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Effective Leadership Begins With the Reflection in the Mirror

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If you’d like to learn how to become an effective leader so you can influence many people throughout your life, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.


Our global community is facing continuous turbulence. With the current status being less of a new normal and more of a “no normal,” being able to skillfully navigate as a leader has become a top priority. While trying to stay focused above the noise, manage your personal life, and adapt to new work-life adjustments, you may also be in a position to manage a team, composed of individuals who are also going through troubling uncertainty. 

The stark reality is that in order to operate effectively as a leader, you must first start with the reflection in the mirror. It is paramount that each leader develop ways to manage their own heightened emotions and stressors in order to thrive – not just survive – in our distressed global climate.

Now more than ever, making intentional decisions to manage one’s emotional and mental state is vital to attaining clarity, cultivating ideas, and constructively handling day to day interactions. With the relentless negative news and an environment which is subject to drastic change on a daily or hourly basis, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Fear, doubt and defeat have a funny way of sneaking in at times when hope, conviction and problem solving are actually what is needed most.

“Never lose hope. Never forget the power of intentions and desires.” – Debasish Mridha

In a leadership role, everyone from peers to team members and ownership look to you as the true north – the person who can help get their ship back on course, mitigate damage along the way, and outline the path forward. Therefore, it is crucial that the captain of the ship remains calm and collected, instilling confidence that they have the ingenuity and grit to navigate the storm and bring everyone out safely on the other side. So the question becomes, how can you do that when your own emotions and stressors are at an all-time high?

Leaders also realize that active listening is key when managing others – after all, people need to feel heard and in order to guide someone, knowing where they stand is half the battle. This means you need to be present in the conversations taking place – not distracted and consumed by the turbulence swirling around you. 

As we look to a future that is riddled with uncertainty, cultivating an active daily practice to manage perspective is an essential part of establishing well-being. After all, your perspective has great influence over your decisions, the teams you manage, and the overall health of the companies you represent. So the healthier your mind is and the more thoughtfully your emotions are managed, the better your decision making ability will be to help you navigate the unknown. It will also help you lead by example so your team can embrace similar practices to elevate their overall mental and emotional state.

They often say the simplest of things are the hardest – this is what many people think of first when they think of meditation. However, daily meditation of just 20 minutes has been shown to provide mental clarity that lasts through the work day and compounds upon itself. 

This practice can be cultivated by simply doing the following:

  1. Choose a time frame every day that you will dedicate to meditation. It’s ideal if you can do your meditation right after waking up.
  2. Create a calm, quiet place in your home to meditate where you will not be interrupted.
  3. When you go to meditate, make sure your phone is on silent. If you feel you need to set your timer, be sure that it is a soft sound otherwise it may startle you.
  4. Sit in an easy comfortable position, close your eyes, and simply breathe. Deepen each breath with every inhale. Let stress, anxiety and fear go with every exhale.
  5. Repeat this for 20 minutes allowing your thoughts to come and go and your mind to settle. It will seem noisy in your mind at first, but over time your thoughts will seem more like a soft song and less like a rock concert rolling loudly around in your mind.

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee

This practice for many has become a cornerstone of their daily routines – setting the stage for “successful” days and productive weeks. We all have challenging emails, calls, conversations and beyond in both our personal and professional lives. So being able to harness a calm state of mind and a balanced set of emotions will allow you to lead better, dream bigger, think outside the box and help model healthy behaviors for your team, your circle and beyond. 

While appearing simple, choosing 20 minutes a day for your 2020 practice – a mere 1% of your day – may challenge you, however, this active practice will reveal amplified results, creating a  profound ripple effect into a positive future. 

What do you think makes an effective leader? Share your thoughts with us below!

Ken Kladouris is an esteemed wealth advisor and published author who believes you should be living your life, by design. Charting his own course in the wealth management industry, Ken has earned the respect of his peers and the trust of his clientele. Developing his signature tailor-made approach, Ken has been able to successfully assist countless clients in charting their course to financial abundance. This has allowed the men and women Ken is proud to serve the ability to infuse more life into their years here and now – not just in retirement. Ken’s book, “Get There!”, was developed as a tool that helps individuals discover the clarity they need to design their financial future. Learn more by visiting Ken’s website or connecting with him on LinkedIn.

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
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Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

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