Why hybrid team meetings are a leadership failure

As leaders, we’re often conditioned to have the answers — to fix, to decide, to lead. But real strength comes from knowing when to ask for help. It’s not a weakness; it’s a form of trust. When we ask for help, we invite collaboration, empower others, and remind our teams that leadership is not about carrying the load alone — it’s about ensuring the mission succeeds together. Asking for help builds connection, not dependency. It shows humility, courage, and respect for the expertise around us.

Leadership Is Quiet in the Right Moments 🔹 Leadership is not always loud. It doesn’t always stand in front of the room giving speeches. Sometimes, true leadership is quiet. It shows up in how someone listens… …how they absorb pressure without passing it on… …how they let others speak first — and mean it. → Great leaders know when silence is more powerful than direction. → They don’t need to be the voice of every meeting — just the anchor of every decision. ⚡ Leadership is not about always being heard. It’s about making others feel safe to speak.

Leadership doesn’t come with a playbook. The toughest challenges often happen in real time, with no clear answer - and no one you can fully confide in. That’s why we’re introducing a new format for Blend members: The Leadership Circle. It’s a confidential, member-led conversation where leaders bring their real challenges to the table and receive reflection, insight, and advice from peers who get it. Not in theory - but because they’ve faced it too. What makes this powerful is the trust. The willingness to share what’s really going on, to listen deeply, and to help each other see what we can’t always see ourselves. Whether you’re voicing your own dilemma or listening to another’s, you leave with something rare in leadership: Clarity. Perspective. Connection. Because sometimes, the move forward isn’t found in a book or a strategy deck, it’s sparked by another leader’s story. This is the kind of support that only happens inside Blend.

Sometimes executives believe that great leaders need to have a steely resolve and an unstoppable drive to implement initiatives and strategies to be successful. But the best leaders know their strengths, their limitations, and most of all they can prioritize and delegate. This is an excellent HBR article which highlights beliefs buried in all our minds that dispute effective leadership. #management #leadership #inspiration

Most leaders think they need the whole map before they move. When I stepped into my first executive role, I kept waiting for the clarity to arrive. The plan. The process. The permission. But leadership rarely gives you that. You create clarity in brushstrokes — one conversation, one decision, one messy first draft at a time. If you’re waiting until you have every answer, you’ll wait forever. Confidence isn’t born from certainty — it’s built from motion. I share leadership tools like this every Monday in The Ember Edit. (link in comments)

🧭 The Work of Being a Leader | Notes from the Field: Reflection & Renewal [Part 3 of 52] Leadership as a Conversation Depending upon the environment we create, leadership can look differently. I’ve been in rooms where leadership looked like clear directives. I’ve also been in rooms where leadership meant being quiet long enough for others to find their voice. Sometimes, the most impactful thing we can offer as leaders is space. When I’m doing it well, I’m paying more attention to what’s happening between people than to what any one person is saying. That space — the quality of it — tells me everything I need to know about how trust is working. How courage is working. How leadership is working. If leadership is a conversation, then the real question is: 🔵What kind of space are we creating with our presence?

You can't lead without leaving the conference room; real leadership happens where the work gets done. The most important conversations in your organization aren't happening in boardrooms—they're happening on the factory floor, in the field, wherever your people are doing the actual work. That's where you learn what's really going on. That's where you see the challenges your team faces every day. That's where you build the relationships that make leadership possible. Leadership requires presence. It requires showing up, rolling up your sleeves, and being part of the solution. If you're not regularly spending time where the work happens, you're not leading—you're just guessing about what leadership looks like from a distance.

Leaders don't just have all the answers - they ask powerful questions. Only 10-15% of people are truly self-aware, despite most believing they are. Meetings are where leadership potential shines brightest. I struggled to find my leadership voice before learning to amplify others. Leadership isn't about a title - it's about behaviors that inspire and elevate those around you.

There’s a misconception that facilitation means stepping back. But great facilitators don’t disappear. They hold the space. They make deliberate decisions about timing, flow, and how the room works.   If you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying the weight of every meeting, facilitative leadership offers a way forward. Not by doing less but by leading with intention, structure, and shared ownership.   That’s not soft. That’s strategic. And the strongest leaders know the difference.

How do we influence without authority? What steps can we take to create change if we don't have positional power? How do we effectively "manage up" and impact leadership decision-making? I shared the answers to these common workplace dilemmas in my recent lecture at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Based on my recent research, I explained strategies for success for "small l leaders" and how they can move the needle despite complex workplace dynamics. Excited to share more in the future on this impactful topic!