The 10X Leadership Lever You're Ignoring

THE LEADERSHIP EDGE NEWSLETTER | Your Guide to Exceptional Leadership

February 2026 | 966 words = ~4 minute read

FROM LAST MONTH'S EDGE  

1. You Don't Know Your People - don't wait for people to come to you— go to them. Acknowledge when something seems wrong. Reach out. 

2. You're Avoiding Conflict - create a climate where differences are appreciated, and conflicts are resolved productively. 

3. Three Behaviors That Separate Good Leaders from Great Ones: 

• Develop Your People Rapidly and Consistently 

• Walk Your Talk (No Exceptions) 

• Make Feedback Non-Negotiable 

THIS MONTH'S FOCUS

Hello Leaders! This month, I'm sharing the single biggest lever for becoming an extraordinary leader—one that can deliver a 10X improvement in your effectiveness. I've witnessed this transformation firsthand, and I'm continually surprised by how few leaders pursue it. Imagine what you could accomplish if you were 10X more effective. That's not hype—it's transformation.

"The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization." —Fred Fiedler and Martin Chemers

Ready to explore what's possible? Schedule a conversation to discuss your specific leadership challenges.

HARD TRUTH #1: YOU CAN’T FIX WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE

A healthy man ignored persistent pain until blood appeared. Doctors initially dismissed it as a kidney stone. He pushed for deeper testing. They found cancer.

Here's the uncomfortable parallel: 20% of leaders who think they're doing well have a critical blind spot that's undermining their effectiveness. The other 80%? They're operating without clarity on their true strengths or which capabilities matter most in their current role—resulting in wasted effort and missed opportunities.

You wouldn't skip an MRI if you suspected something was wrong with your health. Why would you lead without the diagnostic clarity of a rigorous 360-degree assessment? Even exceptional leaders discover game-changing insights when they get accurate data. Is your highest-leverage opportunity in strategic thinking? Driving results? Building influence?

You need to know—today, before small issues become critical failures. The best assessment tool for leaders is Zenger Folkman's Extraordinary Leader assessment. If you're skeptical, give me 15 minutes, and I'll show you why it's in a category of its own.

HARD TRUTH #2: YOU’RE LEAVING PERFORMANCE ON THE TABLE

My trainer always designs better workouts than I do. He understands human anatomy, knows how to develop muscles I didn't know existed, and—most importantly—pushes me beyond what I'd do alone. My solo workouts? They're pale imitations of what we accomplish together.

The same principle applies to leadership development.

Meta research on executive coaching shows:

• 70% increase in individual performance (goal attainment, communication clarity)

• 50% increase in team performance (collaboration, alignment)

• 48% increase in organizational performance (revenue, retention)

• 77% of executives report that coaching significantly impacted at least one major business metric

• Financial ROI ranging from 500-788% in documented cases

Can you assess yourself, build a development plan, and hold yourself accountable week after week while juggling everything else on your plate? Maybe. But why would you, when the research is clear that coaching accelerates results?

The right leadership coach doesn't just guide you; they know leadership inside out, understand the obstacles you'll face, and know exactly which buttons to push to unlock your next level of performance. They make you work harder and think differently about challenges you've been wrestling with for years.

HARD TRUTH 3#: YOUR EXCUSES ARE COSTING YOU

The two reasons people don't invest in coaching? Time and money.

Let's be honest: every meaningful improvement in life requires both. You found time and money to get your degree, to take that promotion, to hire that key team member. This is no different—except the ROI is clearer.

If you were a professional athlete, you'd have multiple coaches. You ARE a professional – using a coach to improve your game is a good idea!

My clients see 30-300% improvement in overall leadership effectiveness. Zenger Folkman's research with a large mortgage company found that leaders in the top decile (90th-99th percentile) generated twice the net profitability of average performers. Think about that: double the organizational impact. What would that be worth?

THE BOTTOM LINE: YOU HAVE 3 CHOICES

1. Continue as you are—hoping incremental improvements will be enough in an increasingly complex leadership landscape.

2. Try to figure it out yourself—adding more to your already overloaded plate while wondering if you're focusing on the right things.

3. Get serious about becoming exceptional—invest in rigorous assessment and expert coaching that compounds your effectiveness for the rest of your career.

If you haven't been formally assessed as a leader in years (or ever), you're flying blind. Don't avoid this. Your team deserves the best version of you. Through customized coaching, you'll master the leadership challenges that matter most:

• Resolving conflict without drama or delay

• Communicating with power and increasing your influence

• Leading up and across, not just down

• Developing a strategic perspective that shapes direction

• Driving results while stretching your team's capabilities

• Building high-performance teams that truly collaborate

• Inspiring and motivating sustained high performance

• Transforming difficult relationships into productive partnerships

Three Questions to Answer Right Now:

1. How effective am I as a leader—really?

2. How much better could I become, and what would that mean for my team's results?

3. What legitimate reason do I have for not taking action today?

Don't wait for tomorrow to bring answers. Seize today. Book a 30-minute conversation with me to discuss your specific leadership challenges and explore whether a customized coaching process is right for you. In that conversation, I'll also show you why the Extraordinary Leader assessment is transformational—no pressure, just clarity. Let's talk about what 10X better looks like for you.

The leaders who excel aren't the ones waiting for perfect timing. They're the ones who recognize that investing in themselves is the highest-leverage decision they can make.

GO DEEPER

1. The New Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders – Amazon

2. "How Leadership-Driven Coaching Can Inspire Lasting Organizational Impact" – Forbes, September 15, 2025

3. "The ROI of Executive Coaching: A Comprehensive Guide" – Forbes, February 24, 2023

The Leadership Edge - Sharpening your leadership skills, one insight at a time.