Communication is Everything
At the end of every quarter I sit down with my team members for individual conversations. And this quarter, like many before it, the through line was the same.
Communication.
Not effort. Not skill. Not the wrong seat. The thing standing between these leaders and what they wanted most was how they were or were not communicating. And as we head into the next quarter, that is exactly what we are working on.
The Skills That Got You Here Won't Get You There
There is a certain kind of leader who gets chosen for the Integrator role and it usually looks like this.
They are the person who gets things done. Processes are tight. Systems are built. If you need something organized, executed, or moved from point A to point B with precision, they are your person. They are reliable, capable, and have probably been outperforming their role for a while. That is exactly why they get chosen.
The Hardest Thing to Admit as a Leader Is That You're the Problem
I have had some version of this conversation more than ten times. With new team leads. With seasoned executives. With visionaries who have been building companies for decades.
It usually starts the same way.
Your Team Can't Grow If You Won't Let Go of the Vine
How much are you actually willing to let your team grow? Because it's more uncomfortable than most leaders expect.
Growing people means being explicit. It means sitting down with someone a guardrails conversations.
I Used to Avoid Hard Conversations Too
Let me tell you something that might surprise you coming from someone who coaches leaders on hard conversations. I was a conflict avoider for a huge portion of my adult life.