Sam Lepak

Sam Lepak is Head of Growth at Matter, where he spends most of his time talking with the HR leaders, people managers, and founders Matter serves. He writes about recognition, rewards, and employee feedback through that lens — less theory, more what actually works in the teams he talks to each week.

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Employee Recognition
Raising Workforce Morale with Employee Appreciation Emails
Employee appreciation emails are an invaluable tool to raise workforce morale and increase employee retention. In this guide, you’ll learn how to write appreciation emails and what to avoid.
Sam Lepak
Jun 1, 2026
5 Min Read
Employee Recognition
19 Employee Appreciation Quotes For Performance & Engagement
Employee appreciation quotes can be a powerful tool to motivate, inspire and encourage your workforce. These quotes from famous people can help engage your employees and bring a new perspective to their ‘same old’ workday.
Sam Lepak
Jun 1, 2026
3 Min Read
Employee Feedback
A Comprehensive Guide to Constructive Feedback [2026]
Feedback can be given in three ways: Through constructive feedback, recognition and praise, and criticism. When it comes to helping your peers achieve success, don’t fall into the trap of focusing on just positive feedback and criticism.
Sam Lepak
Jun 12, 2026
7 Min Read
Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement Statistics: 2026 Key Insights & Benefits
Explore key employee engagement statistics, their impact on productivity and retention, and practical ways to use data to boost workplace success.
Sam Lepak
May 21, 2026
8 Min Read
Employee Engagement
How to Measure Employee Engagement [2026 Complete Guide]
How to measure employee engagement using surveys, pulse checks and data you already hold, with 14 methods, the right cadence, and the mistakes to avoid.
Sam Lepak
May 21, 2026
14 Min Read
Employee Engagement
33 Benefits of Employee Engagement in 2026 [#1 Guide]
Discover the benefits of employee engagement for your company with examples and ideas for virtual/remote, in-office teams, and businesses of all sizes.
Sam Lepak
May 21, 2026
6 Min Read
Employee Engagement
What is Employee Engagement? [2026 Complete Guide]
Discover what employee engagement means, why it matters, and how it drives productivity, satisfaction, and success in the workplace.
Sam Lepak
Dec 31, 2025
6 Min Read
Employee Surveys
30+ Employee Engagement Survey [Questions and Tips in 2026]
Master employee engagement surveys with expert tips, question examples, and top tools for recognition, wellness, and Slack integrations.
Sam Lepak
May 21, 2026
6 Min Read
Employee Engagement
12 Employee Engagement Strategies That Work in 2026
Twelve employee engagement strategies that hold up in practice, how to build them into a plan, and how to tell which ones are actually moving a number.
Sam Lepak
Jun 3, 2026
15 Min Read
Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement: The 2026 Guide (Drivers, Strategies, Metrics)
What employee engagement is, why it matters in 2026, the measure, recognize, act model, strategies, survey questions, remote ideas, and how to measure it.
Sam Lepak
May 26, 2026
23 Min Read
Leadership
8 Common Areas of Improvement in Your Career
Everyone needs improvement. Whether you’re part of a team or leadership, no one’s perfect. Our weaknesses and strengths vary from person to person. However, we identified eight common areas of improvement when developing your professional skills.
Sam Lepak
May 6, 2026
5 Min Read
Employee Engagement
10 Promising Employee Engagement Ideas
At the core of it, employee engagement is what keeps an organization alive. When you take time to invest in the people that make up your team, you’ll see an increase in productivity, engagement, and company culture.
Sam Lepak
May 6, 2026
4 Min Read
Leadership
Developing Your Coaching Leadership Style at Work
Leadership coaching is a powerful team management training tool to help organization leaders at all levels leverage the leadership skills within themselves.
Sam Lepak
May 13, 2026
4 Min Read
Leadership
Demonstrating Comprehensive Listening with Your Team
It involves understanding the thoughts, ideas, and message. This type of listening requires that the listener understands the language and vocabulary.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Productivity
Appreciative Listening: Tips for Aspiring Leaders
Appreciativee listening can be described as thoroughly enjoying what is being said by the speaker. Now, how does that differ from other types of listening and just listening in general?
Sam Lepak
Jun 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Performance Management
A Guide to People Management: Skills Every People Manager Needs
In this article, we'll be examining the skills and tips that makeup people management and how they can help you and your team reach success.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Leadership
Reflective Listening Do's for People Manager
When it comes to improving your reflective listening, it comes down to two techniques: paraphrasing and mirroring. In this article, we'll be going over the do's of reflective listening and exercises to help you become a better listener.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Productivity
Asynchronous Communication: Best Practices and Tips
In order for remote work to prosper, there needs to effective communication. To be specific asynchronous and synchronous communication among teams. In this article, we'll be discussing the best practices and tips for asynchronous communication.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Leadership
Equator Coffee CEO Starts Her Day With A Story And Coffee
Most of us wake up every morning thinking about our first cup of coffee. For CEO and co-founder of Equator Coffees Helen Russell, she thinks about the love and hard work behind each cup every day.
Sam Lepak
Mar 15, 2021
5 Min Read
Leadership
Airbnb’s IPO: What That Tells Us About Resilience
From selling cereal to pay the bills to laying off 1,800 employees to now going public… Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, has a story for the ages.
Sam Lepak
Nov 23, 2020
3 Min Read
Productivity
Unmotivated: 5 Reasons Why You're Feeling this Way
Feeling unmotivated is a slippery slope. Learn how to recognize the signs and get yourself out of that shlump and cycle of being unmotivated.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Leadership
3 High-Performance Habits of Productive Leaders
How can we actually form good habits and make them stick? Here are three ways proven by science to build high performance habits.
Sam Lepak
Jun 1, 2026
5 Min Read
Leadership
Famous Introverts and What You Can Learn From Them
When it comes to famous and powerful individuals, it’s common to associate extroversion with success. However, as we all know, thriving as the center of attention isn’t actually necessary for becoming well accomplished in life. In fact, introverts are uniquely equipped for leadership and success.
Sam Lepak
May 28, 2026
3 Min Read
Productivity
Time Management Worksheets
Busy weeks full of with unknown tasks are stressful. Use these 5 time management worksheets to minimize stress, increase productivity, and take your work to the next level.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
3 Min Read
Productivity
Time Management Strategies
Do you have a to-do list that seems to get longer with every passing day despite your best attempts? Learn the 3 skills that will help you reclaim your time.
Sam Lepak
May 28, 2026
4 Min Read
Productivity
Lack of Candor: The Consequences in the Workplace
A lack of candor when giving professional feedback, updating your team on the status of a project, or encountering any workplace situations can lead to dire consequences.
Sam Lepak
May 13, 2026
3 Min Read
Productivity
Candor Definition: Workplace Synonyms and Antonyms
Candor is no "small" skill. It's the foundation of a healthy work environment that allows a free flow of information. But in reality, professionals aren't too keen on being transparent.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
4 Min Read
Productivity
Don’t Be Binary When It Comes to Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
Don’t go saying “soft skills are the new hard skills” just yet. You don’t need one over the other to be successful. What’s required is probably a healthy combination of both, and the ability to switch between them along a spectrum of skills.
Sam Lepak
May 28, 2026
2 Min Read
Leadership
Adaptability Quotient For Beginners: Why AQ, IQ, And EQ All Matter In Today’s Economy
The adaptability quotient is your ability to adapt to change or even embrace it in order to grow and advance your career. Here's how to develop AQ.
Sam Lepak
May 12, 2026
5 Min Read