71: The Human Side of Operational Leadership

Find the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/71. 

One of the worst pieces of advice I ever got was from a boss who thought being powerful meant being detached. To her, emotions were messy, and leadership was all about cold hard logic.

I tried her way during a tough re-org, but it backfired. I felt disconnected from my team, like a malfunctioning robot. I realized that being an effective leader in tough times doesn’t mean shutting down emotions, but acknowledging them, for both my sake and my team’s.

Let’s face it: feeling overwhelmed is normal when you’re making tough calls, reorganizing teams, or carrying out orders you might not fully agree with. It’s a heavy burden. And hard emotions are part of being human. 

In this episode, I’ll tell you why normalizing these emotions matters and walk you through a simple 3-step process to build emotional resilience.