"The biggest mistake you can make is to ignore theexistence of a problem or rationalize it away," hesays. "People shouldn't be constantly uncommunicative. Ifthey get negative in conversations, you have to perk up yourears. Look at their faces. Are they laughing or smiling atall around the office? Are they quiet in meetings? Ifbehavior and attitudes have changed, red lights should startflashing in your mind."

Even if you have a large staffHolder has 60 people inhis department"you have to make an effort to get to knowthem, know their spouses, know what's going on in theirlives," he says. "I've told them all about my family becauseI care about them, and they should know that. I want them tocare about me as well because I need a lot from them, and Ineed them to want to give that kind of effort."

Having daily contact with staff is essential formaintaining morale, says Theresa Welbourne, associateprofessor of organization behavior and human resourcemanagement at the University of Michigan business school inAnn Arbor, Mich. "No organization is good at being proactivewhen it comes to morale," Welbourne says. "Most companiesare reactive. CIOs will notice when productivity is down,but if you are just starting to notice, that meansproductivity has been on the way down for six monthsalready."

A CIO's first line of defense when it comes to lowmorale is to listen closely, she explains. The clues lie inwhat employees are not saying.

"Look at the level of energy," she says. "Is your staffengaged and participating in projects and meetings, or arethey withdrawn and lethargic? If people are no longercontributing, particularly if they used to speak up often,that's a sign. If people are talking but are beingpessimistic, that's very telling. When things are good, ITworkers feel like they can do anything. But when morale isdown, they tend to feel like even one project is too much toget done. The sense of urgency on projects diminishes."