Leading By Example

In 2011, the Amazon Appstore failed on launch and Jeff Bezos was furious. It was my fault, and I handled one aspect of recovery so poorly that one of my engineers quit. I still regret it 14 years later. Please learn from my mistake. The main lesson is that when you are leading through a crisis, it can feel like it is all about you. It isn’t. It is about: 1) Solving the problem 2) Guiding your team through it The product issue was that there were some pretty simple bugs, and we solved those problem well enough that I was eventually promoted. Where I failed was in guiding my team through the crisis. My leadership miss was that I neglected to encourage and support the engineer who had written the bad code. He did a great job stepping up and supporting the effort to fix the problem, but shortly afterward, he resigned. During the crisis, I failed to make clear to him that we did not blame him for the launch failure despite the bugs. I imagine that left room for him to think we blamed him or that he didn’t belong. It is also possible that others did blame him directly and that I was too caught up in the crisis to realize it. Both instances were my responsibility as the leader of the team. His resignation taught me a valuable lesson about leading through a crisis: No matter how bad the situation is, your team must be your first priority. If you make them feel safe, they will move heaven and earth to fix the problem. If you don’t, they may still fix the problem, but the team itself will never be the same. As a leader, here is how you can give them what they need: 1) Take the blame and do not allow others to be blamed. In some bug cases after this we did not release the name of the engineer outside the team in order to protect them from judgment or blame. 2) Separate fixing the problem from figuring out why it happened. Once the problem is fixed, you can focus on root-causing. This lowers the risk of searching for answers getting confused with searching for someone to blame. 3) Realize that anyone involved in the problem already feels bad. High performers know when they have fallen short and let their team down. As a leader you have to show them the path to growth and success after the crisis. They do not need to be beaten up on- they have taken care of that themselves. 4) See crises and problems as growth opportunities, not personal flaws. Your team comes with you in a crisis whether you like it or not, so you might as well come out stronger on the other side. As a leader, the responsibility for a crisis is yours in two ways: The problem itself and the effect it has on the future of the team. Don’t get too caught up in the first to think about the second. Readers- Has your team survived a crisis? How did you handle it?

Too often, work goes unnoticed. But people want to be seen. A recent statistic had me thinking: 37% of employees claim that increased personal recognition would significantly enhance their work output. This insight comes from an O.C. Tanner survey, which leveraged 1.7 million responses from employees across various industries and company sizes. Beyond just feeling nice, recognition emerges as the most impactful driver of motivation. It makes real-time feedback, personal appreciation, and meaningful rewards not just nice-to-haves — they're must-haves to fuel performance. Here are concrete ways you can supercharge your recognition efforts to resonate deeply with your team: (1) Spotlight Specifics: Highlight specific achievements. Hilton’s Recognition Calendar equips managers with daily actionable ideas that turn recognizing real accomplishments into a routine practice. (2) Quick Kudos: Swift praise is so important. Timeliness in recognition makes it feel authentic and maintains high motivation levels. (3) Tailored Cheers: Personalize your appreciation. Crowe's "Recognize Alert" system enhances recognition by transforming client praises into celebratory moments, encouraging recipients to pay it forward. (4) Genuine Thank-Yous: Don't underestimate the power of small gestures. Regular acknowledgments, whether through handwritten notes or intranet shout-outs, create a culture where appreciation is commonplace. You do it, others will do it too. (5) Big Picture Praises: Connect individual achievements to the company’s larger mission. Texas Health Resources celebrates personal milestones with personalized yearbooks that link each person’s contributions to the organization’s goals. Using these practices genuinely and consistently can make every team member feel truly valued and more connected to the collective mission. Each act of recognition builds a stronger, more engaged team, poised to meet challenges and drive success. #Recognition #Appreciation #FeelingValued #Workplace #Culture #Innovation #HumanResources #Leadership Source: https://lnkd.in/e8jUtHZH

The secret to better hiring and selling? Embracing our blunders. I recently screwed up. You know that pit in your stomach when you realize you made a mistake. That was me 🙋🏻♀️ While my intentions were good, I moved too quickly, took action, and immediately knew something was "off." So what did I do? ... I asked myself why it happened ... I wrote down 2 things I'd do differently next time to avoid the same mistake ... I didn't wait to get busted ... I ate a big 'ol piece of humble 🥧 and proactively owned it ... I reached out (with sweaty palms and a nervous stomach) ... I didn't make excuses and apologized for what I did ... I asked for a conversation ... I thought of solutions to come to the conversation with ... I checked my ego ... I didn't get defensive And... We moved on better for it with a solution that works for both of us. Sure, it would've been easier to ignore it, hoping it wouldn't be a big deal. However, this would have caused a crack in our foundation over time. It wasn't worth it to ignore. But most importantly, it wasn't the right thing to do. Accountability + Real conversation + Giving each other the benefit of the doubt ____________________________________ Progress If we want our teams to be accountable, we must show them how. But why are we so afraid of mistakes? 1. We fear negative consequences like losing face, damaging relationships, or facing disciplinary action. 2. We don't feel accountable. 3. We believe that admitting a mistake will not lead to a solution. Thinking, "What's the point anyway?" The next time you or someone else makes a mistake: ditch the ego, assumptions, blame, and shame. As leaders or aspiring leaders, we set the stage. Every action, decision, and word spoken encourages or discourages those around us. Encourage a culture where admitting mistakes is seen as a step toward improvement, not punishment. Workshop the lessons learned, why they happened, and the measures to avoid repeating them. Your world will be better off for it. We all make mistakes. It's what we do in those moments that shapes what happens next. Accountability isn’t about blame—it's about better outcomes. Avenue Talent Partners | High-precision executive search for startups #startups #leadership #BuildWithATP

We were about to take space from our team… until we realized we could lead by example. Over the past year, things have been scaling fast. So fast that we hit a common growing pain: we ran out of space. We got to the point where we didn’t have enough offices to fit our entire team. The easy solution? Take an office away from one of our managers. But that didn’t sit right. So Sean Atkins and I asked ourselves a simple question: What if we shared an office instead? Now, here we are, two execs in one small room, sitting across from each other. Not because we had to. But because we chose to. Why? Because real leadership isn’t about titles or perks. It’s about creating an environment where your team doesn’t carry the cost of your growth: you do. The goal isn’t just to build a bigger company. It’s to build a stronger culture. If you do that right the other part takes care of itself. So if you’re scaling fast, here’s a reminder: Stay scrappy. Stay humble. Stay in the trenches. That’s where the best leaders are found.

I was talking with a colleague recently about what happens inside organizations when expectations get out of sync with performance. It sparked something I’ve seen in every stage of my career, from corporate teams to agency environments to the clients I now work with.   Here’s the dynamic: a young team member, 6 months into a role, asks for a new title. They want more responsibility, more purpose, more alignment with their degree. They feel like they’re capable of more, but their current performance isn’t backing that up.   This story isn’t rare. And it’s not just about generational gaps, entitlement, or “work ethic.” That would be too easy of a narrative. What I see is a breakdown between ambition and accountability, and it’s showing up on both sides. Yes, young professionals need to understand that you don’t get to skip steps. If you’re asking for growth, you have to demonstrate readiness. Titles don’t make you ready. Consistency does. Trust does. Follow through does. There is no “use my degree” shortcut to leadership. You earn the big asks by nailing the small ones.   But it’s also on leadership. If you have someone on your team who feels lost, misaligned, or overly focused on status, that didn’t happen in a vacuum. That’s a gap in mentorship. That’s a failure to give feedback early and often. People need a clear roadmap and expectations for their role and those expectations have to be reiterated long before performance issues arise. That is how leaders prevent misalignment before it becomes a problem.   This photo takes me back to 2015, when I was a 28-year-old MBA intern at Microsoft. That summer, I had structure, mentorship, and clarity. I knew exactly what success looked like in my role, and I had leaders who reinforced it consistently. Because of that, I didn’t just complete an internship, I earned a full-time role as a Partner Marketing Manager in 2016. From there, I went on to lead cross-organizational branding initiatives, manage global storytelling programs, and host the Microsoft Partner Network podcast interviewing C-Level executives and industry leaders.   That experience shaped me. It taught me how mentorship and clear expectations accelerate careers. And it’s why I approach leadership today with the same philosophy: success doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when employees know what’s expected of them, and leaders are present enough to guide them through the gaps. So here’s what I know for sure: 💜 People need context for the journey. 💜 Purpose and promotion are not the same thing. 💜 Leaders must provide mentorship and clarity early.   There’s no shortcut to impact. And there’s no title that will fix what mentorship hasn’t taught. Leaders, don’t wait until a breakdown happens to start the conversation. Mentorship is the work, and it matters more than ever.   #Leadership #Mentorship #CareerAdvice

Top talent doesn’t raise their hand. They wait to be seen. They’re not raising their hands. They’re not asking for coffee chats. They’re not building a personal brand on LinkedIn. But they’re the ones you should be mentoring. In every FMCG organization I’ve worked with from Paris to Chicago, Amsterdam to New York I’ve seen the same thing play out: The highest-potential talent isn’t always the most visible. They’re the ones quietly overdelivering. They’re the ones running the numbers behind your best ideas. They’re the ones waiting sometimes too long for someone to say: "I see what you’re capable of. Let’s talk about where you’re going." According to Harvard Business Review (2024), 65% of emerging leaders say they’ve never had a formal mentor. Not because they didn’t want one. But because they didn’t know how to ask. Or didn’t think they were “senior enough” to deserve it. This is especially true in European markets, where humility is often mistaken for passivity and where career ambition can be quiet, but no less powerful. And here’s the cost to organizations: → Underdeveloped succession pipelines → Top talent poached by competitors who see what you didn’t → A culture where mentorship is reactive, not strategic In my search work, the leaders who rise fastest? They’re the ones who had someone champion them before they had the confidence to do it themselves. Mentorship isn’t a feel-good HR initiative. It’s a growth strategy. If you lead a team ask yourself: → Who’s delivering but not self-promoting? → Who’s not asking for development but is absolutely ready for it? → Who do I wish I had ten more of? Those are the people who need your time. Your insight. Your belief. Because often the best talent doesn’t show up with a pitch. They show up with potential. #Mentorship #FMCG #TalentStrategy #ExecutiveSearch #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerGrowth

Leaders' actions have an unspoken ripple effect that can change a company's culture. It's something I've been trying to be more aware of. You can’t have a policy or rules for everything, and as humans we rely on mimicking to fill in gaps for rules to determine what is acceptable. What this means is that anytime you take an action, there is implicit permission for other people to take that action and do something a certain way. Examples: + If I am always late to meetings, there will be implicit permission for others to be late + If my communication to the whole company is always super formal, then others will feel that their communication should be super formal + If I work to solve problems in open Slack rooms, other people will likely work to solve problems in open Slack rooms This is both amazing and hard. Setting the example of what you want is often more powerful than creating a formal process, but this works for both the good and the bad. Think before you act (or don't act), and consider the message you're implicitly broadcasting — are you saying what you want to say?

Every leader needs to hear this: In the leadership whirlwind, it's easy to get caught up in the never-ending to-do list. But here's something I can't stress enough: Being "too busy" to listen to your team is not an option.   When you listen, you not only show them respect. ➟ You connect with them. ➟ You build trust. ➟ You lead. 6 tips to be a leader who always listens: 1. Make Time for Conversations Don't wait for formal reviews. Ask for their perspectives often. It shows you're there not just when issues arise. 2. Hold Regular 1:1s Make it a non-negotiable part of your calendar. They're not just another meeting. They're a time to hear their challenges & achievements. 3. Encourage Open Dialogue Let your team know their thoughts are welcome. Any time. About anything. It's these conversations that spark innovation. 4. Listen More Than You Speak Sometimes, just being there to listen is more powerful than any advice you could give. 5. Act on What You Hear Listening is good. But acting on what you learn is what really matters. It shows you take their words seriously. 6. Create a Culture of Listening Lead by example. When your team sees you listening, they'll do the same. With you, and with each other. Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about listening for them, together with your team. When you show your team they're heard, you not only affirm their value, you empower them to contribute and grow. That's the mark of a true leader. P.S. Have you ever had a leader who didn't listen? ___________ If you found this helpful, repost ♻️ to share with others. Thanks! And follow Nihar Chhaya, MBA, MCC for more leadership tips.

How Centered Integrity is the Antidote Leaders Need Now The recent HBR issue is entitled, “A Playbook for Courageous Leadership: Uncertain times call for bold action.” It reflects the stress that current business conditions are placing on leaders. But what is the impetus of that bold action? The qualities for identifying and championing it? Most importantly, as a leader, how do you focus those around you on it? As someone whose coachsulting™ practice is based on values-based leadership, I would argue that the answer is “centered integrity”. Centered integrity is the quiet superpower of senior leadership. It doesn’t trend on earnings calls or headlines or splashy presentations, yet it determines who’s still trusted after the cycle turns. Centered integrity is not perfection. It’s the disciplined habit of aligning decisions with your core principles, especially when no one is watching and when speed would be easier than truth. It’s knowing the difference between being strategic and being slippery. It’s the willingness to say, “Here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t, and here’s what we’ll do next.” Leaders rooted in principled clarity don’t need to prove, defend, or perform. Their life and leadership speak for themselves. Over time, people stop evaluating their statements and start betting on their character. Results still matter, of course, but credibility compounds. You attract talent that wants to build, investors who stay through weather, and teams who volunteer the hard facts early because they trust you’ll meet reality with respect. These results could not be more treasured than now. So how does one access centered integrity? Like most skills and attributes, the best avenue is practice. Here are some ways you can put the concept of centered integrity into action this week: • Name the non-negotiables before the fire drill. Example: “We will never announce a reorg before directly addressing teammates who will be impacted first.” • Tell the unvarnished truth once, clearly, and early. In other words, state the miss, name the root cause, and take accountability. • Choose one meeting to ask, “What risk aren’t we discussing?” Remember, inaction still has consequences, and courage is contagious. • Close with commitments you’re actually willing to be measured on. This reinforces that you can be counted on to speak clearly and act decisively. Power tests power. Character refines it. If you stay true to yourself when it’s hardest, you won’t need a spotlight because the work will illuminate you. And when the dust settles, the leaders left standing are the ones who stood for something. That’s the long game, and it always outperforms shortcuts.

Accountability is a sign you care about your team members. When I was a first time manager, I felt unsure how to balance maintaining high standards for projects and giving feedback to team members about meeting expectations. The truth is: I wanted to be liked. So I stepped in to fix things instead of giving feedback—solving problems, rewriting final briefings, and rescuing them from deadlines (though I added more of them for myself). It took time to reframe what I now hold true: Accountability isn’t the opposite of compassion. It *is* compassion. Now in coaching and advising higher ed advancement leaders, I hear similar worries: What if they don’t like me? What if I push too hard? What if they’re already overwhelmed? I remind leaders these are valid concerns and also signs you care. Here’s what it looks like to lead with both clarity and compassion: ✅ Set clear expectations ✅ Provide the tools and resources your team needs to succeed ✅ Coach them through growth and challenge ✅ Believe in their abilities ✅ Give clear, specific, actionable feedback—because you care enough to help your team grow Leaders who hold their teams accountable build trust, culture, capacity—and stronger organizations. In university advancement, where the work is deeply human, we need leaders who do both: care deeply and lead boldly. If you’re navigating this balance right now with your team—or your managers are—let’s connect on how we can support you.