My husband has been a pilot for decades, yet he still goes back to training a couple of times a year. If the aviation industry recognizes that even its most experienced professionals need ongoing training, why do so many businesses take a different approach?

Remember how ambitious you were in January? How’s that working out for you? With just two months left in 2026, there’s still time to make meaningful progress. Here are three ways to finish strong without running yourself into the ground.

Budget season is not quite “The Hunger Games,” but when resources are limited and everyone has competing priorities, things can get interesting. The problem isn’t disagreement. It’s what happens when disagreement becomes a competition instead of a conversation.

There’s a point in every semester when the syllabus starts to look less like a plan and more like a threat. Workplaces have their own version of that moment too. That’s when leadership matters most.

Nobody likes to be called “resistant to change,” especially when we have perfectly good reasons for not liking the change. That distinction matters for leaders. When someone pushes back, it’s tempting to explain harder, defend the decision, or convince them why they’re wrong. Before you start convincing, get curious.

Think about the best boss you ever had. Chances are that you remember less about what they accomplished and more about what they helped you accomplish. The best leaders don’t just build successful teams. They build people who go on to lead others.

If everything is a priority, is anything actually a priority? We’ve gotten very good at labeling everything important, urgent, and preferably due yesterday. But when too many things compete for the same time and attention, leadership requires something harder than adding another item to the list: choosing what comes first.

We want people to take ownership. Speak up when something is going wrong. Ask for help before a small problem becomes a big one. But none of this happens in a vacuum. One of the things teaching public speaking has reinforced for me is how much the environment matters. When people feel they have room to learn, they are much more willing to stretch, try, and improve.

Ten years after Hurricane Matthew, I still think about what that experience taught me about leadership. When circumstances are uncertain and the stakes are high, the way leaders show up can shape everything that follows. Presence matters most under pressure.

Remember the feeling at the beginning of a new school year? New schedule. New planner. New expectations. A fresh chance to do things differently. Businesses do not always get those natural resets, but maybe they should.

When I teach group fitness classes, people occasionally go left when I say right, miss a step entirely, or enthusiastically add a move I never taught. When I first started teaching, it drove me crazy when people didn’t follow exactly what I was doing. Just before my head would explode, I would remember that I can’t control what they actually do. I can only control what I do and trust that they will follow…eventually.

Feedback shouldn’t be a verdict on what someone did wrong. It should be useful information that helps them figure out what to do next and move forward. In this post, I share three ways to make feedback a tool for progress instead of something people dread.

I have a confession to make. I once got kicked out of a book club. Yes, a BOOK CLUB. I can laugh about it now. At the time? Not so much. That incredibly awkward experience reminded me something about leadership that I’ve never forgotten: Avoiding a difficult conversation doesn’t make the problem—or the discomfort—go away. It usually makes both worse. Here’s what my unexpected literary expulsion reminded me about managing performance.

Assumptions make leadership easier—until they make it wrong. Curiosity helps us understand what people actually need, what motivates them, and what success looks like from their perspective.

The best leaders don’t succeed because every plan goes exactly as expected. They succeed because they know when to adapt, make smart adjustments, and keep moving toward the goal. Here’s why mid-course corrections are one of the most underrated leadership skills.

Constant change can create exciting opportunities and leave even the most adaptable employees exhausted. Strong leaders help their teams regain clarity, focus, and a sense of stability when the next new priority arrives.

A slower season should not mean stalled progress. Leaders can use quieter periods to set short-term goals, develop their teams, and prepare for what comes next, without slowing the “mo.”

There is a fine line between being a helpful, engaged leader and becoming the person who notices every crooked paperclip. See how The Intern, a favorite line from This Is Spinal Tap, and a little leadership reality can motivate people without micromanaging them.

July 2 is Halfway Day, which makes it a perfect time to pause, review your goals, and decide what deserves your attention for the rest of the year. I did my own midyear check-in and realized I could use your help with one of my biggest goals for 2026: turning my Guiding Leader concept into a book. I would love to know your top three questions about how to communicate with clarity and lead with confidence.

One of the best parts about traveling to speak is having the opportunity to explore places I’ve always wanted to visit. While in South Dakota to present a leadership workshop for the Independent Insurance Agents of South Dakota, I arrived a day early and finally crossed Mount Rushmore off my bucket list. Here’s what one of America’s most iconic landmarks taught me about leadership.