Real Talk Leadership

Years ago, I came across a story about Google that has stuck with me. Google found that sending managers a simple email with a new-hire checklist helped new employees become effective 25% faster. What was on this magical checklist? Nothing particularly revolutionary. Managers were reminded to discuss roles and responsibilities, connect the new employee with a peer buddy, help them build their network, schedule regular check-ins, and encourage open dialogue. In other words, ma

Authenticity is my number one value. For me, it means being genuine, consistent, and honest about who you are. It doesn’t mean saying everything that comes into your head or using “I’m just being honest” as an excuse to be unkind. Authenticity still requires emotional intelligence, especially self-awareness, and respect. There is also such a thing as trying too hard to appear authentic, supportive, positive, or caring. When it starts to feel like a performance, people can usu

How many times have you heard a leader say, “My door is always open. If anyone has a question, concern, or problem, they can come talk to me”? I’ve heard some version of this throughout my career. I’m sure I’ve said it myself. It sounds supportive and approachable, and most leaders who say it probably genuinely mean it. But the more I think about it, the more I believe we need to challenge it. An open door is not the same thing as an open environment. When we tell employees t

I have experienced workplace silos everywhere I have worked, regardless of whether the organization was large or small, corporate or nonprofit, in person, hybrid or virtual. The setting changes, but the challenge is often the same. People get busy, teams focus on their own priorities, information stays within departments, and employees are not always sure what other teams are working on. Before long, people who technically work for the same organization can begin to feel like

When you hear the words employee retreat, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s team building games, an icebreaker, lunch away from the office, or an afternoon spent doing something fun together. And there is absolutely value in having fun. Teams need opportunities to laugh, connect, and get to know each other beyond job titles and responsibilities. But an employee retreat can and should be so much more than a day away from work. When thoughtfully designed, a retreat can create spac

When people think about workplace culture, they often picture mission statements, values on the wall, employee engagement surveys, or company events. I think culture is much simpler than that. It’s built in the small moments, moments like whether someone remembers your work anniversary, whether your manager congratulates you for earning your master’s degree or completing a certification, or whether your team celebrates when a child graduates, when someone finishes cancer trea

One of the biggest challenges I see with leaders is delegation. Not because they don't want to develop their team, but because they genuinely care about the outcome. They worry the work won't be done correctly, it will take longer to explain than to do themselves, or they'll end up fixing mistakes later. So they keep taking on more. At first, it can feel like the right decision. The work gets done, deadlines are met, and the leader feels in control. Over time, though, that co

Have you ever caught yourself making assumptions about someone at work?Maybe an employee missed a deadline and you assumed they were not committed. Maybe someone was quiet in a meeting and you thought they were disengaged. Or maybe a coworker questioned your idea and you assumed they were being difficult. The reality is that we rarely know the whole story. One of the most valuable leadership habits we can develop is choosing curios ity instead of assumption. Curiosity starts

I’m a recovering perfectionist, and if I’m being honest, I still catch myself slipping back into it sometimes. Wanting everything to be just right. Replaying conversations in my head. Overthinking decisions. Spending too much time trying to avoid mistakes or prevent criticism. The problem is perfection is unattainable. We are human beings, not machines. We are all perfectly imperfect. I also think many of us did not develop perfectionist tendencies out of nowhere. Society ing

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about follow through. Not perfection. Not never making mistakes. Not expecting people to operate like robots. We are all human and sometimes things absolutely fall through the cracks. But I keep noticing something that continues to puzzles me. When someone actually does what they said they were going to do, it feels surprising. Almost impressive. They said they would follow up and they did. They said they would send feedback and they actually

Most people do not avoid hard conversations because they are bad leaders. They avoid them because they are uncomfortable. I know this because I’ve experienced it myself. I’ve had leaders in my career who avoided confrontation almost completely. It created confusion, frustration, tension, and a lack of trust. People were left guessing instead of growing. And if I’m being honest, I haven’t always gotten these conversations right either. I’m human. I’ve had conversations go side

We kicked off the April Leadership Lab with a simple question: Think about a leader you enjoyed working with. What did they do that made them stand out? Before we even got into content, the chat filled quickly. People shared things like: transparency honesty respect giving their team the tools they needed to succeed It was a great reminder that strong leadership is not complicated. It is intentional. From there, we talked about some of the most common challenges leaders face.

In April 2026, I shared this post in LinkedIn and received over 67k impressions. It definitely hit a chord with many. I just saw a recruiter post a role for an Executive Assistant that required a “24/7 mindset” and “after-hours availability.” Respectfully… what? When did we start writing job descriptions that sound like modern-day indentured servitude? Let’s call it what it is. “24/7 mindset” is not a skill. It is an expectation of constant access. And constant access is not