You don’t know people’s motivation. You’re not a mind reader. Sometimes you don’t understand your own inner drives.
Motivations are invisible. People do what they do for unseen reasons. Sometimes people actively hide their motivations.
It’s dangerous to imagine you understand people’s inner drives.
You can work at it.
Emotions energize action. They drive conversations, fuel decisions, and shape the future.
But emotional energy is hard to manage. It’s easier to blame than to reflect.
No emotion moves faster or hits harder than anger.
Anger energizes immediate action. Used recklessly, anger burns opportunity.
Frustration means you care.
Weaknesses are tools, not flaws.
Self-aware leaders use their sharp edges to shape a better future. For example, impatience when paired with emotional intelligence fuels progress.
Channel weaknesses toward useful ends.
Successful leaders understand the power of weakness. Here’s how…
Successful leaders believe in accountability.
When I say, “Leaders hold people accountable,” who comes to mind? Employees, right?
Authority without accountability is abuse.
Authentic leaders think of themselves, as well as others, when they think of accountability.
I don’t want to choose where we eat. I usually don’t care. Some people don’t like making decisions.
You often defer to “experts.” Up to 75%* of us, for example, let doctors make important decisions for us.
Others shape your life when they make decisions for you. Sometimes it’s destructive.
Radical listening is the heart of leadership. How many aspects of leadership are made worse by listening? Not many.
I’ve been learning to listen all my life. If you think listening is easy, you aren’t doing it.
