When you don’t agree with someone on your team—or even worse, with another leader or upper management—it is a real challenge. You’ve been a servant leader, putting your team’s needs first and working hard to create a positive, collaborative culture. You care about what your team members think. You listen to their ideas. And honestly, most of the time, it works. Most of the time, you’re all on the same page, or at least close enough to make things work. But then, out of nowhere, you hit a wall. You don’t agree with a key person on something that really matters, and it’s not some small difference of opinion. Nope,…

Set expectations with your team—oh, the struggle! If you’re a leader who’s been at it for a while, especially if you lean towards servant leadership, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You want to empower your team, not micromanage. You want to create an environment where people feel trusted, motivated, and ready to step up. But here’s the rub: setting expectations in a way that actually sticks can be a real challenge. You probably don’t want to come across as overly controlling, but you also don’t want to be so vague that everyone’s left guessing. How many times have you thought you were clear, only to realize that somehow,…

Let’s be real—when was the last time you thought about taking a break? And I’m not talking about a quick coffee run between meetings or sneaking in a few minutes of scrolling through TikTok. I mean a real break. The kind where you really step away, recharge, and let yourself breathe. If you can’t remember the last time you did that, you’re definitely not alone. You’re juggling a million tasks—emails are piling up, team members are knocking on your door every five minutes, and there’s yet another “urgent” deadline that just landed in your lap. You’re running on coffee, pushing through back-to-back meetings, and convincing yourself that you’ll rest “once…

Have you ever heard that embracing uncomfortable situations is the mark of a true leader? I was once told this a long time before I became a leader. I did not know exactly what it meant then. I assumed it meant having to fire someone, getting scolded for every small mistake in my department, or even having to do the scolding! So what did it mean? All that and more. Leadership is good, but it is also uncomfortable. You are bound to find yourself in situations where you’d rather be the guy who’s not even in the building. But sadly, you will be. But I did not lie in the…

When I first became a leader in a workplace, I thought I would never have to worry about getting fired. The money and opportunity were good, but I was happier about job security. My happiness quickly dipped when I had a conversation with my mentor months later. The company was not doing too well, and I had the privilege and burden of knowing. It was beyond our control; the market just wasn’t what it used to be. I feared I would get a significant pay cut, so I went to my mentor for advice on how to bear it when it finally happened. He said, ‘When companies are not doing…

Have you ever heard your boss apologize? Yeah, for the longest time, neither did I. The thought of whether a superior should apologize did not come to mind until I got to a leadership position. And when it did, I had some mixed feelings. Many of the people who led me never apologized for anything. I mean, they could do something as horrible as erasing data on a new project, but the word ‘sorry’ would never cross their minds or mouths! And for some reason, we just accepted it. Society has proven to be totally chill with people in leadership positions, never apologizing for their mistakes, from presidents to CEOs…

Healthy competition was not something I thought could exist for the longest time. As someone who sadly went to a school system where missing two marks on a test was punished rather than rewarded, I never liked any form of competition. In school, it literally pinned us against each other. And just when I thought things could not get worse, I got a job! And I learned very quickly that NOBODY at work is your friend. It was horrible! After that, you could not convince me that competition was good. What do you mean it can bring out the best in people? If what I saw was the best, then…

Often, it sounds impossible to improve loyalty among people who are not in leadership positions. Many employees are forthcoming about being in it for their own benefit, ready to jump at the next opportunity. I remember being just another worker, and loyalty to my leader and company was not even in my vocabulary. I saw it as a job, but I never once considered it to be a career, which is the mindset of a lot of people. But it’s understandable. Working under leaders or in companies that make you feel replaceable is often not the way to cultivate loyalty.  If your team feels replaceable, unappreciated, and treated more like…

The best leaders have many good qualities, follow certain rules, and always make connections with those they are leading. It’s hard to imagine that one of the rules leaders must follow is allowing themselves to be led. Okay, so maybe it is not a rule, but it definitely improves the quality of leadership you offer. But aren’t leaders always supposed to be leading? How can they get anything done if they are waiting for others to show them the way? Well, ‘being led’ in this context does not mean sitting around and waiting for others to come up with direction and ideas. You are still a leader, but you are…