The worst leaders I’ve worked under all had one thing in common: they thought leadership meant control. The best ones? They listened. They trusted. They made space for good people to do their best work. If you’ve ever rebuilt a team after toxic leadership, you know how powerful trust can be. That’s the kind of culture I’ve always tried to build - accountable, open, and human. It works. Every time.

“You can’t skate faster than a pass.” That was my first hockey coach’s advice. At 8 years old, I didn’t realize it would become a leadership lesson. The point was simple. If you try to carry the puck by yourself, you’ll tire out and slow the game. If you pass, you move faster as a team. Years later, running a business, I still think about that line. Founders who try to do everything themselves burn out. Leaders who pass the puck - delegate, trust, empower - win more often. It’s a simple truth. You’ll never outskate the power of a team.

I think of myself as a strong leader. But I'm also very willing to be led. When I worked at the San Francisco DA's office, elected officials changed. Leadership styles shifted. I learned that being effective meant being adaptable—asserting my own leadership while remaining open to being guided by others. Ego-driven leaders demand control. Adaptive leaders earn trust. The best leaders I've worked with could lead decisively and follow gracefully. They didn't see it as a weakness. They saw it as a strategy. Here's the truth: if you can't take direction, you can't build a team. If you can't listen, you can't learn. And if you can't follow, you'll never truly understand what it takes to lead. Have you ever learned more from following than from leading?

Build Your Team and Then Trust Them to Get On With It. This embodies the essence of empowering leadership— This principle operates in two phases: first, deliberately recruiting the right people, setting clear expectations, and providing proper resources and psychological safety; second, stepping back and letting them work autonomously. Trusting your team means resisting micromanagement, tolerating productive failures as learning opportunities, and focusing on outcomes rather than dictating methods. When leaders successfully balance these elements, team members grow in confidence, innovation flourishes, and engagement soars. This doesn't mean abandoning your team—effective leaders remain available for guidance and support—but rather finding that critical space between involvement and interference. The magic of this approach is that by genuinely trusting others to get on with it, you multiply your impact far beyond what you could accomplish alone.

If your team cannot function without you, Then you’re not a leader you’re a (liability) True leadership is the ability To build a team that keeps moving forward Even in your absence with the same energy, ownership, and confidence. A leader’s real success is reflected Not only when their presence inspires, but also when their absence doesn’t stop the system. Because leadership isn’t about holding all the power It’s about empowering others to hold their own

Stop trying to be the smartest person. That’s not leadership, that’s insecurity. Leaders who think they must know it all usually end up blocking the best ideas in the room. Your team has better angles. They see what you can’t. They hold the answers you’re chasing. Your job isn’t to outthink them. It’s to bring out their best. Ask. Listen. Empower. That’s how you win big: Not by leading every move, but by letting the right minds move with you.

Everything Starts With You Leadership advice usually focuses outward. How to motivate your team. How to communicate vision. How to make better decisions. But this weekend reminded me of something most people skip: You can't lead others if you're not leading yourself first. Your confidence - or lack of it - shows up in every conversation. Your clarity defines how your team understands their work. Your consistency sets the standard for what's acceptable. You don't have to tell people what you believe. They see it in how you show up. Three things I'm holding myself to: Clarity on what matters (and what doesn't) Consistency in executing on those things Accountability to the standard I've set Not because it sounds good. Because if I'm not doing this for myself, I can't expect it from anyone else. The teams and clients who trust you aren't just buying your technical skills. They're buying your ability to lead through uncertainty. That starts with whether you can lead yourself through it first.

There are 6 Keys to a Winning Team and as you install each and every Key, the Management Systems (competency and productivity), the Leadership Systems (passion and focus) and your team grows over time you will have more and more trust in their ability to handle it all on their own. It starts with you and Strong Leadership, from the Leadership Framework to your leadership skills and then leadership personality style, you get to build the team your way. Want to learn more? Let’s chat!

It’s easy to lead with a plan. Harder to lead with an open heart. Vulnerability isn’t about oversharing, it’s about being real enough to be human. We often think leadership means having it all figured out, holding the vision, guiding the team, staying strong no matter what. When a leader admits, “I don’t have all the answers,” it doesn’t create doubt, it creates trust. Because people don’t follow perfection. They follow authenticity.