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Have you ever had one of those stretches at work where absolutely nothing seems to be going right? Every project hits a roadblock. Every conversation seems to bring another problem. Your team is exhausted. Morale is low. You're working incredibly hard, but somehow, it feels like you are getting nowhere. Trust me... I have been there... When you're in the thick of it, finding something positive to focus on can feel nearly impossible. That being said, I have learned something s

Every team has a culture. Even the teams that have never had a single conversation about culture. Actually, especially those teams, because if you don't intentionally define the culture you want, one will still develop. The strongest personalities, repeated behaviors, tolerated behaviors, unwritten rules, leadership reactions, and everyday interactions will create it for you. ...And you may not particularly like what you get. That is why I don't think culture is something lea

Back in Week 24, we talked about setting clear standards. I shared something I have come to believe pretty strongly throughout my leadership career: When performance breaks down, there are usually three places worth looking: No standard exists. The standard exists, but it is unclear. The standard itself is wrong. If you've been following along since Week 24, hopefully we've made some progress on number one... We've defined what good looks like. We've clarified priorities. We'

For a long time, I thought I had a time-management problem. There was always more work than time. More emails. More meetings. More projects. More problems to solve. More people who needed something. So, I did what a lot of high-performing people do. I got better at fitting it all in. I became incredibly efficient, and when it still became too much, I pulled all-nighters. I could move fast, juggle competing priorities, squeeze something into almost any opening, and crank throu

To be honest, I feel like I could write an entire book about leading through change. For about eight years of my leadership career, change felt like a revolving door. Staff changed. Organizational structures changed. Priorities changed. Funding changed. Expectations changed. Leadership changed. Projects changed. Sometimes we were navigating several of those things at the exact same time. And while I certainly did not handle every change perfectly, I learned a tremendous amoun

There are people who have crossed my path throughout my career who saw something in me before I fully saw it in myself. They gave me opportunities. They challenged me. They encouraged me to step into rooms I wasn't entirely sure I belonged in yet. And they invested in my development, not simply because it would make me better at the job I was doing at the time, but because they saw who I had the potential to become. Looking back, those investments changed the trajectory of my

Last week, we talked about giving people decision-making authority. We talked about moving decisions closer to the people with the information, expertise, and context to make them well. We talked about trusting people to use their judgment, even when they might choose a different path than we would. But there is something we have to acknowledge if we are actually going to do that: Sometimes they're going to get it wrong. So are you. So am I. That is the deal. You cannot build

There is a frustrating leadership paradox that I see often... Leaders want their employees to take ownership: They want people to be proactive. They want them to solve problems. They want them to move projects forward without constantly needing direction. And then an employee makes a decision without asking first and suddenly it becomes: “Why didn't you run that by me?” Wellllll...we can't have it both ways. If we want people to take ownership, we have to give them something

For a significant portion of my leadership career, I worked in an organization that moved fast. And for a long time, I thought that was one of our strengths... We accomplished an incredible amount of work. We pursued new ideas. We tackled big initiatives. We found solutions when obstacles appeared. There was an underlying belief that when something needed to happen, we would figure out how to make it happen, and I loved that mentality... Until I started seeing the other sid

There is a big difference between someone being responsible for a task and someone truly owning an outcome. You can assign someone a project. You can give them a deadline. You can tell them exactly what needs to be done. And they can complete every single thing you asked of them, but that does not necessarily mean they own it. Ownership happens when someone understands not only what they are responsible for, but why it matters, what success looks like, and how their work cont

Last week, we talked about prioritizing what matters. We identified the importance of knowing what deserves your team’s best time, energy, and attention. Because when everything is treated like a priority, nothing truly is... But identifying priorities is only half the work. Once you know what matters most, you have to protect it, and sometimes, that means saying no. For many leaders (myself included), this is incredibly uncomfortable. We want to be helpful. We want to be col

Leadership has a funny way of making everything feel important. A new initiative lands on your desk. An employee needs your help. A customer has a request. A department wants your involvement. Leadership above you has another priority they want completed immediately. Before long, your team is juggling ten "top priorities." But here's the problem... When everything becomes a priority, nothing truly is. One of the defining characteristics of exceptional leaders is not that they

There is a sentiment I believe with my whole heart: Exceptional leaders don't complain about their staff. ...no matter how difficult and challenging they are! That statement sometimes gets a reaction... Not because people disagree with it, but because it forces us to look inward. Of course, employees make mistakes. Of course, people underperform from time to time. Of course, some individuals require more coaching than others. Leadership is not about pretending those things do

If I asked you what makes an exceptional leader, I doubt "letting go" would be one of the first things you'd say. Most of us picture confident decision-makers, strong communicators, visionary thinkers, and problem solvers. But over the years, I've become convinced that one of the most difficult and most important leadership skills is learning when not to step in. Last week we talked about delegating with clarity. We explored the difference between delegating and dumping, and

Welcome to Quarter 3! If you've been following along with the 1% Better Leadership Challenge, we've officially reached the halfway point. Quarter 1 was all about looking inward. We focused on self-awareness, mindset, and becoming intentional about the leader in the mirror. Quarter 2 shifted outward. We talked about trust, relationships, appreciation, feedback, and creating an environment where people can do their best work. Now we enter Quarter 3, where leadership becomes exe

We are officially halfway through the year. Twenty-six weeks down. Twenty-six weeks to go. For some people, that realization is exciting. For others, it can be a little uncomfortable. Maybe you're looking at the goals you set back in January and feeling proud of the progress you've made. Maybe you're looking at that same list and realizing life had other plans. Personally, I find the halfway point of the year fascinating because it forces us to pause. January is full of excit

One of the leadership hills I will gladly die on is this: No job is more important than another. Read that again. No job is more important than another. The difference in compensation is not because one person is inherently more valuable than someone else. The difference is often tied to the level of accountability that comes with the role. The higher you move in an organization, the more accountability you carry. That accountability is one of the defining responsibilities of

A very common leadership frustration sounds something like this: "Why does this keep happening?" Maybe a project was completed incorrectly. Maybe deadlines continue to be missed. Maybe customer service is inconsistent. Maybe accountability feels impossible. When something repeatedly goes wrong, leaders often assume the problem is the people. In my experience, it usually isn't. Most breakdowns can be traced back to one of three things: No standard exists. The standard is uncle

At some point in leadership, trust will get broken. Not necessarily because someone is malicious or careless, but because people are human. Leaders make mistakes. Communication breaks down. Reactions happen. Expectations get missed. Feelings get hurt. That is reality. The bigger question is not whether trust will ever be damaged. The bigger question is what happens next. Because trust does not rebuild itself. Repair requires intention. Why Repair Matters When I think about re

No one looks forward to hard conversations. Even experienced leaders feel the tension that comes with them. Your stomach tightens. Your mind races. You replay possible outcomes in your head. You wonder how the other person will respond and whether you are saying the right thing. That reaction is human. As people, we are naturally wired to avoid discomfort and situations that feel emotionally unsafe. Difficult conversations often trigger exactly that feeling. The problem is le