The storm below the calm waters Details in this case have been changed to protect the privacy of everyone involved. What remains true is the lesson. A few years ago, I was asked to manage a high stakes complaint. A patient had gone in for a surgery classified as low risk. He did not come home. His wife called the hospital afterwards, and by every measure the frontline staff could see, the call went well. Her voice was steady. She asked measured questions. She thanked the staff for their time....

My leadership journey began over a decade ago. As a seasoned mediator, my natural inclination has always been to seek win-win solutions and protect relationships. However, one day, I faced a tough decision: terminating a team member due to performance. I felt deeply conflicted. My empathetic nature wanted to spare her feelings, but my objective duty as a leader required decisive action for the overall team and standard of work. After careful thought, I delivered the message with honesty and...

I thought I had a good handle on what "hard leadership" looked like. I am leading a team of specialists across marketing, content creation and tech these couple of years. I want to be honest about this, because I think honesty is where real thought leadership begins — not in the polished LinkedIn takeaway, but in the messy middle of actually doing the work. Leading a cross-functional team has been, without question, the hardest leadership challenge I've faced. And the reason surprised me: it...