Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 15th edition
Inspiring is how leaders empower others by connecting them to a purpose that matters.
While it is true that people work to fulfill basic financial needs, most people have a deeper need connected to their work.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the fifteenth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 3 minutes
Our topic today is inspiration.
Inspiring is how leaders empower others by connecting them to a purpose that matters.
While it is true that people work to fulfill basic financial needs, most people have a deeper need connected to their work.
They want their work to have meaning, purpose, and impact.
Inspiration is the courage to connect people to the “why”
When most people think of inspiration, they think of some type of speech – perhaps given by an inspirational leader.
This can be the case, but oftentimes leaders fail to combine inspiration with genuine connection.
While speeches can inspire, they tend to fall flat when they aren’t connected to real people and real purpose.
People need to feel connected to the vision. And they need to feel connected to their leader.
Inspiration does not mean:
Hype
Emotional manipulation
Pretending everything is fine
Empty praise
Inspiration is more than helping people feel something
It’s about helping people see something
Inspiration does mean:
Connecting tasks to purpose
Telling stories that highlight the vision
Sharing the “why” behind decisions
Celebrating progress, not just outcomes
Recognizing effort in ways that are meaningful to your people
Inviting people into the mission
Inspiration takes courage because it requires vulnerability.
You cannot inspire people from a distance.
You must let them see what matters to you and the organization while also understanding what matters to them.
When leaders forget the why – or forget to share the why
Everyone else eventually forgets it, too
Here are some practical tips to inspire your team members:
Begin the next meeting with a story about how their work made an impact
Share customer feedback with your team
Explain why a decision matters rather than just giving directions
Ask team members what makes their work meaningful
Pay attention when your team members grow, and tell them
This week’s courageous choice:
In one conversation, discuss how someone’s task makes an impact for the organization and/or the customer.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 14th edition
Presence has nothing to do with being physically present or an open-door policy.
It has everything to do with giving full attention, especially in the moments that matter.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the fourteenth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 5 minutes
Our topic today is presence.
One day, I was standing in my boss’s office to discuss a difficult situation regarding an employee.
Though sitting just a few feet away, he was turned to the side and looking at his computer the entire time.
That experience taught me a valuable lesson about presence.
Presence has nothing to do with being physically present or an open-door policy.
It has everything to do with giving full attention, especially in the moments that matter.
Presence can be tough for leaders:
Multitasking has not only become socially accepted, but implicitly expected
Discomfort triggers a natural urge to fix or escape the situation
Emotional regulation takes energy and most leaders aren’t taught how
It takes courage to sit in the moment without trying to control it.
Presence is an essential leadership skill and tied directly to emotional intelligence, empathy, and psychological safety.
These aren’t buzzwords, they’re what is expected of modern leaders.
When leaders are present:
People feel seen
Conversations go deeper
Trust grows faster
People don’t necessarily expect you to have all the answers. However, they do need to know you’re present with them.
People have a genuine need to feel seen, heard, and valued.
What presence isn’t:
Having to fix every problem
When your employees come to you with problems, this is an excellent opportunity to coach them by asking questions to help them uncover answers.
However, in some cases, they will legitimately need you to help with a problem.
Still, in many cases, coaching can help develop their judgment, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.
Allowing people to dump all drama on you
While leaders do need to handle certain kinds of drama, in many cases drama can (and should) be handled by the employees themselves.
Again, a coaching opportunity.
Sometimes, a great question can be, “is this something you really need me to address, or are you coming to me to discuss a strategy?”
Ignoring your tasks
If you are in the middle of an urgent task, set a specific time in the near future to meet with the employee when you can be fully present.
Keep those appointments.
One caveat to this – be flexible to when your employees’ problem is more urgent than your tasks.
Here are some practical tips to being more present:
Put the phone away
Turn away from the computer
Let silence exist without rushing to fill it
Listen without planning your response
Stay emotionally regulated when the conversation gets uncomfortable
Acknowledge emotions before behavior
Paraphrase what you hear to check for understanding
Presence gives leaders the opportunity to get to know their employees better, discover coaching opportunities, and build trust and rapport.
Presence isn’t a passive activity
It’s disciplined attention
Presence takes courage because it requires
restraint instead of reaction,
curiosity instead of control,
and connection instead of convenience
This week’s courageous choice:
In one conversation, put everything else away and stay fully present.
Notice what changes in them, and also in you.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 13th edition
You may have heard the saying that success is a bad teacher.
That’s not because success lacks value, it’s because most leaders don’t slow down long enough to understand why it happened.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the thirteenth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 5 minutes
Our topic for today is learning from success.
You may have heard the saying that success is a bad teacher.
That’s not because success lacks value, it’s because most leaders don’t slow down long enough to understand why it happened.
Ego pushes us forward. Momentum keeps us moving. And we mistake outcomes for mastery.
Yes, hard work and skill matter.
But success is often influenced by factors we don’t fully control, such as timing, circumstances, and sometimes luck.
Our ego tends to downplay that reality.
Luck may open the door, but preparation and reflection determine whether you walk through it again.
That’s why learning from success takes courage.
It requires humility instead of ego, curiosity instead of certainty, and discipline instead of momentum.
Success doesn’t have to be a bad teacher, nor should it be.
Learning from success requires courage, because it also requires humility, curiosity, and discipline.
In law enforcement, I learned about this concept from our SWAT team members.
If you’re not familiar with what a SWAT team is, the acronym stands for special weapons and tactics.
This is the team that goes in when the situations are (or potentially) very dangerous.
No matter how well any operation went, they always debriefed it.
Every member of the team shares what went well, and most importantly – where the gaps were.
Each member is expected to be brutally honest with their own performance and the performance of their teammates.
Can you imagine telling a SWAT operator what they needed to do better?!
But, this is required for continued improvement, continued excellence in performance, and safe operations.
They referred to this debrief as an After-Action Review.
The failure to conduct an After-Action Review leads to a dangerous strategy of “hoping for the best”
Regardless of industry, leaders can use these key questions asked in an After-Action Review:
What worked and why?
What almost didn’t work (where luck may have come into play)?
Who helped us succeed and how?
What would we do again the next time?
What would we do differently the next time?
You can expand on this list as necessary depending upon the industry or circumstances.
It takes courage to slow down after a success and conduct an After-Action Review.
First, it can be uncomfortable to be brutally honest with each other on performance – especially when the outcome was what you wanted.
Second, it can feel risky to admit potential failures, blind spots, or where luck played a part.
Most importantly, your future outcomes may depend on this debrief.
It is important to emphasize that brutal honesty should not be delivered brutally.
The purpose of this feedback is for continuous improvement – for individuals, teams, and the organization.
It should be framed as “I care about the success of you, this team, and this organization, and here are some observations to help us get even better.”
This week’s courageous choice:
Identify one recent success and conduct a brief After-Action Review.
Don’t just celebrate your success, learn from it.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 12th edition
For many, accountability has become a “dirty word.”
In the workplace, it’s often reduced to one question: who’s to blame?
Welcome back leaders!
This is the twelfth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 3 minutes
Our topic for today is accountability.
For many, accountability has become a “dirty word.”
In the workplace, it’s often reduced to one question: who’s to blame?
Too many bosses practice accountability as punishment instead of support.
Courageous leaders see it differently.
Accountability is the courage to own your impact even when it’s uncomfortable.
This edition focuses on personal accountability - not pointing fingers, but taking ownership as a leader.
Accountability has been seen as a dirty word because too many bosses try to delegate authority and responsibility.
When projects miss deadlines, go over budget, or fall below standards, some leaders look for someone to blame, thinking they’ve handed responsibility away when they delegated tasks.
The reality is:
You can delegate tasks
You can delegate authority
You can never delegate responsibility
As leaders, there is almost always more we can do to own our impact
What courageous leaders do instead
Rather than reacting after the deadline passes, courageous leaders are proactive:
They ensure expectations are clear
They provide time, training, and resources
They communicate with coaching and feedback
They create psychological safety so issues are raised early
They follow up consistently
Instead of viewing accountability as a consequence, they treat it as a commitment to:
Maintain responsibility
Take ownership
Provide support
Accountability is NOT micromanagement
Micromanagement is control driven by insecurity.
Micromanagement communicates “I don’t trust you.”
Micromanagement restricts people.
Accountability communicates “I’m invested in you.”
Accountability develops people.
Practical ways to practice courageous accountability
Increase supportive feedback
Sometimes people will fall short and you will have to hold them accountable.
One way to help increase their openness to accountability is if they are also used to receiving supportive feedback, such as praise and encouragement.
Frame the conversation
Another way to help increase people’s openness to accountability, especially if they fall short, is to frame it with their best interest:
For example, “I care too much about you to let you stay where you are”
Self-reflection
Courageous leaders must always first look in the mirror.
There is almost always something we can do better as leaders to ensure the success of our team and our organization.
This takes courage because you might not always like what you see.
Admit mistakes
You are not perfect, and that’s OK.
Admitting mistakes models accountability and builds trust.
People don’t expect perfection, but they do expect honesty.
Where do you need to take ownership?
Accountability doesn’t start with your team.
It starts with you.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 11th edition
This edition of the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ is about empowering those you lead.
Specifically, the importance of empowering your team members through training.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the eleventh edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 7 minutes
This edition of the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ is about empowering those you lead.
Specifically, the importance of empowering your team members through training.
Empowering through training is the courage to invest in the mastery of the people on your team.
Some people may wonder why this requires courage, yet I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard misguided excuses and hesitations.
↓ Let’s address some of the most common excuses and hesitations for failing to train ↓
1- If I train them, they’ll take my job
This seems valid, at least at surface level or with short-term thinking.
It takes courage to put people in a position to succeed long-term.
Ideally, the person who eventually steps into your role will be prepared to do so.
Failing to prepare your replacement is not only a disservice to them, but also a disservice to your organization and the people your organization serves.
Organizations failing to do so are giving up a competitive advantage without a fight.
When we train leaders, we emphasize the importance of developing “bench strength.”
The idea isn’t for them to take your job today, it’s to prepare the next generation of leaders to take on their new role when the time comes.
“True leaders don’t create followers. They create more leaders.” – Tom Peters
2- If I train them, they’ll leave for a better opportunity
Another valid point, at least at face value.
Much like the first excuse, this one is rooted in short-term thinking.
The reality is that when people acquire a deeper skillset, they become more marketable.
And yes, some people will leave for better opportunities that are currently available.
However, you can increase the chance of retention with the right culture.
Money isn’t everything.
People would rather work for a company that cares about them for slightly less money than one who sees them as a number.
If your employee leaves, I hope you have the courage to wish them well and help prepare them for the next chapter.
That employee may leave, but how they are treated on their departure matters:
They can become a great referral for your business, or they can torpedo you
They can be much more likely to return to your organization when the right opportunity becomes available again, or they can use their skillset to help your competitor
Losing qualified people is always a risk.
But the real risk is in tolerating a culture of status quo where people never grow.
“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay” –Henry Ford
“Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to” –Sir Richard Branson
3- Training them to do things I can do will take too much time
This is probably the most common excuse – a lack of time.
In particular, this is one of the main obstacles we see in leaders who struggle with delegation.
Training can no doubt have a short-term impact on productivity – both yours and theirs.
But, as their competence and confidence grow, so does their ability to complete tasks to your standards.
Think of the time investment this way.
They develop career enhancing skills
Once trained, they save you time by completing tasks you would otherwise have to do
The compounding time for each task will diminish your stress and free you up for high-quality leadership activities
While the end result can be great, the process can be a struggle.
Never forget:
You can delegate authority, never responsibility
You must give them clear training, resources, feedback, and support
You must be patient as their competency levels increase
If you still can’t get past the fact that a short-term time investment will yield greater long-term results, no judgment here.
Even though it’s a legitimate time waster, it’s actually solidly rooted in human nature and our craving for dopamine.
When we complete tasks that we could/should train others to do, but are “easy” for us, we get a hit of dopamine.
Think of this ridiculous example.
Your organization has put you in charge of determining how to communicate a major change in policy and you must give a short presentation on your plan tomorrow.
But there’s one problem: you have a junk drawer with multiple sizes of paper clips. Small, medium, large. The madness!
Instead of investing your time on your leadership role (determining how to communicate the change) you spend it organizing the paperclips (a task that could easily be delegated if it were even important enough to do so).
While the stress of the plan still looms over your head, you at least have the short-term dopamine fix of completing a minor task.
Does this sound ridiculous or familiar or a little of both?
Oftentimes the courageous choice is to give up the short-term dopamine and train our people.
The long-term rewards will be much greater if we do so.
4- I’ve tried training them before – it didn’t work
We hear this one too often, and it is because most training is akin to a shotgun, hope-for-the best, one-time approach.
The truth is that most companies go about training completely wrong.
In this case, we’re typically not talking about internal training. We are talking about subpar experiences from training companies.
Most times, training does not work for one of, or a combination of, two reasons:
They hired someone for a one-time event, not an intentional process
There was no associated follow-up, coaching, or accountability
Training works when it’s treated as a process, not an event.
Here are three critical keys from our process that you can use, even if you don’t hire a firm like ours to help you:
Reinforcement
Application
Accountability
We view accountability as building people up, not just looking for who is to blame.
As General Norman Schwarzkopf put it, when the leader fails, so do their people.
Earlier we said you can delegate authority, not responsibility.
Oftentimes, leadership development fails because organizations delegate authority to external training providers, a keynote speaker, a workshop facilitator, a retreat host, an online learning platform, etc.…but they do not take responsibility for holding leaders accountable for results of the development interventions.
This is akin to setting your money on fire🔥
It takes courage to understand the concepts your leaders are being trained on, more courage to live those principles out in your own leadership, and even more courage to hold them accountable for living out the principles.
Training doesn’t just build skills.
It builds three essential, interwoven elements that help people build their careers while contributing to the organization:
Judgment
Decision-making
Problem-solving
Training is not optional leadership work.
It IS leadership.
If you don’t build your people, the system will break them.
Who is one person you can intentionally train this month, and what is one skill you’ll help them build?
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 10th edition
Empathy is the courage to understand experiences that are not your own.
And that courage isn’t soft. It’s strength.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the tenth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 10 minutes
This edition will focus on the concept of empathy.
Empathy is the courage to understand experiences that are not your own.
And that courage isn’t soft. It’s strength.
But wait – isn’t this newsletter supposed to give insights without fluff?
Exactly.
Being empathetic as a leader isn’t fluff. Being empathetic demonstrates tremendous strength.
Empathy is often colloquially defined as “walking in someone else’s shoes.”
The idea is to try to understand the feelings and experiences of others (not physically walk in their shoes).
A key word here is understand, which is why we include empathy in our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ in the Understand component.
Understanding with empathy is a sign of courage and strength because sometimes, the feelings and experiences of others can be difficult for us to process and respond to as leaders.
When I first entered the workforce, there was an unwritten rule that personal emotions did not belong in the workplace.
I don’t mean to fault leaders who have/had that perspective, but the reality is that we ALL experience emotions at work.
Sometimes those emotions are positive:
We are excited to learn a new skill
We are happy to make an important sale
We feel valued when we receive meaningful recognition from our leader
Sometimes those emotions are not as positive:
We are frustrated when we struggle to learn a new skill
We are discouraged when can’t seem to get enough prospects into our pipeline
We feel unappreciated when our leader fails to recognize our important contributions
Think about it - in the past week, have you experienced any of these common emotions at work?
Pride
Satisfaction
Joy
Anger
Frustration
Disappointment
Stress
Anxiety
Recognizing that emotions can provide data to leaders helps them respond with empathy instead of reaction.
In fact, emotions in the workplace should be considered a good thing because our brains use emotions during logical reasoning.
The famous story of Phineas Gage gives us insights into how a loss of the ability to experience emotions (through brain damage in his case) led to decreased decision-making abilities.
The research shows that emotions are necessary for us to function at our best and make sound, logical decisions.
The challenge for leaders is to embrace this reality and try to empathize with those we lead.
Let’s dive into some practical tips to build empathy, but before we do, a timeless quote by Maya Angelou:
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
*For more on Phineas Gage, check out the book “Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain” by Anónio Damásio.
Tip #1: Ask better questions
Sometimes it can feel easier for us to lead by giving directions.
And there are plenty of circumstances where leaders need to give directions.
There are also plenty of circumstances where we can develop empathy while investing in our relationship with employees simply by asking better questions.
Here are some general suggestions and example questions:
Do your best not to assume what someone’s answers or rationale will be
Acknowledge the natural human tendency to judge, and remain intentionally curious
Resist the temptation to fill the silence as people think of their answer
Listen without interrupting
“Help me understand what led to that decision”
“Could you walk me through your thought process?”
Tip #2: Listen for the information AND the emotion
When people speak, they will give you more information than the words they say, often subconsciously.
Pay attention to what is being said – this is not always easy!
Also, pay attention to what is not being said by listening for tone, and by watching body language.
This takes practice, but as you begin to pay attention more and more you will be able to pick up on subtleties that can reveal underlying emotions.
For example, one common emotion leaders encounter is frustration.
In Paul Eckman’s book, “Emotions Revealed,” Eckman explains that frustration is often due to believing you’re being blocked from achieving a goal.
According to Eckman, some of the subtleties you might see include narrowed lips, glaring eyes, and/or drawn-together eyebrows.
Sometimes, simply acknowledging that someone is experiencing frustration can help the situation.
From a non-judgmental perspective and with an understanding tone, I have seen great success with this phrase:
“That seems really frustrating”
This statement shows you aren’t judging and it validates that it is OK for them to be frustrated.
Remember, it is always OK for people to experience an emotion.
This doesn’t mean that associated behavior is always OK.
However, one thing I learned in my years as a crisis intervention team leader was that people are more likely to be receptive if they feel validated.
Deal with the emotion, then address the behavior
Tip #3: Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is essentially an expression of understanding.
It involves repeating what you hear in your own words – not simply repeating their words.
Try this formula:
“If I heard you correctly, it seems like ____”
When you say, “it seems like,” this reduces resistance because it implies you are trying to understand without judging.
When you paraphrase, it gives the other person an opportunity to:
Confirm that you understood
Clarify their message
Correct you
In any case, the effort to understand will go a long way.
Pro tip: never use the phrase “I understand.”
Even if you believe you’ve been in the exact same position as the person you’re talking to, the statement “I understand” can backfire on you.
You likely have different life experiences, and you likely experienced it differently to an extent.
Tip #4: Spend some time in their world
One of the things I hear frontline workers and frontline supervisors complain about is the fact that middle management and senior leaders don’t understand what the frontline experiences on a day-to-day basis.
This complaint is often valid because in many cases, middle management and senior leaders do not spend time in the frontline world.
Some believe that this would be seen as micromanagement or trying to catch people doing things wrong.
The reality is that people have a need to feel seen, heard, and valued.
Spending a little time interacting with the frontline in their world can go a long way to helping you build social capital.
And, you may see some challenges you were otherwise unaware of.
The key is to make sure people understand the purpose is NOT to monitor or micromanage.
A word of caution:
If there is low trust in your organization, it will take time to build that trust back.
Empathy grows when you experience what others experience.
Tip #5: Share vulnerability, if appropriate
Sometimes, people may be struggling with a project or learning a new skill that you also struggled to master.
It can go a long way to let people know “hey, I once struggled with this, too.”
This may be an opportunity to coach someone up, train them, or understand what resources are needed.
Tip #6: Use empathy in decision-making
Empathy may or may not ultimately influence your decision because we know as leaders, sometimes we have to make tough decisions that we know will impact others.
At the same time, internal reflection from an empathetic perspective can still be very valuable in how you consider decisions and communicate implementation.
Ask yourself:
“Who does this affect most?”
“How will it feel from their side?”
“What is the best way for me to communicate this to people?”
Tip #7: Check in on people
This is not about monitoring people. Yes, monitoring is also part of a leader’s job because you are still responsible for ensuring the work gets done.
Checking in on people is about showing people you’re available and you care.
You can ask questions like “how is everything?” or “how are you doing?”
Be prepared for the answer to be short. “I’m good,” or “Everything is fine.”
The temptation for many people would be to leave it at that.
If you have a good rapport with the person, a follow up question may be the best course of action.
If you are still building rapport, or are unsure, my suggestion is to leave it at that. And then follow up.
Over time, hopefully, they will see that you are making a genuine effort to connect.
Empathy is an essential skill for courageous leaders
Employees in the modern workforce are becoming less and less tolerant of leaders lacking in empathy.
Empathy takes courage. The courage to slow down, listen without judgment, and see people for who they are, not just what they do.
While we could go on and on about empathy, we’ll leave you with some final thoughts:
You must genuinely care about your employees (even if they can be difficult)
Empathy must be authentic – people can spot a fake a mile away
Withhold judgement – people will become closed off or defensive if they feel judged
Empathy is a skill that can take time to develop – give yourself some grace
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 9th edition
This edition of the Courageous Leader BLUEprint will continue the focus on growth.
And, while we believe in personal development, we also believe it is critical for leaders to grow with other leaders.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the ninth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 5 minutes
This edition of the Courageous Leader BLUEprint will continue the focus on growth.
Last time, we talked about the courage to grow as individuals.
And, while we believe in personal development, we also believe it is critical for leaders to grow with other leaders.
Growth happens when you surround yourself with people who can both support you and challenge you to grow.
You were not meant to walk your leadership journey alone.
Growth takes courage and community.
Leaders are rarely self-made
Even superheroes are more effective when they tap into their network.
Take two examples of superheroes who are portrayed as lone symbols, but have a strong support system.
Superman:
He started with adoptive parents who believed in him and instilled strong values
Lois keeps Clark grounded and helps him see himself
His peers, The Justice League, challenge him and remind him that he doesn’t have to carry the world by himself
Even though he is Supergirl’s mentor, she brings out his empathy, humility, and helps him reconnect with his roots
Wonder Woman:
The Amazons believed in her and helped shape her values of justice and peace
Steve Trevor helped her see the complexity of humanity
She helps mediate conflicts and unite her peers on The Justice League
She serves as a mentor for Wonder Girl, her successor
You don’t have to like comics to understand the relevance to leadership.
Leaders are often poured into by others as their journey begins, they have a support system, and they mentor the next generation of leaders.
You’ve no doubt heard the proverb that “Iron Sharpens Iron.”
Iron does not sharpen iron without friction.
It takes courage to allow others to speak into your blind spots. It takes courage to invite others to be that friction and to stay present through it.
↓ Here are a few suggestions on how to grow with others ↓
Development Program
Our leadership development programs utilize a group setting for several reasons:
Groups provide natural accountability
Groups show people it’s ok to be courageous and try new concepts
Groups offer a source of community encouragement
The list of benefits from growth in the group setting is virtually endless.
While we specialize in group development programs (and we hope to partner with you on one in the future), we’d like to highlight a program that has stood the test of time:
The Dale Carnegie Course
The course is built around concepts from Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and some of his other books.
If you’ve never read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, we highly recommend it.
While the Dale Carnegie Course does touch on leadership, it also offers many other benefits.
To name a few, it helps people become better speakers, have more confidence, and apply the principles from the books.
It is also great for pushing you out of your comfort zone.
Programs like this are great reminders that growth isn’t about perfection - it’s about participation.
Accountability Group
As you climb the ranks, your circle of peers tends to get smaller within your organization.
For some people, the tendency is to isolate and to feel like you’re having to do things all on your own.
But, you don’t have to go at it alone, nor should you.
My friend Nicole Bianchi talks about the concept of Swim Buddies in her book “Small Brave Moves”:
“A swim buddy is there to hold you accountable. However, accountability works in both directions. By nature of the relationship, you are the swim buddy to your swim buddy.”
Dr. John Townsend talks about the concept of a Life Team in his book “People Fuel”:
“They [your life team] are in it for the mutual growth process.”
I highly suggest getting a copy of Nicole’s book and Dr. Townsend’s book (and no, I do not make an affiliate commission).
We could dive much deeper into swim buddies and life teams, but fundamentally, an accountability group should be a group of people who:
You trust (and who trusts each other)
You respect (and who respects each other)
Celebrates your successes
Is there for you in difficult times
Will tell you the truth, even when it’s not what you want to hear
Will encourage your growth
Will hold you accountable
Here is a brief list of suggestions we have for an accountability group:
Meet regularly - at least once a month
Pick the right size for you - too few or too many can dilute the benefits of the group (4 or 5 is a great number)
Pick the right mixture - having people at drastically different stages in their leadership journey can shift the focus to coaching/mentoring instead of accountability
Know each other’s goals and challenge each other to greater heights
Maintain strict confidentiality*
*There are exceptions, similar to those of a coaching or counseling relationship. For example, if someone is talking about imminent self-harm, is an imminent danger to others, there is a legal subpoena, etc.
Mentoring
Mentoring was essential to my growth as a leader.
I was blessed to have a team of mentors assigned to me when I was promoted, and I am blessed to have gained more along the way.
A mentoring relationship should be mutually beneficial. However, by the very nature of the relationship, one of the two people will be further along in the journey.
When I speak about mentoring, I tell people:
There is someone out there right now who is further along than you who would be willing to be your mentor
There is someone out there right now who is not as far along in their journey who would benefit from your mentorship
Most mentoring relationships form naturally, usually under the authentic guise of friendship.
As the relationship matures, the friendship remains, yet conversations tend to steer towards the growth of the mentee.
Some organizations assign mentors.
In my case, it worked because I already had a friendship with each of them, one that was both respected and trusted.
If you are assigned a mentor, that can still work. You’ll just need to put more effort into building the relationship, especially if your assigned mentor doesn’t take the relational first step.
Although having an assigned mentor may not work, we encourage you to give it a try.
If the relationship doesn’t seem to gel, and you’ve put in a legitimate effort, consider looking at another option, such as requesting a new mentor or seeking an informal one.
Also, I wouldn’t limit yourself to having one mentor and one mentee.
What kind of person should a mentor be?
The same kind of people you would choose for your accountability group.
Someone you trust and respect who is in your corner during the good and bad, will tell you the truth, encourage your growth, and hold you accountable.
Leadership is only lonely if you let it be
Surround yourself with people who make you better (and have the courage to let them)
It takes courage to grow with others, but that’s how great leaders are made
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 8th edition
Growth is the courage to keep becoming a better version of yourself.
Why does it take courage to grow?
Welcome back leaders!
This is the eighth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 5 minutes
This edition of the Courageous Leader BLUEprint will focus on growth.
Growth is the courage to keep becoming a better version of yourself.
Why does it take courage to grow?
For one, it requires enough humility to realize you don’t know it all.
Second, growth is tough.
We believe leaders should always be growing into better versions of themselves – a process that should never end.
Practical Ways to Grow
Reading
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers” – Harry S. Truman
This one may seem obvious, but just because you read a book, it doesn’t necessarily mean you grow from it.
Did you know that there are over 50,000 leadership books?
Why are there so many – are these authors really contributing that much new knowledge to the world?!
Our opinion is that while authors may have their own take on a concept, share unique stories to illustrate concepts, or introduce a unique model, magical revelations of new leadership knowledge are few and far between.
The problem isn’t a knowledge gap – it’s a doing gap.
(A great book on this by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton is called “The Knowing-Doing Gap.”)
Our challenge to you for the next book you read is to take at least one concept and work on applying it daily for at least three weeks.
A highly controversial question: Do audiobooks count?
Our opinion is yes, they do.
When you read from a page or listen to the audio, your brain processes the information slightly differently. But that can work to your advantage.
When I come across a book that I find particularly useful, I typically buy it as a physical copy and as an audiobook, if available.
In fact, in our leadership development programs, we challenge participants to read the materials and listen to the audio several times to help them internalize the concepts.
How much should you read?
My mentor, Rex Houze, set a personal goal to read for at least 10 minutes every day.
If you read 10 minutes a day, you can read about one book a month.
Not sure where to start? Here is my recommended reading list:
https://www.bluelionleadership.com/reading-list
Podcasts
Podcasts can be great to help you build knowledge incrementally.
They can also help you challenge your mindset.
For example, I recommend a podcast my friend and colleague, Jake Thompson, releases semi-weekly called Compete Every Day.
The benefits of podcasts will only emerge if you implement the concepts, much like reading.
Personality Assessment
Your personality has strengths and weaknesses.
All personality types do.
There are many popular personality assessments used in the workplace to help people get along and work better together.
For example, DiSC is immensely popular in the industries we work in.
Other popular ones include the 6 Types of Working Genius, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and the Big Five.
Another great one is CliftonStrengths by Gallup. This is not necessarily a personality assessment, but rather a valuable tool for understanding your strengths, and it is often used in the workplace to help identify others’ strengths.
While each one of the above can be helpful in the workplace, they are not necessarily designed to help you grow as an individual.
They primarily reveal your tendencies and are often used to help you interact effectively with other team members.
We believe the Enneagram is by far the most useful tool for understanding and growing in your personality.
Charles is a certified Enneagram Coach through InnerLifeSkills.
One of the most common rejections of personality assessments is that they put people into a box, and people understandably don’t want to be put into a box.
At InnerLifeSkills, they say that the Enneagram reveals the box you’re already in and provides a way to grow out of it.
That is, if you’re willing to grow.
A quick note on Enneagram assessments and accuracy…
While some paid assessments claim to be as accurate as 95%, some experts say that tests are only 50-60% accurate.
The reason I chose InnerLifeSkills is that they teach coaches how to type without assessments.
Instead, they trained us in a “narrative coaching” method to help clients uncover their type.
Does that mean that an assessment is a waste of time/money?
Of course, that is up to you, but I would say it’s probably worth it, if for no other reason than to help you narrow down your type.
The keys to growth, regardless of the personality system you use:
Build on your strengths
Do not blame your type to justify your blind spots
Use the knowledge you’ve gained to actively work on your blind spots
Coaching
We believe that every leader needs a coach.
A good coach can help you grow, and the best coaches will help you find your inner wisdom, not just tell you what to do.
While our primary focus is on leadership development in groups, we also offer one-on-one coaching to participants in our programs.
And even though I’m a coach, I have a coach.
Counseling
Counseling is different than coaching.
Thankfully, the stigma surrounding counseling seems to be tapering off slightly, but it still persists.
Counseling isn’t just for crisis situations with trauma, grief, marriages, etc.
Counseling is a growth opportunity for everyone, including people who consider themselves emotionally healthy.
As a leader, you face different stressors than the majority of your organization, and it’s okay (if not wise) to have an expert help you navigate some of the burdens of leadership.
This edition focused on personal growth as a leader.
Before our next newsletter, pick one growth practice - whether it’s a book, a podcast, or a personality insight - and apply it daily for three weeks. Growth happens in the doing.
In the next edition, we’ll discuss ways to grow with others.
Because leadership isn't a solo
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 7th edition
Authenticity is the courage to drop the mask and to be the real you. This seems pretty simple, but it can be harder than most people realize.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the seventh edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 5 minutes
This edition of the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ will focus on authenticity.
Authenticity is the courage to drop the mask and to be the real you.
This seems pretty simple, but it can be harder than most people realize.
First, we’ll discuss some of the reasons authenticity can be challenging for leaders. Then, we’ll talk about why people need authentic leaders and how to become more authentic.
Why authenticity can be challenging for leaders.
There are lots of reasons leaders struggle to be authentic.
They include impostor syndrome, feeling pressured to prioritize tasks over relationships, a lack of training in management/leadership skills, minimal feedback from peers and subordinates, minimal support or accountability from next-level leaders, and the risk of losing authority, to name several.
In my opinion, the (perceived) risk of losing authority is one of the biggest challenges.
When I was in law enforcement, I often observed two primary paths for new leaders.
Some leaders would get promoted and then try to be everyone’s friend.
Others would get promoted and try to become the “new sheriff in town,” even over the small group of people they were charged to lead.
Neither approach proved very effective.
If you try to be everyone’s friend, they may like you, but that does not mean they will respect you.
The relationship will feel like it’s being held over your head, and ironically, your authority will be minimized.
For leaders who acted like the new sheriff in town, their direct reports would soon realize that rewards were rarely used, yet punishment and fear were often used.
Unfortunately, this kind of culture produces leaders who HAVE TO rely on their authority to get the job done.
The most successful leaders I saw took the third road (a road much less traveled) of authenticity.
These leaders let their team know that performance standards and attitude were important, and they would hold people accountable.
At the same time, these leaders would get to know their team members as individuals and strive to understand how to support them in achieving both personal and organizational goals.
These leaders didn’t always do it right, but they knew that being a leader was more about being a human and accomplishing organizational objectives through other humans.
Why do people need authentic leaders?
This may seem obvious, but as a leader, you are always being watched.
Always.
People are always watching to see if your words match your actions.
And it’s not because they are trying to actively catch you in a lie, though some will do this.
They want to see if you’re trustworthy, consistent, and safe to be around.
Without authenticity, trust is fragile, consistency is questioned, and psychological safety disappears.
How to become a more authentic leader.
Here are a few practical suggestions:
Drop the mask when it’s appropriate
It is OK to let someone know that you also struggled at one point with X/Y/Z.
Just because you’re a leader, you’re not a superhero.
And even the best superheroes aren’t perfect.
Superheroes literally wear masks to hide their true identities.
But isn’t it their flaws that make them relatable to us?
We root for Batman’s mission, but we relate to his pain.
We admire Spiderman’s strength, but we connect to his guilt and loneliness.
This isn’t a call to be continuously self-loathing, self-deprecating, or gloomy.
It’s OK to be you.
As cheesy as that sounds, many leaders would rather wear the mask.
Align your words and actions
One of my all-time favorite leadership books is “The Leadership Challenge” by James Kouzes and Barry Posner.
In fact, it is at the very top of my suggested reading list for leaders:
Bluelionleadership.com/reading-list
In one of the chapters, they talk about modeling the way and phrase it as:
Do what you say you will do.
It’s simple, but not easy.
Remember, your people are always watching.
Admit mistakes and course correct quickly
You will make mistakes.
You are not perfect.
And your people know that (because they also make mistakes and are not perfect).
You will gain much more respect by acknowledging your mistakes and explaining how you plan to take corrective action.
Be consistent
Be consistent:
day to day in temperament
in daily efforts to be a better leader
in both recognition and accountability
in holding yourself accountable, rather than first looking for who is to blame
in every setting: the boardroom, the break room, and at home
Blue Lion Leadership’s core values are integrity, authenticity, and generosity.
These are values we challenge ourselves with and strive for on a daily basis.
Not because they are easy, but because we believe they matter.
Leadership isn’t about pretending to be invincible; it’s about having the courage to be real.
That’s authenticity.
Authenticity takes courage: the kind of courage that builds trust and creates a culture people want to be a part of.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 6th edition
This is our longest newsletter yet – but we believe this topic is so essential, it would have been a disservice to YOU to keep it too short.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the sixth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 10 minutes
This is our longest newsletter yet – but we believe this topic is so essential, it would have been a disservice to YOU to keep it too short.
As we continue with the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™, a framework designed to support your success as a courageous leader, we’re now finally getting to E – Empower.
In our model, courageous leaders who empower others do so by generously choosing to:
Delegate
Train
Inspire
For now, we’ll start with delegation.
In our experience working with leaders in a variety of industries, delegation can be challenging for leaders, at least initially.
A quick question – are you the busiest person on your team?
If you are, you might not be leading.
Why is delegation so challenging?
Here are some reasons (and excuses) we hear:
“I’m too busy to delegate.”
-Also stated as “It’ll take too long to teach someone else how to do it.”
“I know I’ll just be able to do the job right the first time.”
-Also stated as “They won’t be able to do as good a job.”
Ok, first off, there can be a lot of validity to each of those statements, and we’ll address each statement soon.
But first, what we often find the underlying (and in many cases, unsaid) reasons to be:
“I have trouble letting go.”
“I don’t know how to delegate.”
“If I teach them to do my job, they’ll try to take my job.”
“I don’t trust people to get the job done on time or correctly.”
Let’s go back to the excuses.
“I’m too busy to delegate.”
&
“It’ll take too long to teach someone else how to do it.”
We get it. In fact, “I’m too busy” is one of the most common things we hear from leaders, regardless of the circumstance.
But think about it. How many tasks do you perform that people on your team can help you with to free up some of your time?
Let’s take a hypothetical example. Say you complete a task that requires 30 minutes of your time each week.
You decide this task can be delegated to someone on your team, but realize it might take you three hours on training, checking on progress, ensuring they understand the parameters, coaching them, etc.
If you spend three hours towards delegating, that means you could have completed the same task yourself six times.
That upfront investment may seem like a lot (six weeks’ worth of work), but eventually, all of a sudden, you have an extra 30 minutes each week.
“I know I’ll just be able to do the job right the first time.”
&
“They won’t be able to do as good a job.”
Again, we get it.
But remember, your job as a leader is different.
You are no longer responsible for doing the work. You are now responsible for making sure the work gets done through others.
Believe it or not, your team members want to learn new skills.
They want to contribute. They want to help you.
And you have a valid point.
They probably won’t do the job right the first time.
But our guess is, neither did you.
Becoming competent at a skill requires time, resources, coaching, and feedback.
Eventually, as your team members become more competent, the “bench strength” increases.
Leaders don’t just create followers. The best leaders create leaders.
Let’s shift gears to some of the underlying reasons why leaders don’t delegate.
“I have trouble letting go.”
This can be tough.
Especially since you can never actually “completely” let go.
You can always delegate the authority to complete a task, but you can never fully delegate the responsibility to complete a task.
You still have ultimate responsibility.
This is why training, coaching, and feedback are critical to effective delegation.
Communication is key.
One problem we see with this reason is that once leaders delegate, they sit back and wait for the task to be completed on time, within budget, and as “perfectly” as the leader would do it.
But, the leader fails to communicate throughout the process to ensure people are clear on expectations, have the necessary resources, and feel safe to bring problems to the leader.
This is where accountability comes in.
But, the right perspective of accountability is essential.
Accountability should be about finding ways to continually develop others and take ownership of our impact.
Unfortunately, accountability is often framed as “who’s to blame?”
If we’re not regularly communicating with someone who has a delegated assignment, it can be tempting to blame them for not completing it on time and to specification.
If this is the case, it is usually we as leaders who are to blame for not communicating appropriately throughout the process.
“I don’t know how to delegate.”
Knowing how to delegate is a challenge for many leaders.
Think of it as a gradual process.
At first, you must:
Select the right person to delegate to
Provide the necessary training and resources
Explain the expected results in measurable terms
Express confidence in their ability
Discuss expectations around reporting/communication
Ensure understanding
Then, you must coach the person, provide feedback, and offer encouragement as they learn.
Your role evolves from directive to supportive as they build skills and confidence.
“If I teach them to do my job, they’ll try to take my job.”
Unfortunately, too many leaders cling to control of too many tasks due to this exact belief.
And what’s the alternative?
If you don’t train them, then when you leave, no one can take your job?
We work with many people who have served in the military (thank you for your service), and one of the concepts we’ve learned from them is that in combat, you must know the job of your superior officer and your direct report.
This is because lives are on the line.
However, we believe this is applicable to all types of organizations, regardless of whether they operate in the private, public, or non-profit sector.
The more we understand the roles and demands of both our superiors and subordinates, the more effective we become at communicating and operating as an organization.
At least, that’s our belief.
And yes, when we leave a leadership vacancy, there should be a pipeline of competent leaders ready to step into our shoes.
“I don’t trust people to get the job done on time or correctly.”
We recognize that not everyone can handle the tasks you’d like to delegate.
But if you don’t trust someone or see them as competent, ask yourself why.
Have you trained them? Built a relationship?
If you’ve truly done all you can and the trust still isn’t there, it may be time to re-evaluate whether they belong on your team.
So far, we’ve covered some of the challenges around delegation.
Now, let’s go over some of the benefits:
Your time multiplies
Employees become more engaged
Increased “bench strength”
Relationships deepen
Motivation rises
Morale improves
We think these benefits speak for themselves.
But the real question is – will you have the courage to choose delegation?
We want to help you on that journey, so we’ve created this brief one-page PDF as a quick reference guide: Delegation with Courage: A Leader’s Quick-Reference Guide
Every great leader you admire got there by letting go of something first.
Delegation is a courageous choice. This week, choose one task to hand off, support your team member through it, and watch your leadership (and their confidence) grow.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 5th edition
As we continue with theCourageous Leader BLUEprint™, we now shift from the inner work of leadership to how we show up and lead others.
Welcome back leaders!
This is the fifth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: less than 5 minutes
As we continue with the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™, a framework designed to support your success as a courageous leader, we now shift from the inner work of leadership to how we show up and lead others.
The U is for Understand, and in today’s newsletter, we’ll cover a key concept of Understanding: Curiosity.
The willingness to try and understand those we lead is crucial.
Have you ever felt misunderstood by your boss?
This is getting personal, I know. But this self-reflection may help you as you continue in your leadership journey.
Have you ever worked for someone who:
-seemed to barely notice you unless you made a mistake?
-treated you like a number, like a cog in the machine?
-didn’t know your birthday, your anniversary, your kids’ names, or your personal hobbies?
If you worked for a boss like this, it probably didn’t feel great.
You probably weren’t motivated to go out of your way and give discretionary effort.
You probably dreaded Sunday evening because all you could think about was how much you dreaded Monday morning.
We’re just guessing here based on conversations we’ve had with people in all kinds of industries.
Conversely, have you ever worked for someone who:
-made a real effort to get to know you as a person?
-cared about your career path?
-helped you align your personal goals with the organization’s professional mission?
If so, how did that feel?
Again, just guessing here, but it probably felt pretty good.
As humans, we have a fundamental need to feel seen, heard, and respected.
That applies to our workplace environments as well.
Want a quick tip for how to lose trust with your teams and make them feel unseen, unheard, and disrespected? Jump to conclusions! (Please don’t do this)
Courageous leaders recognize when they have an assumption or judgment.
This is human nature: we all make assumptions and judgments.
Our brains are hardwired to make shortcuts so that we’re not overwhelmed with every little decision.
In a very short synopsis, over time, we catalog experiences as either “good” or “bad”, and as we continue to encounter similar experiences, our brain adds to that file. Our brains catalog information so that we can make shortcuts.
This does not happen consciously. And this process is critical to be aware of because this is how our biases form.
There is a well-researched concept related to bias that has real implications for leaders known as fundamental attribution error.
This concept essentially means that we tend to attribute other people’s behavior to their character or intentions and underestimate the context or circumstances.
When leaders are aware of this concept, they are better equipped to recognize signs of their own potential attribution errors.
Rather than jumping to conclusions, courageous leaders:
Slow down
Challenge their own assumptions
Gather all available facts
Listen
Genuinely seek to understand
They ask themselves questions like:
“What could be going on behind the scenes?”
“What changes if I assume positive intent?”
“What is the evidence to support my initial belief?”
“Are there any potential obstacles I may be unaware of?”
“Am I doing (or not doing) something that is contributing to this problem?”
In other words, courageous leaders choose curiosity.
In our BLUEprint, we say that choosing curiosity is the courage to replace judgment with a genuine interest in others.
Curiosity might not be the flashiest leadership trait, but it might just be one of the most powerful ones.
Here’s the real challenge, though: curiosity can be tough!
Some might consider curiosity to be a soft leadership technique. But it’s strategic.
My friend and colleague, Dr. Christian Conte, is an Anger Management Specialist.
Dr. Conte has diffused tense interactions with some of the most violent prisoners in America.
My guess (and hope) is that your employees are not violent.
However, other people’s behaviors can evoke certain emotions in us as leaders. These can include emotions such as frustration and anger.
And, if we let those emotions override our own rational thoughts, we may be less likely to slow things down and have a curiosity mindset.
In his book, Walking Through Anger, Dr. Conte discusses a concept known as “nonattachment.”
Nonattachment is essentially a conscious decision to let go of the need to be right while maintaining control of our emotions and ego.
Nonattachment and curiosity go hand in hand.
It’s one thing to “be curious” while trying to collect evidence to support your assumptions and judgments.
People can tell you’re being disingenuous, and they may give you limited information because they’re scared of getting trapped by their answers.
On the other hand, curiosity combined with nonattachment will help you authentically explore a situation with your employee.
When your focus is on truly understanding a situation, rather than confirming you are 100% in the right, with no room for other perspectives, you create a safer environment for the employee.
And, you grow as a leader because you give yourself permission to learn something you didn’t already know.
Before your next reaction, pause. Ask a question. Choose curiosity.
Choose real curiosity with nonattachment.
Here is a PDF of “6 Curious Questions the Best Leaders Ask”
*I highly recommend reading Dr. Conte’s book, Walking Through Anger. Please note, we do not receive affiliate commissions.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 4th edition
We hope you’ve been able to put the newsletter resources to good use so far!
We have two requests for you to consider:
Welcome!
This is the fourth edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: 5 minutes
We hope you’ve been able to put the newsletter resources to good use so far!
We have two requests for you to consider:
1- If you have had a success story with the “5 Free Ways to Improve Morale” or “Coaching Tips”, we’d love to hear about it.
2- We want to know, what kind of leadership issues, challenges, or opportunities are you dealing with? That way we can create the content that is most relevant for you!
In this edition, we will continue with the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™, a framework designed to support your success as a courageous leader.
Last time, we talked about how B stands for Be Bold.
The L stands for Learn.
Being bold while maintaining a willingness to learn is what makes up the inner work of
leadership.
Leaders who are no longer willing to learn are no longer leaders
That may sound controversial or even harsh at first, but think about it…would you want to work for a boss who refused to learn?
Probably not!
Leaders who refuse to accept that there is always more to learn have an ego problem.
There is undoubtedly a welcome place for ego in leadership. That’s because leaders need to be bold!
However, courageous leaders have a healthy ego – one that is characterized by resilience, self-awareness, self-confidence, emotional regulation, and humility.
Humility is having the courage to be imperfect and admit you don’t know it all.
And humility can be tough. Trust me, I’m the humblest person I know 😂
All kidding aside, here are some considerations to rate your own humility:
You have an accurate self-perception:
Too harsh: “I’m never good enough. Why bother?”
Too proud: “I’m the best, obviously.”
Balanced: “I am competent but can always be growing.”
You are good at receiving feedback:
Too harsh: “You’re right, I’m always messing up.”
Too proud: “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Balanced: “Thank you for sharing that; I’ll consider how I might apply it.”
You are good at talking about yourself:
Too harsh: “I just got lucky.”
Too proud: “Here’s how I nailed it…that’s just how good I am.
Balanced: “I’ve been successful with my approach and would be happy to share what I’ve learned.”
You have a healthy view of relationships and teamwork:
Too harsh: “They’d be better off without me.”
Too proud: “They couldn’t live without me.”
Balanced: “I bring strengths, as do you. Let’s work this out together.”
You understand how to use failure:
Too harsh: “I’m just a failure.”
Too proud: “It was other people’s fault.”
Balanced: “This was not the outcome I wanted, but what can I learn from the experience?”
You know you must keep learning:
Too harsh: “I’m so far behind!”
Too proud: “I know everything.”
Balanced: “I have come a long way, but I’m continuously learning.”
How did you feel about these statements? Did some resonate?
The beautiful part about humility is that you’ll never be perfectly humble, nor will I.
Like leadership, humility is a lifelong journey.
Humility is a mix of confidence about who you are and curiosity about how you could get even better.
Confident, not proud. Curious, not harsh.
Sometimes, we can be overly harsh on ourselves or excessively proud of ourselves. This is human nature.
If you’ve ever felt like you might be too harsh on yourself, or maybe you wonder if your ego is getting in the way, we’ve created this PDF with some ideas that may help:
“8 Ways to Practice Humility” [Download it here]
*Blue Lion Leadership is a Dallas-based distributor of Coaching for Improved Performance and Results
Since humility is one of the building blocks of emotional intelligence, it makes sense to take a closer look at how emotions show up in the workplace.
Did you know? I’m is a certified GENOS Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, and we have a FREE tool that can help identify the emotional climate in your organization.
GENOS is a leading Emotional Intelligence research organization based in Australia with certified practitioners all over the world.
It was a professional highlight to become certified because emotional intelligence is a foundation of healthy workplace cultures.
At GENOS, they “call our work game-changing for business, and life-changing for people.”
When I first entered the workforce, it felt like there was an unwritten rule that emotions were not welcome.
The truth is, it is completely normal to experience a wide range of both pleasant and unpleasant feelings at work.
But! According to research, the employees at the most productive workplaces collectively
experience more pleasant emotions and less unpleasant emotions.
Curious how your employees are feeling?
It could be worthwhile to find out.
Remember from our last newsletter that half of the workforce is stressed and actively looking for a new job, and about 70% is disengaged (Gallup).
Our guess is that stressed, disengaged employees who are looking for a new job are probably experiencing more unpleasant emotions than pleasant ones.
Here’s some great news: GENOS provides its practitioners with a free assessment tool called the Emotional Culture Index.
It’s simple for us to get started, and the process includes three easy steps:
We create a link with customized demographics for you to send to your employees
Employees can take the survey in less than five minutes
We schedule a time to debrief your results
From there, if you are satisfied with the results, that is awesome!
If you see an area for potential improvement and would like to know how our emotional
intelligence assessments or programs might help, we’d be glad to discuss.
Either way, we’ll be cheering you and your organization on to
have the emotionally intelligent culture people want to work in.
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 3rd edition
In our last newsletter, we introduced theCourageous Leader BLUEprint™.
It’s much more than the name of this newsletter series – it’s your framework for courageous leadership.
Welcome!
This is the third edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: 5 minutes
In our last newsletter, we introduced the Courageous Leader BLUEprint™.
It’s much more than the name of this newsletter series – it’s your framework for courageous leadership.
The “B” stands for Be Bold.
In order to Be Bold, we must choose integrity.
This is the courage to do what’s right, even when it’s costly.
Unfortunately, too many leaders face external threats to their integrity, such as:
Pressures from the organization to cut ethical corners or risk not being seen as a “team player”
Systems that reward short-term wins over long-term values
Toxic cultures that lack ethical accountability
Leaders can also face internal threats to their integrity:
Fear of losing status, income, or approval
Ego or insecurity – the desire to be in control, be liked, or appear successful
Rationalization…“everyone is doing it” or “it’s not that big of a deal”
Fatigue – when we’re tired or burned out, sometimes it seems easier to take the quick win
When leaders succumb to external or internal threats, the long-term cost is a loss of the trust they’ve built and their reputation.
There may be short-term costs for choosing integrity.
In the short term, they may lose status, relationships, or, in extreme cases, even their job.
Sometimes, these are very difficult choices.
However, at Blue Lion Leadership, we believe in integrity so much that it is one of our three core values.
As leaders, our character is always being evaluated.
It’s important to remember that the people we lead are always watching what we do. They pay much more attention to what we say and do than we sometimes give them credit for.
The tip here is simple, but not always easy:
Do what you say you will do. And always do the right thing.
One practical way to Be Bold as a leader and lead with integrity is to intentionally coach the people you lead.
Believe it or not, many leaders fail to recognize coaching opportunities – even though they are everywhere!
Some wait until the mandatory annual performance evaluation to discuss goals and progress—this is not leadership. Really, it’s not even good management.
As a leader, you are responsible for helping your team members continuously grow.
In the book “Drive”, Daniel Pink popularized the prevailing research around motivation, noting that beyond adequate compensation, intrinsically motivated people have three key needs:
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose
As a coach, you can help people develop autonomy by empowering them to use their own critical thinking skills.
For example, when your team members come to you looking for an answer, do you just give them the answer, or do you ask questions like:
“How might you approach this?”
“What could be the potential alternatives?”
And my personal favorite – “If you knew the right answer, what would it be?”
When it comes to mastery, as a leader, it’s a good reminder that you are responsible for helping your team members continuously build their skills.
Everyone has a gap between where they currently are skill-wise and where they could be (including you).
That gap is called potential.
And one of your roles as a leader is to help your team members reach their potential.
The great thing about potential is it isn’t a final destination. The process is continuous.
In our popular program Coaching for Improved Performance and Results*, one of my favorite quotes is: “A coach is someone who takes people to a level they did not think they could get to on their own.”
Do you know what skills your team members need to develop? What skills they want to develop?
When was the last time you asked them?
This could be as simple as “What is one area you’d like to strengthen?”
What would it look like to ask one of your team members today?
And last, but not least, purpose. As a coach, you can help your team members realize how their work connects to the larger mission of the organization.
You can ask them for their input on how and why what they do matters.
For example:
“How does this work align with your values?”
“How do you feel like you’re contributing to our mission?”
Coaching is not always about giving advice. It’s about asking the right questions.
For practical ideas, check out this PDF:
“The Courageous Leader Coaching Tips” [Download it here]
*Blue Lion Leadership is a Dallas-based distributor of Coaching for Improved Performance and Results
If you want to be the first to receive the newsletter before we publish it, subscribe here
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 2nd edition
The Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ isn’t just the name of our newsletter – it’s the framework we share to help bosses become courageous leaders.
We believe that Courageous Leadership Matters now more than ever.
Welcome!
This is the second edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: 5 minutes
The Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ isn’t just the name of our newsletter – it’s the framework we share to help bosses become courageous leaders.
We believe that Courageous Leadership Matters now more than ever.
Why?!
According to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workforce, in the US and Canada:
Half of the workforce is actively looking for a new job, including managers
Only about 30% of employees are actively engaged, costing organizations money
Half of the workforce reports being stressed
Managers are even more stressed than employees
Part of the problem is that most organizations do not take (adequate) steps to develop their managers.
However, the good news is that leadership can be learned, and most bosses genuinely want to be good leaders.
And, once bosses have been trained in the fundamentals (which we also help with), they can then become the type of courageous leaders people actually want to follow
For practical ideas, check out this PDF:
“The Courageous Leader BLUEprint™” [Download it here]
Disclaimer: Living out this framework may result in some side effects for managers and individual contributors, such as higher retention and increased discretionary efforts. Do not use in moderation, as regular use can result in less irritation, fewer headaches, and improved morale.
At Blue Lion Leadership, we subscribe to the idea that “all leaders are readers”, a quote attributed to and claimed by many, but most likely originally spoken by Harry Truman.
With over 50,000 leadership books to choose from, where does someone even begin?
And who has time for a long, boring book, anyway?
Don’t worry, we’ve got some great suggestions for books that take the average reader less than four hours.
Three leadership books:
It’s Your Ship (Abrashoff)
Lincoln on Leadership (Phillips)
Make Your Bed (McRaven)
Three leadership parables:
The Way of the Shepherd (Leman & Pentak)
The One Minute Manager (Blanchard & Johnson)
The Go-Giver (Burg & Mann)
For additional book suggestions, most of which are much longer – but not boring – visit our website at www.bluelionleadership.com/reading-list
(We do not receive any affiliate commissions for these book suggestions)
One of the things we consistently hear from leaders is that they are frustrated with team members who are not performing the way leaders want them to.
If this is the case for you, we’d like to share some insights from one of our popular programs: Coaching for Improved Performance and Results*
First, here are some questions to ask yourself:
Do I know what I want them to do?
Do they know WHAT I want them to do?
Do they know WHY I want them to do it?
Do they know HOW to do it?
Are there any organizational barriers preventing them from doing it?
Are they receiving regular, appropriate feedback from me?
Do they want to do it?
If you answered “no” or “maybe” to any of the above questions, that’s a great place to start!
Some possible solutions:
Ensure sufficient communication
(A lack of communication or poor communication is where most problems start)
Ensure clarity in communication
Provide adequate training
Set specific, measurable goals
Remove organizational barriers, where possible
Look for opportunities to coach
Help team members understand the larger purpose of their work
Are any of these a silver bullet? No!
But if you take a moment to do this brief inventory and then take intentional action, you’ll be much further along than most leaders.
*Blue Lion Leadership is a Dallas-based distributor of Coaching for Improved Performance and Results
Thanks again for continuing on this journey with us.
If you want to be the first to receive the newsletter before we publish it, subscribe here
Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ – 1st edition
Welcome!
This is the first edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: 5 minutes
Welcome!
This is the first edition of our Courageous Leader BLUEprint™ newsletter.
Every three weeks, you’ll get quick, thoughtful leadership insights without the fluff.
Read time: 5 minutes
Before we get too far, a brief introduction:
Hi, I’m Charles! After serving as a police sergeant, I founded Blue Lion Leadership, an organization that helps bosses become leaders – and helps good leaders get even better.
My mission is simple – help leaders:
Be the kind of leaders people want to follow
Deliver organizational results with less stress
Decrease costly, avoidable workplace casualties
3 fun facts about me you may not know:
I play classical guitar
I’m a devoted husband and cat dad
I prefer long walks in museums over long walks on the beach
To kick things off, we’re sharing a resource: 5 Free Ways to Improve Morale.
The most courageous leaders we know begin with self-reflection.
I learned this the hard way.
Whenever I brought a problem to one of my most endeared mentors, he would always begin by asking me, " How are you contributing to this problem?”
What?!
But the truth was, there was ALWAYS something I could do better. This is what accountability as a leader really is: what is within your control to improve the situation?
It was a hard truth, and a lesson I carry with me to this day.
Improving employee morale is something you can absolutely influence.
For practical ideas, check out this PDF:
“5 Free Ways to Improve Morale” [Download it here]
A word of caution: when used appropriately, it can pay huge dividends.
Leaders, to the employees who report directly to you, YOU are the culture of the organization.
They may or may not know the mission statement, but that’s not what they talk about on the weekends with their family and friends. They talk about how the workplace culture (that’s you) makes them feel.
William Arthur Ward said:
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
Criticize me, and I may not like you.
Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”
Who is someone on your team that needs a word of encouragement from you today?
Thanks again for being part of this with us.
If you want to be the first to receive the newsletter before we publish it, subscribe here