The Real Work of Leadership: Clarity, Courage, and a Willingness to Slow Down
Navigating Uncertainty, Trust, and Real Success with Chris and Gareth
Recently, I joined Chris Kitchener and Gareth Tennant as a guest on Battling with Business, to dig deeper into the state of modern leadership. We gathered in the unvarnished setting of a pub car park (not quite glamorous, but honest), and tackled the question that’s been bubbling up in boardrooms and break rooms alike: has leadership fundamentally changed, or are we just living through another uncomfortable swing of the pendulum?
Pressing Pause on the Way We Lead
One of the patterns I see, over and over, is how tempting it is for businesses to get swept up in the noise – new initiatives, information overload, next quarter’s numbers – and neglect the basics that let people and performance thrive. There’s a constant urge to skim, to chase “quick wins,” to keep moving so fast that there’s no time for conversation or reflection. But, as I shared with Chris and Gareth, those quick fixes never build the kind of resilient, engaged culture that delivers sustainable results.
Taking the time to stop and unpick what’s really going on in the workplace is not a luxury, but a necessity. When leaders slow down long enough to listen and question, rather than rush to solutions, they can start to make sense of what’s underneath surface-level symptoms like disengagement, anxiety, or high turnover.
Defining Success: What Are We Actually Here For?
A central theme from our conversation was the need for genuine clarity on what “success” even looks like. If you ask most leadership teams or CEOs to define what makes a business successful, you’ll get a muddle of assumptions – revenue, growth, brand, retention, values. Yet, rarely are these measures actually discussed or agreed, let alone communicated clearly throughout the organisation.
Without a shared, explicit definition of success, everyone pulls in different directions. Employees end up making assumptions, managers interpret priorities in their own way, and leaders risk either defaulting to numbers alone or shifting their standards whenever it feels expedient. We see this play out, for example, when organisations abandon long-held values the moment times get tough – the resulting loss of trust is deeply felt by employees and customers alike.
Leadership Styles and Changing Expectations
Another thread we explored was whether so-called “soft skills” – empathy, psychological safety, and inclusivity – are falling out of favour, or even seen as liabilities when stakes are high. My experience says otherwise. The problem isn’t these qualities themselves, but a misunderstanding of what they really mean.
Empathy isn’t about being liked or avoiding tough decisions. It’s about understanding how people are thinking or feeling, so you can support them (and the business) to succeed. When done well, it’s a tool for making better decisions and keeping teams performing at their best. Similarly, psychological safety isn’t about cushioning everyone from discomfort, but about enabling honest feedback, learning from mistakes, and challenging each other constructively.
The Dangers of Speed for Speed’s Sake
It’s easy to fall for the narrative that speed always wins. I’ve seen so many leaders push for relentless pace, convincing themselves that slowing down would mean losing ground. But sustainable, healthy high performance comes from being purposeful and thoughtful about when to speed up, when to pause, and when to refocus on what really matters. Sometimes, pushing people faster just means compounding confusion or burnout.
Conversation Over Assumption
If I could offer one invitation to any leader reading this, it would be: make time to talk – honestly, consistently, and with curiosity. Discuss what success means, how you want to show up as leaders, and what you’re willing to stand for – even when it runs against the grain. This is where real culture, clarity, and long-term performance are shaped.
If these issues around leadership and work culture resonate, I’d love to hear from you – let’s start the conversation.
Curious to go deeper? Take a listen to Beyond the Water Cooler for more insights on real leadership and building high-performing, human teams.
Find out more about the Battling with Business podcast here, and connect with hosts Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener.
