I spent an evening recently with a small group of fellow business leaders – no agenda beyond honest conversation and a few topics worth thinking through together.
One of them was on leadership, and a single idea has stayed with me: the emotional gap. The distance between how close a leader gets to their people and the clear decisions the business needs them to make.
Too wide, and people stop bringing you the hard truths, so problems surface too late. Too narrow, and judgement suffers – the difficult conversation gets delayed, standards become negotiable, and the leader carries burdens that belong elsewhere.
The skill is not picking one. It is moving between them on purpose. Closer when someone needs to be understood and trust needs building. Back when a decision has to be protected from impulse or the wish to be liked.
Three questions I took away:
What does this moment require from me – not what is most comfortable for me?
Am I listening to understand, or listening to be absorbed?
Have I explained why? Trust comes from clarity as much as from closeness.
As an EOS Implementer I spend my days helping leadership teams get clear, healthy and aligned. Evenings like this are a good reminder that the best leaders keep learning in the same way – in a room of peers, willing to be candid, and grateful for the people who help them see what they cannot see alone.
Richard