The Path To Leadership

What If Your Leadership Certainty Is Wrong


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You can’t lead well if you’re constantly guessing what people “meant”. We dig into the assumption trap that shows up in everyday leadership moments and turns normal human behaviour into labels like disengaged, difficult, lazy, or resistant. When we let those stories run the show, we don’t just misread one person, we start building a culture based on suspicion instead of clarity.

We walk through real workplace scenarios leaders wrestle with all the time: someone is late, someone misses a deadline, someone goes quiet in meetings, or someone pushes back on change. Instead of defaulting to motive, we talk about what might actually be happening: unclear norms, mismatched expectations, caregiving demands, stress, fear, low confidence, or a lack of psychological safety. We also unpack how “common sense” differs across jobs and backgrounds, and why the loudest voice in the room isn’t always the best idea, especially when introverts and internal processors need space to think.

We also connect the dots to burnout and performance. When priorities are unclear and everything is urgent, people’s brains narrow under stress and creativity drops, making innovation an impossible ask. Our big takeaway is simple and hard: curiosity is a leadership skill you can build, and the questions you choose become the employee experience. If you’re ready to lead with more clarity and less mind reading, listen now, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave an honest review.

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Order Dr. Katie's books: 

  • 52 Weeks of LEADERship:  https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=afiG9oMq4YoXnvxsSD9PDjTrezQvZd6A7vBE1T2yaGz
  • You Might Be an Asshole: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=O4ZMvNNamwFzFFUAjJB1s6pjudAiHrUlcUX0iMUlzI6

Learn more about Catalyst LEADERs Institute:  www.katieervin.com/leaders

 
Theme music by Emma Jo https://emmajo.rocks/

 

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The Path To LeadershipBy Catalyst Development