Blog

A tug-of-war as a symbol of leaders create resistance

Why Strong Leaders Create Resistance Without Realizing It

January 26, 2026
Trust and Building Teams

Inadvertently, leaders create resistance when they focus too much on the work and not enough on the people doing the work. When leaders create resistance, upper management gets worried. For example, a CFO I worked with was referred to me by her CEO because employee satisfaction on her team was low and the error rate was too high. In our first conversation, she explained that she had spent the last two years improving processes: creating documentation, better record keeping, clarifying…

Read More
woman contemplating feedback signals leaders miss

The Feedback Signals You’re Missing as a Leader (And Why They Matter More at Senior Levels)

January 23, 2026
Decision Making Under Pressure

If you’re missing feedback signals as a leader, it’s a sign of your own growth. Learn to listen differently to grow more. At some point, nearly every leader misses a feedback sgnal. There was a moment when I, too, found myself missing feedback signals as a leader. Here’s a story of how I missed a signal and made a decision that nearly cost me my company—and what I learned that helped me grow further. I remember announcing the decision and…

Read More
leader wondeing why leadership stops working at scale

Why Leadership Stops Working Even When You’re Doing Everything Right

January 21, 2026
Motivation and a Culture of Performance

If you’re wondering why leadership stops working, consider the impact of the scale of your job. Has encouraging others replaced doing it yourself? In my clients, I see why leadership stops working pretty often. For example, a senior leader I worked with had doubled his firm’s size and revenue and could clearly see a path to doubling again. Yet he was increasingly frustrated. Mistakes were creeping in, and his team didn’t seem as committed as he was. As the organization…

Read More

Six Leadership Styles—and How They Affect Team Performance

January 20, 2026
Trust and Building Teams

Strong leaders rely on a variety of leadership styles, adapting how they lead based on context, people, and stakes. Key Takeaways about Leadership Styles Decades of leadership style research—including Daniel Goleman’s work on leadership styles and performance—show that how you lead directly affects results. Some leadership styles consistently improve engagement and outcomes. Others quietly undermine them, even when intentions are good. Think of leadership as a toolkit. Leaders with limited tools tend to overuse the same approach—often at the expense…

Read More
smiling confident leader of other leaders

From Managing People to Managing Other Leaders

January 16, 2026
Confidence and Managing Yourself

When stepping into managing other leaders, most people notice that leadership starts to feel very different. Instead of managing a front line of people with less experience, you start managing other leaders who are peers or former peers. Key Takeaways for This Leadership Transition What was working before with junior personnel stops working. When leading other leaders, people feel freer to question your authority and ideas. They get offended when they feel you want to take away their autonomy. Recovering…

Read More
paper airplanes as a metaphonr for the value of leadership skills banner

The Business Value of Strong Leadership

January 14, 2026
Motivation and a Culture of Performance

The Value of Strong Leadership Shows Up in Results The value of strong leadership isn’t abstract or theoretical. It shows up in faster execution, fewer mistakes, lower turnover, and teams that solve problems before they escalate. In most organizations, managers at the same level are judged on similar criteria: results. Everyone is busy. Everyone has their own work to deliver. What separates effective leaders from struggling ones is not effort or authority—it’s how well their teams perform. Organizations don’t just…

Read More

Lisa D. Foster, Ph.D. ACC  is an independent coach. As an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation, Lisa honors and abides by the ICF Code of Ethics.  All coaching sessions and consultations are confidential.

Privacy Policy

Subscribe to learn more
© Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training 2026. Theme designed by CPOThemes.