Respect - Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training

Respect is necessary to enable trust and high performance.

man looking out window as an image of a leader looking for leadership skills

What Leaders Were Actually Searching for in 2025

December 24, 2025

And What It Tells Us About Where Leadership Skills Are Headed Over the past year, thousands of leaders came to this site looking for help on leadership skills. Not tips. Not hacks. But judgment — how to think, how to choose, and how to lead when the stakes are real. That matters. Because when you look closely at what people are reading, sharing, and spending time with, you start to see something clearer than trends. You see the questions leaders…

A Leadership Framework for Leadership Skills, Motivation and a Culture of Performance

Why Leadership Feels Harder Than It Should — and Leadership Skills that Actually Help

December 22, 2025

Motivation and a Culture of Performance

A Leadership Skills Framework that Works as a System to Improve Results without Force or Pressure Leadership skills work together as a system to achieve the results your organization needs, and that every leader needs to be more effective. These skills build on one another and create a system for improving motivation, engagement, and performance. If one of your leadership skills is undeveloped, the whole system weakens. Leadership rarely fails because people don’t care or aren’t trying hard enough. More…

Trust in leadership improves team performance through open communication and collaboration.

Why Trust in Leadership Is the Fastest Way to Improve Team Performance

December 16, 2025

Trust and Building Teams

Trust isn’t a “nice to have” in leadership. It is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to improve team performance. When leaders focus on trust in leadership, work moves faster. Conversations become more honest. Problems surface earlier, when they are still small and solvable. Teams spend less time protecting themselves and more time actually doing the work. That is not idealism. It’s efficiency, and it’s based on years of science proving that trust is the essential element of…

service based leader listening building respect and motivation

Why Service-Based Leadership Is One of the Most Effective Leadership Skills

December 15, 2025

Trust and Building Teams

Service-based leadership is about making work easier, clearer, and more human for the people around you. Service-based leaders inspire the most effort, loyalty, and follow-through.They aren’t the loudest or most dominant. They’re the ones who consistently remove friction for their teams — who listen, anticipate obstacles, and step in to help without making it about themselves. That kind of leadership doesn’t just feel good.It works. Key Takeaways Why service-based leadership gets results Why Service Inspires People to Do Their Best…

Person journaling beside a winter window, reflecting on personal leadership values.

A Simple Exercise to Define Your Signature Leadership Values

December 10, 2025

Trust and Building Teams

Leaders make their biggest leaps when they plan who they want to be when things get hard — and dedicate themselves to those values. Key Takeaways Why defining leadership values matters: Leadership presence isn’t charisma, confidence, or polish. It’s the steadiness that comes from knowing what you stand for and being able to return to those values in the moments that matter most. Your values shape the culture your team experiences every day — how people communicate, raise concerns, solve…

Bright north star shining in a clear night sky, symbolizing clarity and direction in leadership.

Why Every Leader Needs a Signature Leadership Style (and Why Values Are Your North Star)

December 8, 2025

Trust and Building Teams

When things get tough, great leaders lead from values and get results. Skills like managing deadlines, resolving conflict, running meetings, and inspiring teams all matter. But the leaders people remember — the ones who build trust, inspire commitment, and deliver results — anchor those skills in something deeper. They lead with a signature leadership style, shaped by a small set of values that guide their hardest decisions. In unpredictable times, values become a north star. They steady you, strengthen your…