A colleague once approached me to discuss a difficult career decision. He had been asked by a very senior person in his organization to consider a new role. Based on his description, it was only marginally better than his current one — somewhere between a lateral move and a promotion. The career paths didn't seem stronger, and it required a relocation he was reluctant to make.

He didn't want to accept the offer. But he was uncomfortable with the risk of saying no to a senior leader. The key question on his mind was: how could he decline the offer and avoid damaging his career or his relationship?

We worked together on talking points, potential questions, and avenues the conversation could take. But after all that preparation, I sensed he was still worried. So I asked him directly: how confident did he feel about the conversation he was about to have? To his credit, he openly acknowledged his concerns. We agreed that in addition to the right talking points, he would also have to prepare himself psychologically — to engage with his senior leader on equal terms, not from a position of trepidation.

A few weeks later, I followed up. The conversation had gone really well. He had declined the offer, and the senior leader had praised him for the way he had done so.

This experience stayed with me because it illustrates something leaders encounter constantly: our preparation may be top-notch, but we are unable to put the plan into action when it matters. The gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it is rarely a knowledge problem. It is a readiness problem.

A quote widely attributed to the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl captures this well: "Between the stimulus and response, there is a space and, in that space, lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

Most leaders understand this intellectually. Fewer use that space deliberately. Through my own experience navigating challenges across a 30-year career, I've arrived at three questions that help me — and those I mentor — use that space more resourcefully.

1. Am I guided by a clear vision of how I emerge?

When a challenge hits, our instinct is to focus on the problem. But the leaders who navigate adversity most effectively begin by envisioning the outcome — not as a wish or a hope, but as a vivid image of a future they believe they can bring into existence.

This applies at every scale. It could be a vision for how you emerge from a restructuring, how you want a difficult conversation to land, or even how you want to show up on a tough day. The principle is the same: first envision the desired outcome, then bring that vision to life.

The harder part is that serious challenges disrupt the baseline from which we project into the future. Conceiving an aspirational vision from a new and unwelcome reality requires a meaningful shift in perspective — and that shift begins with acceptance. Accepting a challenge doesn't mean agreeing with it. It means clearing the mental space to start building forward. After all, if we can create musical instruments and art by upcycling garbage, we can always create a brighter future for ourselves, no matter the circumstances.

2. Am I using all of the resources available to me?

Tougher challenges come with ambiguity, uncertainty, and high stakes. In such moments, the question is whether we are drawing on everything available to us — especially the wisdom of our inner selves and that of our human ecosystem.

Earlier in my career, I was asked to move to a position that looked promising on paper — the right experience, senior leadership support, a strong financial package. But my intuition resisted it from the moment I heard the offer. I sensed that the leadership and culture of the organization might hinder my progression, though I couldn't articulate why.

I followed my intuition and declined. There was no backlash, and better opportunities came later. Reflecting on that decision, it felt as if something within me knew better than my conscious mind — and fortunately, I listened.

Each of us possesses this inner knowledge. We call it intuition, instinct, or gut feeling. Learning to trust it is a key part of the art of decision-making. Equally important is connecting with the wisdom in our human ecosystem. As a Turkish maxim puts it: "Talk with many, think with a few, and decide on your own."

3. Am I prepared — not just strategically, but psychologically?

This is the step leaders most often skip. We prepare our arguments, our data, our talking points — but not ourselves. The doubts and fears we experience in making a decision can linger while we are acting on that decision. Taking the time to prepare ourselves psychologically, just as a coach of a sports team would, is critical.

Three elements of that preparation stand out. First, prepare for others' emotional reactions. As emotions are contagious, an unexpected reaction can easily throw us off balance. Second, develop self-belief. Feeling doubtful doesn't mean we don't believe — it means we still need to confront our doubts and find actionable ways to overcome them. Third, lean on coaching. An outside perspective — formal or informal — can help us see what we cannot see ourselves.

I learned this firsthand when a friend and coach told me directly that she thought I was struggling in a new leadership role. It wasn't easy for my sense of self to swallow that comment. After all, I had already reached a senior position. But after reflection, I accepted that change had to start with me. The coaching that followed was transformative — not because it gave me answers, but because it held up a mirror through incisive questions.

Using the Space

When faced with a challenge, reflecting on these three questions reveals the true extent of control we have over our lives. They shift us from reacting — driven by fear, habit, or ego — to responding with clarity, resourcefulness, and inner strength. The space between stimulus and response is always there. The discipline is to use it.

* * *

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

Cate Hall on being authentic:

“I was allowed to get away with being blunt and matter-of-fact when it came to people who managed me, but as I moved into positions of power myself, this way of operating began to incur costs. Being a good manager, it turns out, requires more than demanding excellence; it also entails showing that you recognize it in others.

“Moreover, I finally admitted to myself that my cloud of aversion around learning to be warmer was a defensive mechanism. When I told myself I was ‘being authentic’ by remaining aloof, I was also avoiding having to look at some free-floating shame about my social awkwardness. When you spot an inner defense like this—a reaction of “I can’t do that, it wouldn’t be authentic”—it’s a yellow flag that you’ve noticed a possible area of improvement that you’re avoiding because it’s threatening to your ego.”

Source: You Can Just Do Things: How High-Agency People Get What They Want Out of Life

Mike Grossman on keeping it together:

“Focus on input rather than outcome. This is inherently challenging because we live in a world obsessed with outcomes. But the outcome isn’t controllable. Consequently, worrying about the outcome, while sometimes unavoidable, isn’t helpful in the slightest. It’s a waste of time, a waste of energy, and a significant distraction. And it’s emotionally draining.”

Source: Failure Is An Option: Reflections of a Silicon Valley CEO

Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in July 2026 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month.

The Power of Pull: What You Need to Know About Customer Demand to Build a Successful Startup (and Why Most Founders Get It Wrong) by Rob Snyder

Rob Snyder followed all the traditional advice for launching a startup—he did his research, ran experiments, raised millions in venture capital—but his company struggled to get off the ground. In The Power of Pull, Snyder strips entrepreneurship down to one counterintuitive principle: Customer demand is all that matters. When entrepreneurs find real demand, they stop pushing their product onto an indifferent market, and instead customers pull the product out of the entrepreneur’s hands. Yet most founders misunderstand what demand is and how it works. With examples from early-stage founders, this book shows how to find real demand and create a fast-growing business.

All the Difference. Six Leadership Actions to Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams, and Create Value by Susan MacKenty Brady, Stuart D. Kliman, and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith

Look around your team. You see people with different communication styles, perspectives, cultural norms, and capabilities. These differences are expressed in all kinds of ways—a casual gesture in a meeting, a colleague's opinion on a current event, an intense work style—and can often lead to friction, even conflict. You try to manage around them, but what if these differences are the key to your team's success? In All the Difference, the authors argue that leaders must shift their view: difference is not just noise to tolerate—it's the raw material for creating value. When difference isn't understood or acknowledged, it breeds disconnection, saps performance, and undermines your team's potential. What's needed is a leadership strategy for turning human difference into your organization's greatest strength.

The Why Not Advantage: How Small Probabilities Create Outsized Outcomes by Sanjay Manandhar

We are surrounded by data meant to ground us in reality: Nine out of ten start-ups fail. Most career pivots stall. High-stakes dreams are for the lucky few. But as entrepreneur and technologist Sanjay Manandhar reveals, these numbers describe groups, not individuals-they are descriptive of the past, not prescriptive of your future. The decisions that matter most-a career pivot, a startup, a long-shot opportunity-are not repeated trials. They happen once. And in those moments, your subjective variables are the ones that matter most. The Why Not Advantage introduces a practical framework to help you rethink risk, challenge assumptions, and act with intention-even when the odds seem against you.

The Price of Becoming: The Compounding Practices of High Performance by Ryan Hawk

Ambitious people know what they want to do and where they want to go, but they aren’t sure how to get there. Abstract advice feels good but ultimately changes nothing. Only concrete action can change habits, which in turn changes lives. The Price of Becoming is a clear guide with instructions for overcoming complacency, mastering communication, and making better decisions under pressure. Ryan Hawk draws from over 700 interviews with some of the world’s leading experts, leaders, thinkers, movers, and doers, to answer one powerful question: “What can I do today to build a better me?” Ryan distills their numerous insights, data, and direct personal experiences into a practical, actionable framework he divides into three sections: Learn—Fuel Your Intake Engine. Work—Take Action. Lead—Teach Others

The California Pizza Kitchen Story: How Two Federal Prosecutors Changed the Way America Eats Pizza by Rick Rosenfield

The California Pizza Kitchen Story is a candid business memoir that traces the unlikely journey from federal courtrooms to the creation of one of the most influential brands in modern casual dining. More than a growth story, this book reveals the human realities of entrepreneurship: partnership dynamics, culture under pressure, betrayal and resilience, and the constant tension between creativity and control. Central to CPK’s success was the deliberate creation of a people-first culture, embodied in the ROCK values—Respect, Opportunity, Communication, and Kindness—and the belief that culture, not product alone, drives enduring success. Written in a direct, personal voice, The California Pizza Kitchen Story is both a memoir and a practical guide, offering lessons in leadership, reinvention, and how vision and values can turn an unconventional idea into a lasting brand.

Here is a selection of Posts from June 2026 that you will want to check out:

• Greatness and the Machine by @Brendan_McCord
• 9 Ways Great Leaders Communicate by @charlesstone
• How Often Does Your Team Laugh? by @PhilCooke
• The seven operating truths of AI-native companies via @McKinsey Your model isn’t the bottleneck—accessing your tribal knowledge is
• Becoming Irreplaceable by @neuranne
• Your entire life will change when you realize you need more action, not information by @Tim_Denning
• 9 Habits of Highly Successful Thought Leaders by @BriankDodd
• How To Get Unstuck: 6 Secrets From Philosophy by Eric Barker @bakadesuyo Eric Barker
• The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Organization May Be the One Small Infestation You're Ignoring by @BrianKDodd
• What if Consumers Hate AI Content? by @sophiebakalar
• Graduating Problems by @iamthezack We are, every one of us, the descendants of people whose problems graduated.
• What was Theodore Roosevelt's "Tennis Cabinet"? Historian Michael Patrick Cullinane joins @jamesstrock to discuss the informal circle that helped shape Roosevelt's presidency—and what it reveals about leadership, power, and governing today
• Accountability Must Be Chosen, Not Mandated via @HarvardBiz

See more on Twitter.

IT is not unusual to label yourself as an extrovert or an introvert—two terms that Carl Jung introduced in 1921. We do have proclivities one way or the other. But there are times when we need to be an extrovert, and there are times when we need to be an introvert. Effective leaders are flexible enough to balance the two extremes as needed. They become ambiverts.

Ambiverts are those who can behave like introverts or extroverts depending on the situation they find themselves in. In We Are All Ambiverts Now, authors Karl Moore and Gabriel Mehl state that in today’s world, successful leaders are those who can be both.

We live in a world where the loudest voice usually comes out on top. The extrovert’s readiness to engage socially and their “go-getter” approach fits with our preconceived notions of take-charge people. “Extroverts exude confidence and tend to stand out in a crowd. Our world has been constructed for extrovert leadership precisely because they seem competent and reliable at handling crises—they are loud, they are confident, and they let everyone know that they have a plan to fix the issue.”

At the same time, extrovert leaders tend to dominate instead of listening and as a result often lack situational awareness. “The extrovert who lacks awareness will not seriously consider the opinions, sentiments, or needs of others. These qualities may harm the group chemistry and energy dynamics that this extrovert worked so hard to establish.”

Introverts typically aim, then shoot. “We should not underestimate the power of a quiet-natured individual. Introverts are excellent listeners and thorough analyzers: they are capable of reading the room, considering and incorporating ideas into analysis, and contributing optimally to discussions. They also possess almost impeccable persistence, the capacity for creativity, and the capability to focus.”

Extroverts tend to think out loud, whereas introverts process information internally before sharing. This characteristic of introverts can make for more balanced decision-making even if they are prone to overthinking.

Neither approach is better than the other. Both approaches have their strengths, so an effective leader will know when to change their approach to best suit the situation. “The opportunity for advantage now lies in flexibility—how quickly and seamlessly leaders can alter their communication style on command and as needed. This opportunity for advantage lies with the ambivert.” Balance is the key. “Whereas introverts maintain a stronger inward life energy, and extroverts maintain the same thing outwards, ambiverts are characterized by their balance and adaptiveness.”

Extroverts would be wise to listen more and talk less. Share their ideas much later in the process. Introverts, on the other hand, would be more effective if they stopped ruminating and took the leap.

The authors give advice to introverts or extroverts who find themselves managing the other and how to blend a team of introverts and extroverts for the best business results.

While the ambiverts’ flexibility and adaptability are a superpower, it puts them at risk of being perceived as inauthentic. Some may find them to be unpredictable. Open communication can help to ease misunderstandings. Consistency with your natural style is important, and not all situations require you to change your approach.

* * *

FOR as long as I can remember, marketers have pursued awareness. The assumption was simple: if enough people knew your brand, more would buy from you.

Today, while awareness is easier than ever to build, many well-known brands struggle to move beyond being known to being preferred.

The gap between awareness and loyalty is relevance. Customers don’t become loyal simply because they know you exist. They become loyal because you matter to them.

The logic behind customer awareness used to be straightforward: the more people knew your brand, the more they would buy from you. As marketers, we were taught “share of mind” (think of you), “top of mind” (think of you first), and even “share of wallet” (capture more business than your competitors). For a long time, that approach worked.

Today, however, awareness has become easier to achieve and, in itself, far less meaningful. Consumers are exposed to thousands of messages daily. Social media, search engines, influencers, digital advertising, retail media networks, and artificial intelligence have enabled brands of all sizes to reach vast audiences.

Today, brands that focus exclusively on visibility often end up competing on price, promotions, and convenience. Brands that focus on meaning and earning trust, however, achieve something far more powerful: an emotional connection.

The Difference Between Being Recognized and Being Remembered

Being known is no longer enough. Customers may recognize your name, but name recognition alone doesn’t lead them to choose you. It doesn’t create loyalty, generate trust, or build belief.

The brands that thrive today understand an important distinction: awareness gets you noticed; relevance gets you chosen. Relevance is what transforms a brand from being simply another option into something that matters to the consumers you’re trying to reach. It’s the difference between being recognized and being remembered.

At its core, relevance answers a simple question: “Why should I care?”

Many organizations struggle with this question because they focus on what they sell rather than on why it matters. In doing so, they often commoditize their offering rather than differentiate it.

Loyalty Arises from Earning “Share of Heart”

While both share of mind and share of wallet remain important, increasingly the brands that endure earn something even more valuable: share of heart. It’s the emotional connection that prompts customers to do more than buy from a brand and causes them to believe in it.

Share of heart elevates one company over another, even when competitors may be cheaper, faster, or more convenient. At the very least, it levels the playing field.

The strongest brands understand what creates loyal customers. They:

1. Lend meaning behind their offerings. Features can be copied. Pricing can be matched. Technological advantages rarely last forever. On the other hand, meaning is much harder to reproduce. When a brand stands for something meaningful, people do more than shop with it. They believe in it. When people believe in a brand, they’re far less likely to abandon it.

2. Provide peace of mind. Customers aren’t merely buying products or services. They’re seeking confidence, belonging, trust, identity, convenience, aspiration, and, importantly, peace of mind. When a brand consistently balances emotional and functional needs, it attracts loyalty in ways that competitors will struggle to disrupt.

3. Understand their deeper purpose. The most relevant brands understand their deeper purpose. They know why they exist. They give customers a reason to care and, very importantly, give employees a reason to believe in that purpose.

4. Reinforce their message through action. Today’s consumers are adept at spotting empty promises. Brands earn trust when their actions consistently align with their messaging. Actions matter far more than words.

5. Foster a sense of belonging. People are naturally drawn to things that reflect their values and aspirations. The best brands make customers feel part of something that goes beyond a transaction.

6. Remain consistent even when it’s difficult. Values are easy to communicate when things are going well. The true test comes when maintaining those values requires difficult decisions. Customers notice in good times and in bad. And they remember.

In a marketplace where awareness can be bought, loyalty remains one of the few competitive advantages that must be earned. And the brands that earn it compete on something far more compelling than price, promotions, or noise alone — belief.

Final Thoughts: Over The Years I’ve Learned:

• Communicate why you matter, not just what you sell.
• Customers judge brands by their actions, not by their words.
• Purpose, clarity, and consistency are essential to relevance.

* * *

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

Psychiatrist Phil Stutz on bad habits:

“The impulses for all of our bad habits travel along the same path – a straight shot to immediate gratification through what I call the lower channel... Lower channel functioning is a disaster. When the pleasure is over, we’re left with nothing. Every time you restrain your impulses, you close off the lower channel... And in this higher channel, the energy accrues. Every act of restraint puts more in the piggy bank.”

Source: Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You

Nir Eyal on rumination:

“Attention doesn’t just observer reality, it shapes it. It amplifies that we focus on while diminishing what we ignore. Rumination (repeatedly focusing on negative thoughts) strengthens neural pathways that keep us stuck. Recognize that your current problems may be partly created by where you’re directing your attention.”

Source: Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough Results

Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

IN today’s landscape, complete with change, disruption, ambiguity and uncertainty, it’s more important than ever that leaders are effective, not just efficient.

Talent management must shift from being reactive to being strategic, intentional and aligned to outcomes. How do we move from “putting out fires” and reading smoke signals to building the “house”, or environment, to better account for potential business impacts? The answer is simple. Business strategies must also become talent strategies.

Too often, organizations develop business goals and outcomes first, then call talent leaders in later to operationalize them. The deeper opportunity includes inviting talent leaders into the room during the design phase. This enables organizations to become proactive versus reactive.

Across industries, leaders are balancing higher expectations with fewer resources. Employees are navigating uncertainty, financial stress and constant change. The challenge is not simply improving productivity. The challenge is designing workplaces where people feel seen, valued and connected to both their purpose and the organization’s goals.

In my book, Joyful Workplaces, I introduce what I call the Joyful Workplace Design, a practical approach for building workplaces where people feel seen, valued, connected to their purpose and aligned to organizational goals. A joyful workplace is “the natural outcome of an effective, high-performing environment.”

Some leaders may believe that hosting social activities, happy hours, get-togethers and fun offsites build community, show people they are valued and create connection. And, at the surface level, this is true. These moments can create shared experiences and bring people together.

I also encourage leaders to dig deeper and examine the everyday ways they signal to teammates that they are valued and cared for. This may look like sending a short message saying, “I appreciated your work on the presentation today,” or creating opportunities for team members to take on projects and responsibilities that leverage their strengths and interests.

It’s important to recognize that every teammate is unique. Ask questions, engage in conversation and be curious. Explicitly ask, “What would make you feel seen, valued and connected?” Based on their response, tailor your leadership to support their needs.

Research grounded in Self-Determination Theory reminds us that teammates need autonomy, trust and purposeful work. When leaders delegate a task, they should trust that their teammate is able to carry it out.

Mutually agreed upon touchpoints for coaching, support and review may still be needed. But leaders must also create space for teammates to take ownership, contribute their ideas and do their best work. Letting go of excessive control provides teammates with the opportunity to grow, shine and feel that their work matters.

Leaders should consider how they balance autonomy and structure. At one end of the spectrum are leaders who may provide a high degree of structure and low degree of autonomy. Examples of this might include frequent check-ins, repeated review cycles and excessive oversight. This may communicate a lack of trust in one’s team members.

At the opposite end, some leaders may avoid creating structure because they want team members to be creative and feel trusted. The result of this approach may be lack of clarity around expectations, priorities and accountability.

If you want your team members to feel seen, valued and connected, focus on being an effective leader.

Leaders can create this clarity through regular one-on-one meetings, documenting action items and owners after meetings, reinforcing priorities and creating opportunities for employees to ask questions and provide feedback.

When you consider your favorite bosses and leaders over the years, what do most of them have in common? For me, it’s that they did not know me in a transactional or task-based way. There was not a sense of distance or surface-level knowing. The leaders who impacted me most saw me for me. They intimately knew my strengths, interests and potential. Those were the leaders who enabled me to feel seen, valued and connected.

Practically speaking, this means making one-on-one meetings about more than project updates and deliverables. Invite conversations that talk about more than project work or tasks. Over time, you’ll find that relationship building happens beyond the small talk before a meeting or when you see pass someone in the hallway. Another practical step you can take is, when possible, align team members with projects, stretch opportunities and responsibilities that interest them and leverage their unique strengths.

Some of the leaders who impacted me most shared writing, speaking and collaboration opportunities because they knew I was interested in them. Others would send me an article, newsletter or idea with a simple note saying, “Thought of you.” Those leaders made me feel seen. So often leaders may feel like they need to do something big, but many small actions over time build a sense of belonging and connection.

Avoid over-indexing on team-building exercises, socials and offsites to create connection. Yes. Occasionally they may be welcomed by the team and provide light-hearted interaction. But, over the years, I’ve heard countless stories of team members wishing they were back at their office doing work instead of doing forced team building. While often well intentioned, these efforts can feel surface level when they are not supported by deeper relationship building.

How do you sustain a sense of belonging? Build and deepen trust with your teammates over time. Engage in regular conversations including meaningful check-ins and relationship building. Show them that you value their strengths, perspectives and contributions. Create space for others to share ideas and feel heard. During a meeting, ask, “What do you think about this?” “How could we improve in this area?” “Do you have any feedback?” Learn what motivates each member of your team and where they hope to grow.

Joyful workplaces are not built through slogans, perks or one-time initiatives. They are shaped through intentional leadership, thoughtful workplace design and everyday interactions that reinforce trust, clarity, accountability and belonging. In many ways, the little things become the big things.

* * *

RESEARCH shows that nearly 95% of employees do not fully understand their organization’s strategy, and even more concerning, many leaders overestimate how clearly they are communicating it. This disconnect is not just an operational issue—it is a leadership risk, often driven by blind spots at the executive level.

High-performing leaders are often celebrated for their decisiveness, resilience, and ability to deliver results under pressure. They rise quickly, earn trust, and are entrusted with increasingly complex responsibilities. Yet the very traits that fuel their success can also obscure a critical vulnerability: blind spots.

Executive blind spots are not simply weaknesses or skill gaps. They are the unseen patterns, biases, and behaviors that leaders cannot readily identify in themselves, but that others experience regularly. Left unaddressed, these blind spots quietly erode trust, distort decision-making, and create misalignment across teams and organizations.

In many cases, organizations do not fail because of a lack of intelligence or capability at the top. They fail because leaders are unaware of how their behaviors are impacting the people responsible for executing their strategy.

The Paradox of High Performance

The higher leaders rise, the less likely they are to receive unfiltered feedback. Success creates distance. Titles create insulation. And over time, leaders can become surrounded by individuals who are reluctant to challenge their thinking or question their decisions.

This dynamic creates a dangerous paradox: the more successful a leader becomes, the less visibility they often have into their own limitations.

High-performing executives are particularly susceptible to this because they have a proven track record. Their confidence is justified. Their instincts are often correct. But when confidence evolves into certainty, and certainty evolves into rigidity, blind spots begin to form.

These blind spots are rarely dramatic. They show up subtly: in how leaders communicate, how they respond under pressure, how they interpret dissent, and how they prioritize outcomes over people. Over time, these patterns compound.

The Cost of Unseen Behavior

Blind spots are costly because they operate below the surface. Leaders may believe they are communicating clearly, while their teams experience confusion. They may believe they are empowering others, while their teams feel micromanaged. They may believe they are decisive, while others perceive them as dismissive.

The gap between intent and impact is where organizational risk lives.

When this gap widens, several consequences emerge:

• Erosion of trust: Teams begin to question whether leaders are aware of their impact or willing to adjust.
• Reduced engagement: Employees disengage when they feel misunderstood or undervalued.
• Distorted decision-making: Leaders operate on incomplete or filtered information.
• Increased turnover: High performers leave environments where they do not feel heard or developed.

These outcomes are rarely attributed to blind spots directly. Instead, they are labeled as culture issues, communication breakdowns, or performance challenges. But at their core, they are leadership awareness issues.

Why Awareness Is Difficult to Achieve

Self-awareness is often positioned as a personal development goal, but at the executive level, it is a strategic requirement.

The challenge is that awareness does not originate internally. Leaders cannot see what they cannot see. Blind spots, by definition, exist outside of conscious recognition.

Executives who rely solely on self-reflection to assess their effectiveness will miss critical insights. Without external input, leaders often reinforce their existing beliefs rather than challenge them.

Additionally, organizational dynamics can discourage honest feedback. Employees may fear repercussions, damaging relationships, or being perceived as difficult. Even well-intentioned feedback systems can fail if leaders are not prepared to receive and act on input constructively.

As a result, many leaders operate with incomplete data about their own leadership.

Emotional Intelligence as a Strategic Capability

Addressing blind spots requires more than feedback—it requires emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence enables leaders to recognize how their emotions influence their behavior, how their behavior impacts others, and how to adjust in real time. It is the foundation for effective communication, sound decision-making, and strong relationships.

Leaders with high emotional intelligence do not assume they are right. They remain curious. They ask questions. They listen for understanding rather than validation. They create space for dissent and view feedback as a resource rather than a threat.

This does not diminish authority. It strengthens it.

In high-pressure environments, emotionally intelligent leaders are more likely to remain composed, process information accurately, and respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. This stability builds confidence across the organization.

Building Accountability into Leadership

Awareness without accountability does not produce change. Leaders must move beyond identifying blind spots to actively addressing them.

This requires intentional systems.

Effective leaders build accountability relationships: trusted peers, mentors, or advisors who are empowered to provide candid feedback. These relationships must be structured, consistent, and grounded in mutual respect. Leaders should also establish mechanisms within their organizations that encourage upward feedback. This includes creating psychological safety, modeling openness to feedback, and demonstrating that input leads to action.

When leaders respond defensively or dismissively, feedback stops. When they respond with curiosity and follow-through, feedback becomes a continuous source of insight.

Aligning Behavior with Values

At the core of addressing blind spots is alignment.

Leaders often articulate strong values—integrity, respect, accountability—but their behaviors under pressure may not consistently reflect those values. This misalignment creates confusion and undermines credibility. High-performing leaders must regularly assess whether their actions align with their stated principles. This requires discipline, reflection, and a willingness to make adjustments.

Consistency is critical. Teams do not evaluate leaders based on isolated moments. They evaluate them based on patterns. When leaders consistently align their behavior with their values, they establish credibility. When they do not, trust erodes quickly.

Creating a Culture That Reduces Blind Spots

Executive blind spots are not only an individual issue, but they are also an organizational one.

Leaders set the tone for how feedback is given, received, and acted upon. When leaders prioritize awareness and accountability, they create cultures where continuous improvement is expected.

Organizations that effectively address blind spots share several characteristics:

• Open communication: Dialogue is encouraged across levels without fear of retaliation.
• Clear expectations: Leaders communicate goals and standards consistently.
• Development focus: Feedback is used to develop, not punish.
• Leadership modeling: Executives demonstrate the behaviors they expect from others.

These environments do not eliminate blind spots entirely, but they reduce their impact by bringing them into the open.

Moving From Awareness to Impact

The most effective leaders are not those who are without flaws. They are those who are aware of them and committed to continuous improvement. Executive blind spots will always exist. The goal is not perfection—it is visibility and responsiveness.

Leaders who actively seek feedback, develop emotional intelligence, and align their behavior with their values are better equipped to navigate complexity, build trust, and sustain performance. In contrast, leaders who ignore or minimize their blind spots risk undermining the very success they have worked to achieve.

High performance is not just about what leaders accomplish. It is about how they lead others to accomplish it. The leaders who sustain impact are not the ones who see everything clearly—they are the ones who are willing to confront what they cannot see.

* * *

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on success:

“‘People with very high expectations have very low resilience. Unfortunately, resilience matters in success,’ he later said. ‘Greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character.’ And character, in his view, can only be the result of overcoming setbacks and adversity. To Jensen, the struggle to persevere in the face of bad, and often over-whelming, odds is simply what work is. It is why, whenever someone asks him for advice on how to achieve success, his answer has been consistent over the years: ‘I wish upon you ample doses of pain and suffering.’”

Source: The Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tae Kim

Brad Stulberg on rugged flexibility:

“The goal is not to be stable and therefore never change. Nor is the goal to sacrifice all sense of stability, passively surrendering yourself to the whims of life. Rather, the goal is to marry these qualities to cultivate what I call rugged flexibility. To be rugged is to be tough, determined, and durable. To be flexible is to consciously respond to altered circumstances or conditions, to adapt and bend easily without breaking. Put those together and the result is a gritty endurance, an anti-fragility that not only withstands change, but thrives in its midst.”

Source: Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You

Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

Sebastian Wernicke on automating insight:

“Machine learning is not equally suitable for all tasks. It performs best when applied to frequent, repetitive decisions or tasks of manageable complexity. At the same time, the limits of machine learning when it comes to tacit understanding ensure that humans will be anything but redundant for the foreseeable future. For any situation requiring careful, nuanced consideration, developing and deploying a useful algorithm often costs more time and effort than it saves. And even when an algorithm eventually performs an operational activity, humans must still plan and manage it, requiring organizations to cultivate the necessary skills to guide the models and set appropriate guardrails.”

Source: Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation

Mike Grossman on scope creep:

“No matter how excited and optimistic you are about the business, putting all your eggs in one basket is unsettling. As a result, it’s very tempting to look for ways to diversify. The result is scope creep. It’s also easy to be fooled into thinking that opportunities adjacent to your primary area of focus are natural extensions of your strategy. But that usually isn’t the case. It may seem counterintuitive, but less really is more. If you want to build a great business, it’s crucial to resist the temptation to spread yourself and the company too thin. Excellence demands focus.”

Source: Failure Is An Option: Reflections of a Silicon Valley CEO

Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

IT'S a well-worn saying that the only constant in life is change, and that’s doubly true of the business world. If you’re successful, you need to constantly check your rearview mirror because there are always competitors right behind you.

Earlier in my career, I became CEO of a company, Equity Marketing (which became EMAK Worldwide). My thinking at the time was: “Okay, you’re the boss, so you need to come up with all the important strategic and visionary ideas because that’s what your job is and that’s what you’re expected to do.” But I ultimately concluded that’s actually not the job. The job as CEO is to make sure the company has a unique, compelling, and defensible advantage — whether you develop that strategy by yourself, or you curate it from your team.

Defensible in this context means that a competitor can’t easily remove you from your perch in the marketplace because you have a unique process, or unique technology, or unique talent with a unique culture, or unique client relationships. Whatever it is, you own something that makes it hard for a competitor to dislodge you from your position.

The ultimate hallmark of a defensible strategy is that it’s adaptable to the inevitability of change. So, if nepotism is your strategy and you got into Yale or Harvard despite your mediocre high school GPA because you’re a legacy, that’s not going to be sustainable when you get out into the world and your circumstances change. When you graduate from a college you never should have gotten into, all of a sudden you’ll find yourself competing with smarter and more talented people for jobs that they deserve more than you do — and you’ll be out of luck.

Defensible advantages are more fleeting these days than they used to be because technology levels the playing field. And the pace of disruption is also much faster than it used to be. Take advertising and marketing, for example: because of AI and other factors, our industry is undergoing a lot of change and consolidation. Why does the world need our advertising and marketing company (Omelet LLC)? For us, that’s the ultimate question. It’s a hard question to answer, but our survival ultimately depends on our ability to answer it.

The best our service business can do to stay ahead of the curve is to truly understand our defensible advantages and capitalize on them. Here are some keys to making sure our company has a defensible strategy:

1. Hire uniquely strong people. I’m a reasonably smart guy, but my biggest strength is recruiting good people, letting them have a real say, and then creating an environment to let the magic happen. Our competitive advantage when we hire good people is doing incredible work every time and providing impeccable client service.

2. Tap the team’s strategic ideas. The best thing about devising a defensible strategy for your business is that you don’t have to do it all by yourself. If the people on your management team come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives and different kinds of expertise, you can curate the best of everyone’s ideas and then formulate your strategy from their input — getting their ideas and then blending them with your own. It’s useful to have as many different perspectives as possible, because there are many things you might not know. In this way, not only are you developing a more robust strategy, but you’ll find it’s far easier to execute the plan when your people have had a say in developing it.

3. Define the business by the solutions we provide. Because disruption is inevitable, don’t define your business by your product or process. A defensible strategy is never defined by a simple product or service — it has to be something that evolves with the marketplace. And if there’s a better way to provide that solution, you should be indifferent to how you provide it. Some say that horse-and-buggy drivers should have been the inventors of the automobile because they were in the transportation business. I think that’s a bit of a stretch, but the underlying point is valid: you aren’t in the horse-and-buggy business; you’re in the business of getting from point A to point B. When automobiles began to emerge on the scene, the buggy manufacturers should have actively explored building cars.

4. Deliver on a strong work ethic. As I previously noted, I believe I’m a reasonably smart guy, but I’m definitely not smarter than everyone else around me. I don’t have to be smarter than everyone else, however, because there’s a more reliable way to make up for smarts — and that’s honest, hard work. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying that natural gifts like intelligence and athleticism don’t matter, or that they don’t provide a strong advantage. But an advantage can be squandered if you don’t have the grit to do the hard work of maximizing it.

Companies can have a variety of defensible advantages — a premium brand, a low-cost operating model, access to low-cost capital, or a network effect like social media titan Meta. The key to winning in the long run is to curate a good strategy, execute it flawlessly, bend with the times, and stay true to your brand identity.

* * *

WHEN I speak to a room of leaders, I like to start with a quick show of hands.

How many would say they’re a bad leader? No hands. Good. How many think they’re exceptional, one of the best to ever do it? A few brave souls, usually with a laugh. And how many would put themselves somewhere in the middle, pretty good to very good?

That’s where most hands go up. And honestly, that’s where mine goes up too.

When Good Stops Being Enough

Here’s the catch. That “pretty good” is exactly where the trouble usually starts right now.

For most of our careers, good was plenty. Show up prepared, communicate clearly enough, hit your numbers, and treat people fairly. Success. In a stable world that adds up to a solid leader and a steady team. But we’re not leading in a stable world anymore. Economic whiplash, AI anxiety, restructuring, burnout, or the news alert that makes a 23-year-old wonder if their job will exist in two years. Uncertainty is the operating environment now.

And uncertainty changes the math. My team and The Harris Poll surveyed more than 2,000 employees about their leaders, and the finding that stuck with me is now on a sticky note on my desk: uncertainty multiplied by good leadership doesn’t produce good outcomes. It produces a slow rise in anxiety, a creeping complacency and a quiet drift. Not a collapse. Nobody calls a meeting about it. It’s the erosion you don’t notice until trust has already thinned.

What I Learned in a Parking Lot

I learned this the hard way, and not in a boardroom.

Late last year I taught my daughter Avi to drive. Picture an empty parking lot. No traffic, no danger, just the two of us and a lot of nerves. She started out confidently. I was the problem. Every time she took a turn a little fast, I grabbed the door handle. Every sharp breath I took, she paused. My white knuckles weren’t keeping her safe; they were teaching her to freeze. She went from learning to surviving, in an empty lot, with the one person who most wanted her to succeed sitting right beside her.

It hit me halfway through that lesson: I do this to my team. Not on purpose. I care about them, same as I care about Avi. But when I lead from my own anxiety, it travels. People feel it, they tighten up, and the very capability I need from them shrinks.

That’s what good leaders tend to miss.

The Mirror

So, here’s the mirror I’d hold up. Three questions, and they’re harder than they look.

1. Do the people you lead feel that what matters to them is valued, not just what they produce? In our research, 35% of employees under good leaders feel their work is appreciated. Only 16% feel that what’s important to them, as a person, is valued. Those are two different things. One says, “nice job on the task.” The other says, “I know what you’re working toward, and I see how this connects to it.” Good leaders are reliably strong at the first; most never get to the second. Good leaders praise the work; exceptional leaders ask what someone cares about beyond it, then connect the work back to that answer.
2. Do they feel heard? Only 19% of employees under good leaders say yes. Sit with that. Four out of five people in your meetings don’t feel heard by you. Usually, it has nothing to do with the leader being callous. A lot of us were taught early that professional means impersonal. Don’t let them see you sweat. So, we armor up. And the thing about armor is that it works both ways. It keeps people from reading us, and it keeps us from taking in what they’re trying to say. Good leaders ask, “how’s it going” and accept “fine.” Exceptional leaders ask, “what do you need from me?” and stay quiet long enough to hear the real answer.
3. Do they feel they’re growing? At 14%, this is the lowest score of all. Most people under good leaders have stopped believing there’s a future worth investing in where they are. They aren’t complaining. Rather, they’re quietly saving their best energy for somewhere that sees their potential. Where a good leader explains what’s changing, an exceptional one shows each person how the change includes them and what their future looks like in it.

None of those gaps show up in a quarterly engagement score until it’s too late. That’s what makes these gaps so easy to miss.

The Leaders No One Worries About

The Heart Work Can Be Taught

The good news is that the distance between good and exceptional isn’t a talent gap but a training gap. These skills are learnable. Today, they’re the heart work of leadership, and not one of them requires charisma or a preference for extraversion. Ingraining new habits is about starting small. In this case, start with gratitude, which our research found is the single biggest differentiator between good and exceptional leaders. Retire “great job, team.” Try “I noticed what you did in that meeting, and it mattered.” Name the behavior, name the impact, and make it personal. Then go further. Have one conversation this week that isn’t about tasks. Ask someone where they want to grow, and how what you’re building together connects to that. Then actually listen to the answer.

I’ve come to believe the leader makes the weather. In a parking lot or a team meeting, the same rule holds. Create a climate of tension and watch people hunker down. Offer calm and watch them start to drive.

Good used to be good enough; it isn’t anymore. The difference isn’t the storm, it’s who’s steering the ship.

* * *

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

Jim Collins on the love of doing the work:

“There is a big difference between being in love with the idea of one’s work and being in love with doing the work itself. It means not just the love in the 0.001% highlight moments; it means love in the other 99.999%.”

Source: What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative

Morgan Housel on the pain of pursuit:

“Most things worth pursuing charge their fee in the form of stress, uncertainty, dealing with quirky people, bureaucracy, other peoples’ conflicting incentives, hassle, nonsense, long hours, and constant doubt. That’s the overhead cost of getting ahead.”

Source: Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes

Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in June 2026 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month.

Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation by Sebastian Wernicke

Ninety-nine percent of businesses surveyed say that data and AI are a top priority―but two-thirds admit to feeling stuck. What most leaders miss is that to succeed at becoming a data-driven business requires developing a nuanced understanding of why data holds such transformative power, what a data-inspired culture looks like, and how to get there. Data Inspired shows that the secret isn't to be more data-driven―it is to become data-inspired. This book reveals the crucial strategic distinction between using data to optimize existing operations and using them as a catalyst for deep transformation and innovation.

Superteams: The Science and Secrets of High-Performing Teams by Ron Friedman

What do the best teams do differently? To find out, award-winning social psychologist Ron Friedman surveyed thousands of teams and pinpointed the precise habits that separate the best from the rest. The results upend everything we think we know about teamwork. It turns out that the most successful teams aren't the ones that collaborate most, get along best, or put in the longest hours. What really sets them apart is the way they manage their energy and attention, bring out the best in one another, and keep improving over time. Blending eye-opening discoveries with unforgettable stories, Superteams takes you inside the writers' room of Succession and Bridgerton, the recording studio of ABBA and Fleetwood Mac, the kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants, the laboratories of Nobel Prize–winning scientists, the locker rooms of NBA and NFL teams, and the boardrooms of the world's most innovative companies.

Effective: How to Do Great Work in a Fast-Changing World by Melissa Swift

Navigate the weird, chaotic world of modern work, no matter your position. While there's no shortage of advice on being amazing or avoiding burnout, what if you simply want to get things done in a workplace that feels increasingly impossible? Effective is here to help you get your job done well without losing your mind. Drawing from up-to-date research and provocative interviews with employees across industries and levels, renowned people consultant Melissa Swift offers a positive, well-illuminated path through the dark forest of destabilizing workplace changes.

Wired for Peace: Using 7 Neuroscience-Based Principles to Resolve Conflicts by Jeremy Pollack

A deep dive and exploration into the critical role of the nervous system in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Drawing from neuroscience, social neuropsychology, predictive-processing theory, and decades of applied conflict resolution practice, Wired for Peace presents a transformational model for understanding why conflict escalates and how sustainable peace is created. Moving beyond traditional communication-skills or mediation-only approaches, this book shows that lasting conflict resolution begins with the autonomic nervous system and the brain’s threat-prediction mechanisms. The book illuminates the internal neural architecture that determines how individuals perceive danger, construct narratives, react to stress, and attempt either protection or connection.

Failure Is An Option: Reflections of a Silicon Valley CEO by Mike Grossman

For nearly three decades, Mike Grossman has been at the center of the world’s most mythologized innovation hub, leading early-stage, venture-funded tech companies through the highs, heartbreaks, and near misses that define life in the Valley. He has raised millions, managed boardroom crises, built great teams, and navigated moments when everything seemed one bad quarter away from collapse. Failure Is An Option gathers forty-four sharp, candid essays shaped by years in the trenches. Together, they form a mosaic of what leadership really looks like when the cameras aren’t rolling: the moments of absurdity, fear, luck, and endurance that make or break a company and the person leading it. Unflinchingly honest and darkly funny, Grossman dismantles the myths of startup success and offers an insider’s view of what it means to build under pressure. This is not a playbook or a victory lap. It is a collection of truths about ambition, uncertainty, and the art of holding it together long enough for the story to make sense.