Nobody tells you leading is more inner game than outer game.
After 15 years leading teams, here's what matters most:

1. The best days often follow the worst ones.
⤷ Sometimes being a leader means admitting you don't know what to do next.

2. Your energy sets the tone for everyone else.
⤷ Your team will quote things you don't even remember saying.

3. Your words carry more weight than you realize.
⤷ A casual comment can impact someone's whole week.

4. Your mistakes will teach more than your successes.
⤷ The person causing the most problems often becomes your strongest ally.

5. Your calendar reveals your real priorities, not your words.
⤷ The skills that got you the leadership role are often the ones you need to unlearn.

6. Having all the answers makes your team weaker, not stronger.
⤷ When everyone agrees with you immediately, something's wrong.

7. What you don't react to shapes culture more than what you do.
⤷ When you tolerate toxic behavior, it says it’s okay.

8. The words 'I was wrong' build more respect than being right.
⤷ Small acts of recognition mean more than grand gestures.

9. The loudest person isn't always the one with the best ideas.
⤷ Listen to the quiet ones.

10. Leading isn't about being the smartest person in the room.
⤷ It's about making others feel smart.

11. The more senior, the less honest feedback you receive.
⤷ That difficult team member might be right - and brave enough to tell you.

12. You'll make hard decisions that keep you up at night.
⤷ And you can't tell anyone about them.

13. Your silence speaks louder than your presentations.
⤷ Your team notices everything - especially what you're trying to hide.

14. Being decisive matters less than being right.
⤷ The best solutions come from asking better questions, not giving faster answers.

15. The hardest person to lead is yourself.
⤷ Your growth is the governor to your team's growth.

Leadership isn't about the title.

It's about the daily choices that shape your team's future and the things they take home at night to their families.

And those choices begin with understanding yourself first.

PS. Which lessons did I miss?