I think many teams would become healthier if leaders wrote more honest memos.
Not longer memos. Not more polished memos.
Just more real ones.
So this post is in that spirit.
Below are 5 memos I wish more leaders wrote, or at least communicated this clearly.
Executive presence is one of those phrases that sounds useful and annoying at the same time.
Useful because it matters. Annoying because many people turn it into performance art.
I think the cleaner way to see it is this:
executive presence is not about sounding important, it is about creating confidence under pressure
That is very different.
Some leaders love saying new things.
Good for conferences. Not always good for teams.
Because in actual teams, one of the most underrated leadership skills is not originality.
It is useful repetition.
The best leaders I have seen repeat the right things so consistently that people stop feeling confused even when work is hard.
When you meet new people, your brain naturally tries to label them—where they are from, what they do, or how they look. But these labels are barriers. To truly connect, you must Drop the Labels.
We all start as children without biases. As we grow older, we learn to notice differences. But if you walk into a room with an open mind, animals and humans alike will feel the connection immediately. Ego is the wall; love is the bridge.
Give 110% of your attention when talking to anyone. People remember how you made them feel more than what you said. Everybody fundamentally wants to be heard, respected, and understood.
Remember that communication is far more than just words:
#learnings