CEO:
“Hey, something’s off.
Deadlines are slipping.
People are quiet in meetings, passive aggressive in Slack.
Stuff gets done, but just barely.
No one’s stepping up.
I feel like I’m the only one who still cares.
We need HR”
Me:
“Is it really an HR problem?”
CEO:
“I don’t know…
Our managers seem overwhelmed.
Feedback goes nowhere.
Teams are somehow disconnected.
But they’re good people.
They’ve been here forever and we talk quite often.
They should know how to lead by now.”
Me:
“Right.
And I’ve had a guitar in my apartment for 10 years.
Still can’t play Wonderwall.”
CEO:
“Huh.”
Me:
“Did you promote your best people and hoped they’d figure it out by mimicking you?
Now they’re juggling humans, deadlines, and weird emotional tension, trying their best as they go.”
CEO:
“…So what now?
Build a leadership academy between client calls and damage control?”
Me:
“No.
But you do need to train your managers, and not just by shadowing you.
Because most of the stuff stressing you out?
The dropped balls, finger-pointing, the tension, the quiet quitting…
That’s what happens when leadership is left to chance.
Train your managers to lead like your business partners,
and most of those problems disappear before they even reach your desk.
That’s how you protect your time, your people, and grow the business with resilience.”
