When Leaders Learn

He came to us straight out of college—bright, driven, maybe a little arrogant, and impossible not to notice for all those reasons. He wasn’t just there to do the job; he inhabited the workplace. He made friends. Volunteered. Joined the company softball team (sometime, I’ll tell you about the time I was recruited to play catcher—and could barely walk the next day!).

He asked questions. Paid attention. Challenged the status quo.

He didn’t just fit into our workplace culture…he helped shape it.

As leaders, we’re often so focused on being the teacher, we forget we’re also the student. Observing the growth of others isn’t just inspiring, it can actually sharpen our own leadership skills.

As I watched this young professional step into leadership in a bold, non-conforming way, I wasn’t just witnessing someone else’s journey, it was a mirror. A reminder of the investment made in me as a young professional and the room I was given to show up fully…brass, questioning, pushing boundaries.

It was a reminder of how culture is less about policies and more about presence.

When the opportunity came up to send someone to Singapore to manage our new office, it was a big deal. It was the kind of assignment typically reserved for someone with more years behind them.

But, I didn’t hesitate. I recommended him.
And then, Covid hit.

Imagine being halfway across the world in a brand-new role and place as the world shuts down. Travel restrictions. Uncertainty. Fear. Isolation thousands of miles away from home.

Where most would’ve crumbled, he steadied the ship. He navigated the storm with clarity and calm and kept the work moving.

“Onboarding” Kills Innovation

It reminded me that potential isn’t just something you spot—it’s something you support. And that sometimes, the best leadership move is stepping back and letting someone else take the lead.

If you’ve ever heard me speak from the stage, you’ve heard me say that “onboarding” is a dirty word. Sure, it’s necessary. Smart even. But, too often, onboarding is a company’s way of taking new employees—fresh with ideas—and molding them into “how we want them to do things”. Conformity, if you will.

Leaders often ask me, “How do I get employees to do as I say?”
My answer is always the same: maybe don’t.

Sometimes the best ideas, the cultural breakthroughs, and the leadership moments come from people who don’t do things the way we’ve always done them. If we’re too quick to train people into sameness, we risk losing the very spark we hired them for.

Leadership isn’t always top-down. Sometimes it shows up in the way a young employee steadies a team during a global crisis. Or in how they make the culture better, not by design, but by being fully, authentically themselves.

If you’re not paying attention, you might miss the lessons.

I almost did.