Dear Leader,

It’s hard being a leader.

Whether you’re running your own business, are an executive at a Fortune 500, a middle manager, or an aspiring leader for a noble cause, you likely have a lot of challenges on your plate.

While leading as your authentic self is a great way to maintain psychological well-being, authenticity alone won’t solve all your problems.

We need to incorporate the other pillars of Responsible Leadership into our lives for us to bring our best leadership self to the forefront every day.

In today’s issue of The Leader Within, I’d like to share how a variety of leaders can benefit from Responsible Leadership to tackle the toughest work on their plate.

Let’s dive in.

Responsible Leadership starts from the top

“Top-down” may be a leadership cliche, but it’s often the reality at most organizations.

Executives set the tone for leadership everywhere. From international conglomerates, to the political climate, to AI startups.

If executives model an ego-driven model of leadership, that will cascade down to directors, managers, and other leaders. Pretty soon it will be every man or woman for themselves, and less effort will be spent on considering the well-being of employees and customers. This is the type of approach that leads to hasty product decisions and mass layoffs that cause unnecessary suffering for thousands of people.

But what if executives modeled Responsible Leadership?

Of course, this is easier said than done. Execs have to balance shareholders that want strong returns on their investment with customers wanting significant value from the product with employees who want to feel inspired to contribute to something greater.

It’s an incredibly difficult task.

These challenges not only make executive leadership a very lonely proposition, but also one faced with constant pressure to do the right thing by the right people.

So how can executives utilize Responsible Leadership to balance this?

It starts with awareness.

Execs must know who they are inside and out in order to effectively deliver results that balance the interest and well-being of all involved with their organization.

This is why executive coaching is so popular.

Executive coaches help executives uncover unconscious patterns, surface blind spots, and unlock their own inner wisdom.

When guided by a coach trained in depth coaching methods, executives come to realize they are not the ego that helped them rise the corporate ranks.

Rather than focus on their own power, title, or compensation for their own benefit, they come to see that they are part of the same consciousness as those they lead.

Over time, this awareness helps an executive get a better sense of the concerns of all the stakeholders that interact with their organization. With this awareness in place, executives can thoughtfully determine how they are going to act.

They know that not everyone may be happy with their decision, but can at least acknowledge the concerns of their employees, customers, and shareholders.

Accepting responsibility for the well-being of all stakeholders is the type of executive leadership that inspires employees to continue working at an organization even when times are bad.

It’s the type of leadership that goes beyond what is popular and instead champions what is right.

Especially as we wrap up Pride Month, it’s incredibly noticeable the lack of support many big companies have shown for Pride this year now that Donald Trump is in office.

Rather than “rock the boat” of the political climate or shareholders who aren’t happy about DEI efforts, many of the executive teams of these companies have stayed quiet and tried to keep things “business as usual.”

The only problem is that LGBTQ customers, employees, and advocacy groups everywhere are watching these companies. The next time they claim to support the LGBTQ community, this loud and proud group will just shake their heads in disappointment and move on to support companies that actually champion them.

Responsible Leadership isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s the right thing for business.

Middle Management: between a rock and a hard place

Executives aren’t the only group of leaders who benefit from Responsible Leadership.

Even though middle managers don’t have the same high stakes responsibilities as executives, their presence is still important for getting things done and keeping morale high.

Yet it can be incredibly challenging to spread a message you don’t agree with.

I’ve seen this first-hand as both a middle manager that needed to share top-down messages with my employees and as an HR leader that crafted talking points for crucial compensation initiatives for other managers to pass on.

These middle managers are left with little choice but to share a frustrating message with employees that aren’t going to be happy with what they’re hearing.

In that moment, middle managers are left with a few options:

1. Voice your disagreement and try to appease your employee. You might win points with them, but you’re not going to win any favors with leaders above you.
2. Spread the message exactly as you’re told and keep the peace with your boss and their bosses. But lose the trust of your direct reports.
3. Or, approach the situation with empathy and authenticity. You can acknowledge how frustrating the situation is for your employees and the personal concerns you have about the situation. You can share why the decision could lead to a benefit for them and the company down the road and also keep that employee’s goals in mind. Offer to support the employee if they decide they no longer want to live with the decision and seek work elsewhere. Taking responsibility even when you aren’t the one making the decision is what it takes to be seen as a real leader in your organization, regardless of title.

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Of course, there’s more than just 3 ways to approach this.

Middle managers can also embrace the bold pillar of Responsible Leadership.

This can mean pushing back against higher ups, voicing why the decision they made isn’t in the best interest of a particular stakeholder group. This might look like sharing an organization’s values or goals and explaining why the decision doesn’t align.

While the middle manager’s pushback may be rejected, I’ve seen multiple examples, including one just this past week where a Director-level employee pushed back on a product messaging initiative and why it wasn’t in the best interest of the user. The executive leadership team over that project agreed with that Director. As a result, a message with a more supportive tone will be shared with the user group in question.

Leading from the foundation of trust

Entrepreneurs and startup founders face many challenges.

Among them are building a loved product, growing the business, and leading people with contrasting personalities as the business grows.

When you’re the person with a keen vision for your business and the impact it can have in the world, it can be almost impossible to get others to see things the way you see them.

There’s no way an employee will have the same passion and fire for the business that you do.

The best way for entrepreneurs and startup founders to get buy-in isn’t always about stock options and equity grants.

It’s about boldly sharing the vision you have for the world and trusting in that vision.

Trust is such an important quality as a leader. Before that trust can be shared with employees, entrepreneurs must develop trust within themselves.

This can be so hard for new business owners, as they aren’t sure if their idea will gain enough financial traction to be viable, especially in the first few years of entrepreneurship.

Part of developing trust comes with asking big picture financial questions, such as “if I knew I had nowhere to fall, what would I do?”

Believing that things will work out even without significant tangible results is necessary to convince early employees that the business is worth investing their own efforts in.

Once founders cultivate trust within themselves, they can share their bold vision with those they lead, and slowly find ways to trust these employees with key tasks that will help them grow the business.

Answering the call to lead: a playbook for emerging leaders

Perhaps my favorite type of leader to work with is the emerging leader.

These are folks who are inspired to lead in a bold and authentic way. They have increasing self-awareness and are building a vision for a better world.

The biggest challenge I see with emerging leaders is truly embracing the identity of a leader.

One of my coaching clients–a college professor and a passionate writer—initially wanted no part of leadership.

I worked with him to create a powerful vision for his career. The biggest joy he found at work was teaching his students, while still having plenty of time to write on the side.

Over time, this client realized that the problems that troubled his institution—and the students he cared about so much—wouldn’t be solved unless he embraced a role as a leader.

We went from creating a vision solely focused on the parts of his work that he loved to a vision that included leading in a new way. So that he could still support the students he enjoyed teaching, while also making the college he works for a better place to learn.

In another coaching session I had with a prospective client, they unintentionally held themselves back from applying for leadership roles. Not because they weren’t capable of leading, but because they were afraid of being seen as incompetent if they failed as a leader.

These important insights should show emerging leaders that there isn’t a right way or a wrong way to lead.

Stepping up to leadership isn’t just about holding a bold vision and wanting to lead in a better way.

It’s about navigating the challenges of leadership—many of which are imposed by the middle managers and executives above them—and owning the identity of a leader.

Even without a big title or a decade's worth of credibility, emerging leaders can come to the table with a bold vision and show up as their authentic selves as they grow into the future leaders of our world.

It's time to lead responsibly

Whether you run your own business or lead teams in someone else’s, I encourage you to use the pillars of Responsible Leadership we discussed in today’s issue to guide your organization in the present and future.

Through awareness, authenticity, boldness, and trust, Responsible Leadership lays the foundation for how we can lead for the benefit of everyone in mind.

If you’re looking for support on your leadership journey, I’d invite you to schedule a free 45-minute Step Into Your Leadership call with me.

In this call, we’ll explore the leader you’re becoming—and awaken the one already within. Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned executive, a frustrated founder, or a first-time manager, we’ll chat about what feels aligned, what no longer fits, and what’s calling to emerge.

By the end of our time together, you’ll have greater clarity, renewed energy, and deep insights into how you can step into a more aligned version of leadership.

Wishing you the best on your leadership journey this week,

Spenser

How I can help you

As a Leadership Coach birthing the way forward for Responsible Leadership, there are a few ways I can help you beyond reading this newsletter each week.

1. ​Step Into Your Leadership Discovery Call: This free 45-minute discovery call is meant for you to explore the leader you're becoming—and awaken the one already within. We'll chat about what feels aligned, what no longer fits, and what’s calling to emerge.You’ll walk away with greater clarity, renewed energy, and deep insight into stepping into a more aligned version of leadership—and how my coaching can support that transformation.
2. The Responsible Leadership Roundtable (new time!): Starting Thursday, July 10th @ 11:00 AM central time, this will be an intimate 1-hour conversation about the idea of Rebirth. We’ll discuss how to apply the theme of Rebirth in our leadership styles and in our businesses. Follow me on LinkedIn to stay updated on how to register.
3. ​1:1 Coaching: If you’re ready to take the leap with one of my customized 1:1 coaching programs for leaders, you can find more information by visiting the link.

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I’d also appreciate it if you forwarded this issue to a leader in your life that inspires you. If you received this email from someone else and would like to subscribe to The Leader Within, you can do so here.

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