When we were growing up, our mom had a daily ritual: every afternoon, she sat in her chair, put her feet up, and read a book. At the time, I thought she was just taking a break. Now I realize she was teaching my sisters and me one of the simplest lessons in leadership: burnout prevention starts before exhaustion.

Long before “psychological safety” became a leadership buzzword, yogis and early Christians were already teaching the same principle: people contribute more when they feel safe and valued. When the pressure is on, does your team feel safe enough to ask questions, admit mistakes, and tell the truth?

Letting kids tie their shoes is where patience goes to be tested. It’s also a perfect lesson in leadership: If you always jump in and do it yourself, you may get out the door faster—but you’ll be tying shoes until college.

Nothing motivates you to listen to feedback quite like the possibility of being mauled by a bear. One of the best lessons I ever learned about feedback came while backpacking as a Girl Scout in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Quick question: What’s the worst kind of boss you’ve experienced? I asked this in my newsletter and the responses were…painfully specific. There’s a pattern here, and it says a lot about how many leaders are still operating in “hero” mode. Here’s what I’m seeing—and why it’s not working.

Ever been in a meeting where the tension rises so fast you start wondering…is this still a team meeting or the opening scene of Fight Club? Conflict isn’t the problem. Avoiding it, or mishandling it, is. Here’s how to handle conflict without turning it into a full-contact sport.

The last few weeks of a semester have a way of turning everything up—the pressure, the pace, and the number of things competing for attention. Watching my students navigate these last few weeks at Georgia Southern reminded me of something simple but powerful: busy seasons don’t create leadership habits—they reveal them.

It would have been easy to make a quick decision. But one question changed everything. This is a friendly reminder that listening is one of the most strategic things a leader can do.

Change is hard because it can be uncomfortable. The real challenge for leaders is not just setting direction, it’s managing the emotion that comes with it.

Most conversations don’t break down because of what’s said—they break down because people aren’t aligned on what kind of conversation they’re having. This simple adjustment fixes that.

AI is creating a lot of noise—and even more uncertainty—at work right now. Here is how to lead your team with clarity and confidence when you don’t have all the answers.

One of my first big assignments on Capitol Hill was researching and writing a response to a constituent letter—back in the prehistoric era before Google. Looking back, it was a leadership lesson on the difference between delegating and dumping.

Every January we make extremely confident predictions about our future selves. By now, many of those predictions have already proven…optimistic. It’s a perfect example of the Overconfidence Trap—and it affects leadership decisions more than we realize.

It’s easy to spend an entire quarter being productive…and still not move forward. Here is a quick reminder from the Cheshire Cat on why leaders must look up from the to-do list long enough to choose a direction.

Empathy at work is often misunderstood. Too many people think having empathy means being nice. It’s not. It is about helping people get better. Here is a simple way to balance care and accountability without lowering standards.

Leaders don’t burn out from the big decisions. They burn out from the hundreds of small ones that never should have needed their attention in the first place. Here’s how to reduce decision fatigue so you can focus on the choices that actually require leadership.

If you’ve ever avoided a conversation because you imagined it ending in awkward silence or an HR meeting with uncomfortable folding chairs, you’re not alone. Here’s a practical framework to help you stop avoiding the conversation and start leading it.

I restarted Pilates once a week and learned (yet again) that consistency is humbling, uncomfortable, and wildly effective. This post is about why real success isn’t flashy—and why doing the work regularly beats waiting for motivation every time.

Patience has never been my strong suit. Leadership made it non-negotiable. I’ve learned—sometimes the hard way—that not every decision deserves an immediate response. Some require space, perspective, and restraint. This post is about what patience has taught me as a leader—and why slowing down might be the most strategic move you can make.

I handed my GSU public speaking students a seven-page syllabus on day one…and lived to tell the tale. Clear expectations don’t scare people—they empower them. The same lesson applies far beyond the classroom.