Readers Contribution: Three Questions for YOU!

The thing I dislike most about writing is that it’s a monologue. Leadership is a dynamic, evolving practice, yet writing often feels one-sided. I wish we could have real conversations about the challenges you face as a leader—the kind that spark discovery and illuminate better ways to lead ourselves and others.

This month, I want to try something new. Imagine this blog as a conversation, much like the exchanges of letters between friends in times past. I’m inviting you to join me in a collaborative writing process by sharing your thoughts on three leadership questions. Let’s dive in!

Question 1: Navigating Business Polarities

I’m fascinated by polarities—the interplay between two opposing yet interconnected forces. Just like breathing requires both inhaling and exhaling to sustain life, businesses must balance competing priorities to thrive. Mismanaging these polarities can lead to inefficiency or stagnation, but embracing the positives of each side can unlock success.

I have experienced the challenge of being a great problem solver. I look for problems all the time because I get great fulfillment from making things better. I am a fixer. Maybe you can relate. However, if you try to fix a polarity, you usually make it worse because you end up defending one end of the polarity.

In my business, we are attempting to grow and experiment with different marketing ideas, but I took on more payroll this year and we are trying to reduce expenses. This is a polarity; invest in marketing ideas that enable long term growth and minimize the short-term cost. It’s hard to do both at the same time but that is the value in working hard to ‘manage’ the polarity.

Here are a few examples of business polarities that leaders often face:

1. Profits vs. Revenue Growth
2. Maximizing Shareholder Return vs. Employee Retention
3. Minimizing Risk vs. Driving Innovation
4. External Hires vs. Internal Promotions
5. Focus on Today vs. Focus on Tomorrow
6. Nurturing Collaboration vs. Upholding Accountability
7. Market-Driven vs. Product-Driven
8. Cost vs. Quality

What about you? From your perspective, which polarities are the most critical to balance in your business or industry? Are there others you think deserve attention?

Question 2: Overcoming Leadership Temptations

Patrick Lencioni, in The Five Temptations of a CEO, outlines five common traps leaders face:

1. Choosing invulnerability over trust, avoiding the healthy conflicts that build strong teams.
2. Prioritizing harmony over conflict, neglecting the productive debates that lead to clarity.
3. Seeking certainty over clarity, delaying decisions in pursuit of perfect information.
4. Valuing popularity over accountability, hesitating to hold people responsible for results.
5. Pursuing status over results, focusing more on personal achievements than organizational success.

Recently, I have been involved with leadership teams that are not having healthy conflicts. They prefer harmony and don’t take risks to have a difficult conversation or when they finally have the difficult conversation, they do it poorly because there is so much emotion attached to it (since they have been bottling up their emotions).

Do these temptations strike a chord with you? Which one do you or your CEO find most challenging, and how do you navigate it?

Question 3: Journaling for Leadership Growth

Reflection is one of the most powerful tools for leadership development. I encourage every leader I work with to journal weekly, reviewing what they did, how it worked, and what they want to continue or stop doing. This simple practice accelerates learning by highlighting what works and minimizing what doesn’t.

I have seen many clients who have dramatically improved their ability to learn by setting up a weekly journal appointment with themselves. And I know personally how hard it can be to develop and maintain that habit. It seems like the old saying, good intentions pave the way to hell can often be true.

Have you tried journaling as part of your leadership practice? If so, how has it helped you grow? If not, what’s holding you back?

Your Turn: Let’s Start the Conversation

I would love to hear your thoughts on any (or all!) of these questions. Please share your insights in the comments or message me directly—I read every response.

Your contributions will not only enrich this conversation but also help me shape future blog posts to address the real challenges you face as leaders. Let’s collaborate and discover better ways to lead together!