion over Isolation True leaders don’t divide people into “us” and “them” they create a collective “we.” Everyone gets a seat at the table. 🔺 Collaboration over Competition Success multiplies when teams complement, not compete. Great leaders foster interdependence, not silos. 🔺 Vision over Division It’s easy to stoke conflict. Real leadership is aligning diverse minds toward shared purpose. 🔺 Healing over Splitting The world has enough division. Leaders who unite leave behind legacies, not just results. 🔑 The Zipper Effect: Great leaders aren’t those who dominate they’re those who connect. Who heal. Who build. 🧠 So ask yourself today: Are you pulling the zipper… or leaving gaps that divide? ✍🏽 Written by: @Martin Kiprono 📸 Image Credit: SuccessPictures #Leadership #Teamwork #TheZipperEffect #Unity #OrganizationalCulture #InclusionMatters #LeadWithPurpose #HRLeadership #PeopleFirst #LinkedInLeadership #Transformation
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113 Likes
July 2, 2025
Discussion about this post
Profile picture of James Burke
James Burke
Senior Manager | Sales Leadership, New Business Development, startups
5 months ago
Indeed
Profile picture of Mathika Prasanna
Mathika Prasanna
TECHNICAL CONSULTANT.
5 months ago
So true ,but not everyone in a leadership role leads with ethics.few people always divide the people
Profile picture of Kelvin Ndirangu
Kelvin Ndirangu
Client Relations & Account Support Specialist | CRM & Workflow Optimization Expert | Delivering Financial Efficiency & Customer Satisfaction
5 months ago
Absolutely brilliant analogy, Martin. The "zipper" image is such a powerful and memorable way to visualize what true leadership looks like—not forceful control, but intentional connection. I’ve witnessed similar dynamics in my own experience—where siloed teams, each with incredible talent, struggled not because of a lack of skill, but because no one had yet created the shared space for mutual understanding and trust. What stood out most here is that healing became part of the leadership strategy. That’s rare. And deeply needed. Leaders like Mike remind us that real transformation doesn’t begin with KPIs—it begins with people. This post is more than a story. It’s a challenge and a roadmap. Thank you for sharing this. Curious to hear from others: What’s one small “zipper moment” you’ve witnessed or created that shifted team culture for the better? Let’s keep this conversation going. We need more of these leadership reflections in our feeds
Your title doesn't make you a leader. How you choose to treat your team does. Your actions will determine a supportive culture where time off is a source of strength. What to do as a leader: ✅ Be a role model for taking time off: ↳ Lead by example. ↳ Share when you're taking time off and, if appropriate, share photos from your vacations to normalize rest. ✅ Recognize efforts: ↳ Acknowledge team achievements and individual efforts in ways that promote well-being rather than appreciating health sacrifices. ✅ Encourage flexibility: ↳ Support diverse personal and professional needs with flexible work arrangements. ↳ Trust your team to deliver in ways that work for them. ✅ Prevent post-vacation overload: ↳ Implement task delegation and workload management strategies to ensure team members return to a manageable workload. ✅ Conduct meaningful check-ins: ↳ Ensure one-on-one meetings are safe spaces for honest discussions about well-being and workload. What to avoid as a leader: ❌ Praising work while sick: ↳ Don't say: "Thank you for working even though you don't feel well." ↳ This sends the wrong message about your company's values. ❌ Neglecting feedback: ↳ Don't ignore employee feedback about workload and stress. ❌ Discouraging time off: ↳ Don't make employees feel guilty for taking breaks. ↳ Time-off is a right, not a privilege. ❌ Setting unrealistic goals: ↳ Don't set targets that will require overwork and sacrificing well-being. ❌ Promoting an "Always On" culture: ↳ Don't expect employees to be constantly available, especially during the late evenings, weekends and vacations. Be the leader you wish you had. ♻️ Repost to promote healthier work cultures. 🔔 Follow MARTIN K CHERUIYOT (AIHRM)for more. Purity WaruiNancy MwecheCHRP (K) Agatha Kibai (MIHRM) CHRP-K Sharon KiplangatSharon KotutDR. MATHIAS KIILU (PHD) #LeadershipDevelopment #PeopleFirst #HRLeadership #WorkplaceWellbeing #MentalHealthAtWork #EmployeeExperience #FutureOfWork #WorkCulture #TimeOffMatters #HealthyWorkplace #CompassionateLeadership #EmpatheticLeadership #WorkLifeBalance #FlexibleWork #HRStrategy #LeadByExample #HumanCenteredLeadership #WellbeingAtWork #SustainableWorkplace #RestIsProductive Image credit: Adam Grant
178 comments
April 24, 2025
💭Diversity shapes how modern organisations solve problems. It is not limited to appearance. It is the range of thinking styles that unlocks better decisions and sharper performance. 🧠 I witnessed something recently that completely reframed how I view talent in the workplace. Picture this: a recruiter with Down syndrome leading an interview and outperforming seasoned professionals with unmatched clarity and emotional intelligence. 🖼️ 🧩A few observations stood out. 1. JPMorganChase offers a proven case study. Their Autism at Work program began with four employees in 2015. Today the organisation has more than three hundred Neuro divergent professionals thriving in technology, operations, and analytics. Their cyber security team, strengthened by autistic analysts, has identified sophisticated threat patterns that traditional teams often miss. 🔍 2. The interviewer with Down syndrome approached the assessment differently. The questions were thoughtful. The analysis was instinctive. The ability to read human behaviour was precise. This was not a scripted interview. It was a master class in intuition and perspective. 3. Cognitive diversity impacts performance. Research shows that diverse thinking styles accelerate problem solving by up to forty percent. The value comes from how differently teams interpret data, process information, and challenge assumptions. 🔥 🧠DXC Technology has recorded productivity gains of more than ninety percent in selected roles through Neuro divergent talent. These individuals bring strengths that reshape how teams deliver results. Hiring for culture fit can limit innovation. It often removes candidates who challenge the status quo and bring new thinking into the room. 💡 What example have you seen where someone broke stereotypes and delivered exceptional results? Write-up: MARTIN KIPRONO®️™️ #InnovativeTalent #DiverseMinds #FutureOfWork #NeurodiversityAtWork #TalentRevolution #InclusionMatters #HRLeadership #HiringStrategy #WorkplaceInnovation #PeopleAndCulture #IkoKaziKE
45 comments
November 26, 2025
Culture is not an HR problem—it’s a leadership responsibility. Before pointing fingers, take a moment to look up, not down. Because here’s the truth: HR isn’t here to clean up after leadership failures. Blaming HR for a toxic culture? That’s like blaming the mirror for your reflection. 🪞 ✅ What HR truly does: We are strategic partners shaping the organisation's heartbeat by: Designing effective and inclusive hiring systems Ensuring fair and competitive compensation structures Developing clear career paths and growth frameworks Measuring and improving employee engagement Equipping managers to lead with clarity and empathy Safeguarding fairness in performance management 🚫 But what HR can’t do: We are not miracle workers. We cannot: Force leaders to listen or engage Make absent executives present Undo deep-rooted toxic behaviors. Rebuild trust where leadership has broken it Make leadership *care* if they genuinely don’t No matter how skilled your HR team is, we can’t compensate for: Executive silence Leadership hypocrisy Broken promises Disregarded feedback Poor role modelling from the top 🧭 Culture flows from leadership it doesn’t trickle up from HR. If leaders aren’t committed, no HR initiative will thrive. Let’s be honest: HR can support, guide, and advise. But it’s leadership that sets the tone, walks the talk, and ultimately drives the culture. 📣 To all leaders: If you care about culture, step up. Don’t delegate the soul of your organisation. #LeadershipMatters #WorkplaceCulture #HRLeadership #ToxicWorkplace #PeopleStrategy #CorporateCulture #LeadershipResponsibility
33 comments
June 21, 2025