What Leadership Looks Like—At Least to Me

We’ve long measured leadership success by external benchmarks—revenue targets, job titles, and glowing performance reviews. But after years of teaching and facilitating leadership development, I truly believe 👉 Leadership success isn’t just about results. It’s about whether people flourish under your guidance.

In every coaching conversation, this question comes up: “How do I know if I’m succeeding as a leader?” And my answer has nothing to do with your title or your team’s latest metrics. Yes, those matter—but they’re not the full story.

True leadership shows up in quieter, more personal moments:

• When a team member enters a meeting with confidence because you believed in them.

• When you go home proud—not because everything went smoothly, but because you led with integrity and empathy.

• When someone grows into their next chapter because you helped them feel seen, supported, and capable.

A few weeks ago, my colleague Matthew Mazzei shared an article by the late Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, who wrote:

“The metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched.”

That resonated—and it aligns with decades of research in emotional intelligence, positive psychology, and leadership science.

What the evidence tells us is clear:

✅ Leaders who cultivate emotional intelligence and self-awareness build stronger, more resilient teams.
✅ Psychological safety—where people feel safe, valued, and empowered—is a stronger predictor of high performance than hard skills alone.
✅ And in 2025’s fast-changing workplace, human-centered leadership is no longer optional. It’s essential.

The most effective leaders today aren’t command-and-control. They’re facilitators of growth. They create space for others to lead, contribute, and thrive.

So I’ll leave you with this:

How do you define success in leadership—and are you leading in a way that reflects that definition?

Because your legacy isn’t just in numbers or milestones. It’s in the lives you’ve influenced—for the better.

👋 Ready to become the kind of leader people remember—for the right reasons?
I help leaders and organizations elevate their emotional intelligence, build psychologically safe teams, and lead with real impact.

👉 Let’s talk about coaching or custom leadership workshops that align with the future of work—and the leader you want to be.