Leadership Isn’t About Being in Charge — It’s About What People Feel Around You
Most people think leadership is about being in charge. It’s not. It’s about being responsible for the energy in the room. I’ve seen incredibly talented teams struggle, not because they lacked skill, but because the environment felt heavy. Unclear expectations. No trust. No room to grow.
I’ve also seen average teams do extraordinary things because of one difference:
They felt safe to try.
They felt safe to grow.
And that doesn’t come from process. It comes from leadership behavior.
Leadership Shows Up in Small Moments
It’s not the big speeches. It’s not the title on the door. It’s in the everyday moments:
- How you respond when someone makes a mistake
- Whether you give credit away or keep it
- If people feel smaller or bigger after talking to you
- Whether your presence creates pressure or possibility
That’s leadership. Titles don’t create that. Behavior does.
Have You Ever Had a Manager Who Truly Put You First?
Have you ever worked for a manager that truly put you first? I have. I’ve worked for many managers in my career. I’ve also been a manager myself. And one thing I learned from the great leaders I had is that they didn’t begin with, “How can I help you close a deal?” or “Let’s review that MBR.”
They started somewhere else. They started with me. They took the time to get to know me — not just what I did, but who I was. They looked for my strengths before my gaps. They paid attention to what came naturally to me, what energized me, what made me different.
They helped me see my superpowers before I knew how to name them myself. And then they built on them. That’s where real leadership begins.
I didn’t wake up one day and decide, “I’m a people builder.” That’s something I learned over time — because someone else saw it in me first. I knew people felt comfortable around me, but I never fully understood why.
A leader helped me see it. Helped me understand it. Helped me lean into it. That changed everything. Because leadership isn’t about fitting people into roles. It’s about helping people grow into who they already are — just more fully.
The Leaders Who Leave a Mark
The leaders who stay with us aren’t always the most impressive on paper.
They’re the ones people describe like this years later:
“Working with them made me better.”
That’s the real legacy.
Because leadership isn’t about control.
It’s about creating environments where people expand — not shrink.
And when people grow, teams grow. When teams grow, results follow. But it always starts with the human experience first.
That’s the job.