Have We Gotten One-On-Ones Wrong?
“I don’t believe in one-on-ones.” When I heard Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky say that, I immediately leaned in because I have spent years telling leaders almost the opposite. I believe some of a leader’s strongest moments can happen in a one-on-one. Historically, we have thought about the one-on-one as a check-in with a direct report: […]
Who Owns It? The Cost of Ambiguity
Who Owns It? The Cost of Ambiguity Why unclear decision rights create escalation dependency and slow organizational execution Not long ago, I had the honor of visiting a global technology company and sitting in on a strategy meeting with its C suite. The company had successfully launched a new product and was preparing for its […]
Pressure as a privilege.
Pressure is a privilege.But in the middle of pressure…you forget. You forget who you are.You forget what you have.You start reacting instead of leading. That’s why Billie Jean King reminded Serena Williams: “You have one of the most powerful serves in the history of tennis Use it,” And in the middle of the match, with […]
Every leader needs a place to practice and most don’t have one.
There’s a part of leadership that doesn’t get talked about. From the outside, it can look like you’re handling it. You’re showing up, making decisions, keeping things moving. But internally, it’s different. You’re thinking through decisions alone. Carrying conversations you haven’t had yet. Navigating dynamics that don’t have clear answers. And there’s no real place […]
When Direction Stalls at the Top
There is a particular strain I am noticing in organizations right now. It is not loud.It is not chaotic.It is strategic hesitation.Budgets are being reviewed again.Restructures are discussed but not finalized.New initiatives are introduced and then softened.The message is not confusion.It is delay. When direction stalls at the top, the pressure does not disappear. It […]
When growth quietly breaks what once worked
There is a stage of growth where what once made an organization feel fast and human begins to quietly work against it. Not because it was wrong.But because the context has changed. Informality that once felt agile starts to feel unclear.Access that once felt empowering starts to feel uneven.And decisions that once happened naturally begin […]
Leadership in an Unsettled Moment.
Lately, I have been sitting with a quiet observation.Many of the leaders that I work with are not overwhelmed by volume.They are unsettled by meaning. The questions are no longer about scale, capacity, strategy, and performance.They are deeper quieter questions that surface at night. Am I building something that actually matters?Is this version of leadership […]
Holding More Than People Realize.
I am just returning from the holiday break, and I am noticing something familiar in myself and in the leaders I work with.
Leadership doesn’t get easier. It gets clearer.
One of the biggest surprises leaders share with me after a promotion is this: The work doesn’t necessarily get harder but the weight changes.
Alignment is not a feeling.
As leaders, we often treat alignment like it’s a feeling. “If the meeting felt good, we must be aligned.” “If we didn’t disagree, everything must be fine.”