Leadership

The better you get at something, the less valuable it feels. That’s because your expertise becomes invisible, not just to others, but to you. What once took years of trial, error, and effort now feels easy. And when it feels easy, we assume it’s not worth much. Research by David Dunning and Justin Kruger shows the opposite is true for beginners: they often overestimate their ability. Experts, on the other hand, tend to underestimate themselves because their skills have become second nature. Here’s why this matters… If you’re preparing for an interview, taking on more responsibility, or stepping into leadership, it’s easy to undersell yourself. The very skills you see as “just what I do” might be exactly what others see as your unique edge. So before you brush off your expertise, pause. Write down the skills you’ve mastered, the results you’ve created, and the challenges you’ve overcome. You’ll not only see your value more clearly, you’ll be ready to communicate it with confidence. (🎥 This is a keynote snippet from The Forward Event earlier this year - epic event!)

I’m on week 8 at Grammarly, and as I ramp up here I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes executive onboarding work (or not). I’ve guided many leaders through their first months as a manager, mentor, or advisor. And unfortunately, a lot of exec transitions fall short. Dropping into a well-established team is tricky, but when done well, proper onboarding creates the foundation for success. Three exec onboarding principles I’ve found crucial: 1️⃣ No one knows who you are... and they are going to be skeptical. Leadership welcomed you warmly, but your team needs time to form their own opinions. Your hiring manager’s advocacy doesn’t automatically transfer to everyone else. You'll need to build credibility from scratch. 2️⃣ You have more to learn than you think. And no, you can't learn it later. There's a brief window when everyone expects you to ask questions. Use it! Too many execs miss this chance and later struggle to fill knowledge gaps discreetly. Be a sponge—absorb the product, meeting cadence, company acronyms, and decision-making processes now, when it’s okay to not know. It gets much harder once you’re expected to already know everything. 3️⃣ What the leader thinks is broken isn't what everyone else thinks is broken. You were hired to solve specific problems, but your team has a different list of pain points. Your job is to understand and address both perspectives. Seeing where these top-down and bottom-up views overlap (or clash) usually points to what you should tackle first. My approach and advice: resist the urge to prove yourself quickly. Instead, spend these first 8 weeks learning. And it’s inevitable that urgent issues will constantly compete for your attention, so fill your calendar with learning activities first, before daily priorities take over. I have a full guide with more detailed exec onboarding learnings, as well as a template for creating your learning plan in Coda: https://lnkd.in/g86R3NS

🏠 17,000 Home Visits. 12 States. One Clear Truth: We've Been Getting School Attendance All Wrong. I'm pleased to share my latest article: "Why Students Miss School, and Why We Miss the Point: Lessons Learned from Concentric Educational Solutions' 17,000+ Home Visits in 2024-2025." As a researcher and a father, this work challenged everything I thought I knew about chronic absenteeism. While my wife Marshella and I struggled with our own "privileged chaos" of getting kids out the door each morning, our team at Concentric Educational Solutions was revolutionizing how we understand attendance challenges by going directly into homes across America, listening to families facing impossible choices with insufficient resources. What Concentric's groundbreaking approach revealed: • Behind every absence statistic is a family story—not a character flaw • Students missing school to care for disabled parents or younger siblings • Families choosing between transportation to school or transportation to work • Children avoiding school due to untreated trauma, bullying, and safety fears • Parents facing truancy court for circumstances completely beyond their control The hard truth: Our punitive approach to attendance—truancy courts, penalties, threatening letters—adds punishment to circumstances that demand support. Concentric's transformative model: Rather than blame families, we provide comprehensive community support that recognizes attendance challenges as symptoms of systemic failures requiring systemic solutions. Our home-visit methodology doesn't just collect data—it builds relationships, identifies real barriers, and connects families to resources that address root causes. The path forward: We need comprehensive community support systems that address housing, healthcare, transportation, and safety as educational issues, not separate concerns. Every child has a story. Every absence has a context. Concentric Educational Solutions is pioneering the compassionate, evidence-based approach our students deserve. Read the full article to understand why attendance challenges are symptoms of systemic failures, not individual shortcomings—and how Concentric's innovative work is showing us what true educational equity looks like. #EducationEquity #StudentAttendance #SystemicChange #CommunitySupport #EducationalResearch #ConcentricEducationalSolutions

Is there a mental health crisis in schools? Every week, I hear from school leaders who are navigating student mental health challenges far beyond what they were trained for or resourced to handle. ➡️ Anxiety. Depression. Trauma. Neurodivergence. School refusal. ➡️ Students presenting with complex needs at younger ages. ➡️ Classrooms disrupted. Teachers overwhelmed. Leaders stretched. Schools have become the de facto mental health service for many students, without the funding, staffing, or clinical expertise to fill that role. 💬 “We need more counsellors.” 💬 “We’re chasing external services that don’t exist.” 💬 “Our job is education, not acute mental health.” And yet, leaders keep showing up. Staff keep adapting. But this isn’t sustainable. We need - 🔹 More embedded psychologists, social workers, and speech pathologists in schools 🔹 Systemic recognition of the non-academic load schools are carrying 🔹 Targeted professional development for staff dealing with trauma-informed care 🔹 Real conversations about school refusal, not just attendance targets If we want thriving schools, we need to build ecosystems where leaders, students and staff are supported, emotionally, behaviourally, and structurally. What are you seeing in your context? What’s working? What isn’t? #schoolleadership #studentwellbeing #mentalhealthineducation #inclusiveeducation #principalvoice #schoolrefusal #traumainformedschools #educationaustralia #schoolculture #strategicleadership #futureofeducation

External validation is a trap. And yet I spent years (like many) chasing it… We’ve got to keep Dan Mian’s quote in mind. Relying on external validation feels good, until it doesn’t. The praise, the recognition, the approval from others can be addictive. But when your self-worth depends on it, you give away control over your own confidence and happiness. Why is it a trap? → It’s never enough No matter how much recognition you get, there’s always a need for more. The goalposts keep moving, and satisfaction never lasts. → It shifts power away from you When your confidence is tied to what others think, you let them decide how you feel about yourself. → It stops you from taking risks Fear of criticism can keep you from making bold moves or trying something new, in case you don’t get the approval you’re used to. → It leads to burnout Constantly seeking validation makes it easy to overwork, overcommit and ignore your own needs. How to break free? - Learn to sit with discomfort when approval doesn’t come, resilience grows in those moments - Surround yourself with people who support you for who you are, not just for what you achieve - Set personal goals that matter to you, not just to impress others - Recognise your own worth without needing external proof Approval is nice, but it’s not the foundation of real confidence. The moment you stop chasing it, you take back control. P.S. What’s helped you step away from external validation? ♻️ If you think this post could help someone in your network, hit repost. 👋🏼 Hey, I’m Laura- I share posts that empower busy people to build healthier, happier workplaces and teams. Hit ‘follow’ to keep updated.

Success feels empty when it's built on other people's expectations. I see this everywhere in corporate leadership today. Executives burning out not from the work itself, but from constantly trying to prove their worth to others. 𝟱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝟭. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Waiting for that "great job" message or positive feedback to feel good about your performance. 𝟮. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 Your self-worth rises and falls with performance ratings instead of staying steady. 𝟯. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 Taking on more projects than you can handle because saying no might disappoint someone. 𝟰. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 Putting in extra hours to be seen as dedicated rather than because the work demands it. 𝟱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 Constantly worried that people will discover you're not as good as they think you are. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲. Instead of asking "What will they think?" start asking "What do I think?" Instead of seeking approval, start trusting your judgment. Instead of proving your worth, start knowing your worth. Real success comes from internal confidence, not external applause. The best leaders I know stopped performing for the crowd and started leading from their core. What would change in your leadership if you stopped seeking validation and started trusting yourself? ♻️ Share this to help more leaders to lead from their core. Follow Adeline Tiah  for content on future of work and leadership.

"I only tell my boss the risks when I’m 100% sure, otherwise I’d rather keep quiet” - a manager recently told me during a workshop: Other managers started nodding - highly relatable. This is what psychology calls the MUM effect - Minimizing Unpleasant Messages coined by Rosen & Tesser (1970). It’s the deeply human tendency to avoid delivering bad news or to soften it until the truth is barely visible. - We do it to protect ourselves from blame. - We do it to protect others from discomfort. - And in the moment, silence feels safer than honesty. But here’s the cost: - Leaders make decisions without critical information. - Teams repeat the same mistakes. - Opportunities get lost. But here’s the paradox: what feels safe for the individual is unsafe for the team. Neuroscience explains why: when we prepare to share uncomfortable truths, the amygdala - the brain’s threat detection system - activates. It interprets honesty as danger: the risk of rejection, conflict, or loss of status. So silence feels like self-protection. How can leaders mitigate this effect? 👉 1. Redefine what “good” means in your team Say explicitly: “Being good here means raising risks early, even if you’re not 100% sure.” 👉 2. Reward the messenger, not just the message Thank people for speaking up, regardless of whether the risk turns out real. This rewires the brain to see honesty as safe. 👉 3. Ask better questions Replace “Any questions?” with “What’s the toughest risk we might be overlooking?” or “What would you challenge if you were in my seat?” ✨ This is exactly what I work on with leadership teams in my Safe Challenger program and workshops, helping leaders unlearn compliance-based leadership and build cultures of courage. Because the biggest risk in teams isn’t mistakes. It’s silence. P.S.: What’s do you think is harder: speaking up with uncomfortable truths or hearing them?

Don't confuse strategic direction-setting with "test and learn" experimentation. They're both critical, but they're not the same. When exploring hypothesis testing in a workshop recently, one sharp participant pointed out: “There's an apparent disconnect between ‘test and learn’ methodologies and setting overall strategic direction.” He was spot on! Choosing a strategic path is NOT something you can A/B test your way into. Whether you're scaling a new capability like Gen AI and Metaverse… Or fundamentally shifting your business model (like Hilti's move from selling tools to leasing them)… It requires something more: - Human judgment - Competitive pressures - An informed conviction based on market analysis - A deep understanding of your own organization's potential Take the classic example of Steve Jobs and the iPhone. No market test could have revealed the latent demand for such a device. It was a visionary decision, a strategic bet that paid off. This isn't to say experimentation is useless. Far from it. Once you set your strategic direction, “test and learn” becomes invaluable for optimizing products, features, and execution. The bottom line: Human judgment drives strategic direction, and experimentation refines it. Both approaches are essential. But knowing when to use each? That's the key to unlocking future readiness and sustainable growth.

We missed the targets in May. It was of a brand we manage on Amazon. We’ve all been there I think when the end of the month rolls in and numbers don’t add up. Suddenly, looking at the dashboard feels heavier than ever. During May we missed our sales numbers on Amazon for a brand we manage as a retainer. For a moment, the old feeling creeps in, frustration, doubt, the temptation to get stuck in what went wrong. Obviously the blame game starts. But this time, we did something different. If there’s one thing experience has taught me, it’s this: ❌ Getting demotivated is the easiest step. ✅ Getting analytical is what really matters. So instead of staying lost in the loop, we got proactive. We pulled up every bit of data, campaign reports, lead sources, client conversations. We sat as a team, asked uncomfortable questions, and dug for the root cause. We analysed every parameter, every ad, looked at deeper metrics like revenue share of each product instead of just revenue figures. We identified potential hero SKUs. And rebuilt our strategy. It wasn’t about pointing fingers. It was about building a clear picture of what needed to change. By June, the difference was obvious. We jumped 2x of what we were doing previously. With just small but focused changes in our strategy and execution, we emerged stronger as a team. And honestly? That turnaround felt better than any “perfect” month. There’s no playbook for how to bounce back, no one really teaches you that. The real win is using what you learn to come back stronger the next time. So if you’re staring at missed targets right now, don’t let it stop you. Use it as fuel. You’re always just one good truth away from a whole new story.

I used to think the only way to stop toxic leadership was from the top. Then our research showed something different. When teams speak up together about ethical concerns, something shifts—leaders start to reflect on their behaviour. Over time, that reflection can reduce abuse. But not all team voice works. It’s only effective when the team interacts frequently with the leader and hold real or perceived power. That’s when leaders engage in what we call reflective moral attentiveness: they begin to consider the moral implications of their actions and pause long enough to rethink them. So, if you’ve ever worked under an abusive leader, I want you to know this: Speaking up alone can be hard. But when teams raise concerns together, it can make a real difference. And if you are in a leadership position, ask yourself: 👉🏾 Are people speaking up about what truly matters? 👉🏾 More importantly, are you pausing long enough to hear what their voice reveals about you? Because ethical voice doesn’t just challenge authority. It awakens conscience. #leadership #groupvoice #ethicsatwork #FutureProofYourLeadership