Why Smart People Consistently Fail At Leadership (And How To Fix It)
It’s 8 p.m. A leader shuts their laptop after a 12-hour day. They’ve been in meetings, put out fires, and answered messages nonstop. But deep down, it doesn’t feel like they got much done. They want to be a good leader - badly - but nobody ever taught them how.
Many leaders are failing, and it’s not their fault. We never taught them how to lead.
Leadership Is Broken
Of the estimated seven million leaders in the US, most are winging it. And it’s not working out very well. A 2024 Harvard Business Review study found that nearly half of managers are at risk of failure. Employees under these managers are 91% less likely to be high performers and three times more likely to quit.
The cost of poor leadership is staggering.
Why Smart People Struggle in Leadership
Most leaders get promoted because they excelled in their old job, not because they know how to lead. Then they’re thrown into management with zero guidance
Training? Generic online courses after hours - if at all.
Mentors? Many bosses are still figuring it out themselves.
Books? Thousands of them, often contradictory, and no leader has time to read them all.
These leaders are smart and motivated - but they’re frustrated, drained, and afraid to ask for help.
And humans are messy - leading people is unpredictable, emotional, and exhausting without the right tools.
What Happens When Leaders Fail
When leadership breaks down, morale drops. People quit. Trust erodes. Companies fall behind.
You've seen it happen to other companies, yet so many leaders turn a blind eye when it happens to their own organization. They blame dropping morale and employee turnover on "the economy." They attribute eroding trust to generational differences or conflicting opinions. And when their companies start falling behind competitors, they point fingers at the teams responsible for execution and results.
But here's the reality: every business problem is ultimately a leadership problem.
Everyone deserves to work for a great leader. Most people never get one.
Why I Care About This Work
I’ve worked with and coached hundreds of leaders and taught workshops to many more. I wrote Practical Leadership because I know leadership skills can be taught.
The Practical Leadership Framework works because it’s built on tactics, not theory. I’ve used it myself and seen it transform careers, teams, and organizations.
Leadership Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
You don’t need 500 hours of training or 60-hour work weeks. You don’t need to become someone else or turn into an extrovert if you’re introverted.
What you need are core skills and practical tools you can use right now.
Think of it like surgery. No one becomes a surgeon just by being smart. They’re trained step by step. Yet with leadership, we skip the training, hand people a team, and silently say, “Good luck with this.” That stops here.
What You’ll Get From This Newsletter
Every two weeks, I’ll share practical tactics you can use immediately. No fluff, no theory. Just what works.
The Leader Your Team Deserves
Picture walking into work confident about tough conversations.
Imagine a team that trusts you and performs at their best.
Think about being the leader people want to work for, not the one they complain about.
And that leader shutting down their laptop at 8 p.m., drained and discouraged? They don’t have to stay stuck there. With the right tools, they can lead with confidence, earn respect, and actually feel proud of what they accomplish at the end of the day.
That’s not an impossible dream. That’s leadership done right. I can help you get there.
What leadership challenge are you facing right now? Reply and tell me. I read every response and use them to shape future issues.
Schedule a free problem-solving call with me here.
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