Saturday morning leadership lessons

Three days since I called out Alex’s competitive intensity during our workout, and I’m still processing what happened.

Saturday morning leadership lessons

Not the confrontation itself – that needed to happen. But what it revealed about me as a leader.

I’ve spent years perfecting the art of gentle correction. Softening edges, finding diplomatic ways to address problems, making everyone comfortable while still getting the point across. It’s served me well in nursing, in my cultural workshops, even in managing our running group dynamics. But with Alex, I realized I’d been dancing around the real issue for months.

The breakthrough wasn’t in finally speaking up – it was in recognizing that sometimes leadership means being willing to make people uncomfortable.

Saturday morning processing mode.

Alex needed to hear that his intensity was affecting the whole team, even if it stung. And honestly? I needed to practice saying hard things directly instead of hoping subtle hints would work.

Now I’m sitting here on a Saturday morning, coffee in hand, thinking about all the times I’ve chosen smooth over necessary. In my workshops, with difficult patients, even in my heritage documentation work when family members give conflicting stories. Sometimes being a good leader means being willing to be the person who asks the uncomfortable questions and sets the boundaries everyone else is dancing around.