Validation - Lisa D. Foster, Leadership Coaching & Training

two people resolving a leadership conflict with maturity

What Changes in Conflict When Leadership Matures

February 23, 2026

The Leadership Conflict Shift Mature Leaders Make As people rise into mature leadership, conflict starts to look different. They realize that most people are not trying to win. They are trying to be respected. At this point, conflict feels less personal and more informative. Instead of trying to win disagreements, mature leaders listen deeply, validate perspectives, and use conflict to understand what matters beneath the surface. For many leaders, conflict is the moment everything tightens. Stakes feel high. Emotions rise.…

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

Trust and Building Teams

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…

let someone else go first as expression of empathy and gratitude

Thanksgiving Gratitude: A Little Empathy at the Table | My Gratitude Project Day 27

November 28, 2025

Gratitude Project

It’s Thanksgiving. Empathy and food — is there a connection? I don’t think so. Let’s all just be grateful today for the food we have, and empathize with those who are hungry. And if you have a crazy uncle at the table who starts trying to spout his views, don’t confront them. Spend a moment trying to empathize and understand and validate them and then go back to eating. It will keep a little peace at the table, and more…

Empathy That Saves Lives: Lessons from Chris Voss | My Gratitude Project Day 18

November 18, 2025

Gratitude Project

Today I’m sharing another book about empathy that saves lives and that has deepened my gratitude for empathy. Empathy that saves lives? Yes, this is a book about how empathy, or the lack of it, results in life or death. The title is Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depends on It, by Chris Voss. This is another personal and practical book, this time by a former FBI terrorist negotiator. Voss details his own journey to learn…

How Caroline Fleck’s Book “Validation” Deepened My Gratitude for Empathy | My Gratitude Project Day 17

November 17, 2025

Gratitude Project

This is a post of gratitude for Caroline Fleck’s book, “Validation,” a must-read for anyone who wants better relationships in life. Why am I talking about empathy? After all, this is My Gratitude Project. But I am truly grateful for some recent books on epathy that have called my attention to its power and uses. So much so, that I want to share my reading with you. Here is the first book I want to recommend: Validation: How the Skill…

Empathy and Change: The Paradox That Transforms Us | My Gratitude Project Day 11

November 11, 2025

Gratitude Project

Ironically, empathy and change are more closely related than most people think. Empathy and change might seem to be opposites, but the secret of empathy is that it is what most people need in order to be ready to change. Resistance operates a lot like Newton’s Third Law of Physics. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What it means is that forces come in pairs. It may not seem like it, but if you push against…