Leadership practice snapshot

In the past few months, when something frustrated me in a meeting, I paused long enough to notice what I was about to say before I said it.

When I got feedback that made me defensive, I named that out loud ("I notice I want to argue with this") instead of arguing or going quiet.

I noticed when I was softening a hard message so much that the other person might not have realized it was hard news.

I followed through on a commitment I made to someone even after it became inconvenient for me.

I asked someone how a decision of mine actually landed for them, instead of assuming I already knew.

When a standard wasn't met, I named the specific gap rather than describing a vague overall impression.

Before assuming someone didn't care about a missed commitment, I asked what made it hard to keep.

Before finalizing a decision, I actively invited a view that disagreed with where I was leaning.

After a hard conversation, I followed up later to see how the other person was actually doing.

When I agreed on a change with someone, I set a specific date to check whether it actually happened.

Before concluding someone lacked a skill, I checked whether the process or tools made the task harder than it needed to be.

When the same problem kept recurring on a team, I asked whether it was actually a role- or process-design problem, not a person problem.

I made it explicit who actually had the authority to decide something, rather than letting it default to whoever was loudest.

Before holding someone accountable for a result, I checked whether they actually had the authority and resources to deliver it.

When a policy or process kept producing the same complaint, I revisited the policy instead of re-explaining it again.