Balancing Leadership Responsibilities

Many senior leaders have a strong "do now" mentality. They want to "move fast", "take action", and "just try it". While this has proven successful in environments with high variability and low data (e.g. startups), it often backfires in situations that require complex decision-making or big organizational shifts. When "do now" is overly valued: 😓 Large reorgs turn messy and set the company back for quarters if not years. 😓 Teams experience constant churn and low ROI from launches, jumping from idea to idea too quickly. 😓 Underinvestment in first-order-negative-but-second-order-positive competitive differentiators, leading to a lack of long-term defensive moats. It turns out that many complex challenges that organizations and teams face today benefit from deep thinking first. To bring this balance into your organization, try the following: ✅ Work with leaders who prefer to "Think Deeply First", and be compassionate about their slower approach to decision-making. ✅ Invest time in debating alternatives, weighing various risks, or making sure everyone's opinions are heard. ✅ Open up your decision-making to a diverse team and take the time to truly hear feedback. Remember, when your "do now" clashes with another trusted leader's "think first", take a step back and consider whether a slower and more considered approach will have outsized benefit in the long term. ----- 👋 Hi! I'm Yue. I am a Chief Product and Technology Officer turned Executive Coach. I help women and minority aspiring executives break through to the C-suite. 🚀  🔔 Follow me for more content on coaching, leadership, and career growth.

Work-life balance is the biggest lie we've told ourselves. Balance suggests equal weight at all times. But real life doesn't work like that. Sometimes work needs more. Deadlines, big projects, tight turnarounds. You sprint. You push. You deliver. Other times, life needs more. School holidays, burnout, family illness. You pause. You rest. You reset. Trying to keep both in perfect balance? That's pressure. And it's not sustainable. So stop chasing balance. Start managing your rhythm instead: 1. Know your season ↳ Are you in a sprint (high work focus) or recovery? ↳ Naming it removes guilt and helps set clear priorities 2. Plan your sprints ↳ Don’t wait for chaos, anticipate busy periods early ↳ Block time, set limits, and align with key people 3. Communicate expectations ↳ Let your team and family know what to expect ↳ Clear heads-up prevents tension and misalignment 4. Protect your recovery time ↳ Rest before your body forces you to shut down ↳ Schedule downtime like you would a deadline 5. Work with your energy, not just time ↳ Tackle complex tasks when your energy is highest ↳ Use low-energy windows for admin or rest 6. Zoom out, not in ↳ Stop chasing daily balance, it doesn’t exist ↳ Balance over weeks or months is more realistic 7. Treat rest as strategic, not a reward ↳ Recovery fuels your next sprint ↳ You don’t need to earn rest, you need to plan it Don’t force balance. Respond to what the moment asks from you. What season are you in right now? Let me know in the comments. ♻️ Repost to help others find their rhythm 👉 Follow Lauren Murrell for more like this

Most leadership advice assumes you're either disrupting hard while in sneakers or climbing old ladders ("get a sponsor!") in suits. But what about the rest of us in the middle? I see capable leaders worrying: "Am I playing it too safe? Or am I playing with fire?" I've worked across government, a late-stage start-up and now a global company. After years in vastly different environments, I'm now convinced we can find our own middle. We can push for real change in established systems without destroying stability. We can challenge senior leaders when they say no—and get them to an enthusiastic yes later. We can care deeply for our team while still delivering hard results that senior management urgently needs. Here's what’s under the hood: • Respect hierarchy—but don't let it silence us • Understand cultural context well enough to know when and how to push • Be persistent without steamrolling people • Build relationships that can handle disagreements This isn't about being "nice" or "safe” (a common accusation Asian female leaders deal with, while still getting things done). It's about being effective in real organizations where relationships matter and teams aren't all the same. Some of us refuse to accept broken systems but aren't trying to torch the place either. We want to build teams that actually get things done. If you're a leader navigating this balance, what are some of the trickiest tradeoffs you need to manage?

“A bad workman always blames his tools.” One of my teachers used to say this constantly to our class. Spilled paint? Blame the table. Bad grade? Blame the exam. He never let us get away with it. And honestly, it used to drive us a bit mad. But here’s what I realise now: He was teaching me accountability. Not the harsh kind. The kind that says: what’s in your control? That’s the question I bring to my team now. Not “why did you fail?” But “what was in your control, and what wasn’t?” It changes the conversation. Blame shrinks. Ownership grows. You can still talk with kindness. Holding people accountable can feel terrifying. Here's what I've noticed about doing it well: It’s not one big talk. It’s many small ones. Jonathan Raymond calls this the Accountability Dial. A series of conversations that gently ramp up: → The Mention:  “I noticed this... is everything okay?” → The Invitation:  “I’ve seen this a few times. What’s the pattern here?” → The Conversation:  “This is affecting the team. Let’s figure it out together.” Each one is a chance to stay connected, not prove a point. But before I hold anyone else accountable, I check myself first. Did I set clear expectations? Did I give them what they needed to succeed? Am I calm enough to listen? Only once I've answered these questions do I move forward. For me, accountability isn’t about catching people out. It’s about helping them see clearly. Our teacher knew that. He just didn’t call it leadership. ♻️ If this resonates, repost for your network. 📌 Follow Amy Gibson for more leadership insights.

Leaders who avoid hard feedback aren’t protecting their people, they are setting them up to fail. Feedback is one of the most powerful tools we have in leadership but it’s also one of the most misused. Because leaders confuse compassion with avoidance, softening the truth until it loses all usefulness, or withholding it altogether under the guise of kindness. Compassionate feedback is about caring enough to be honest, in a way that allows other people to hear it. At APS Intelligence, we use a framework for compassionate feedback, designed to ensure that even difficult messages are delivered with clarity and respect: 1. Frame the feedback - Start by recognising effort and value to create psychological safety and remind people their work is seen and appreciated. 2. Ask permission - Feedback lands better when people feel like they have agency. Asking “Can I talk to you about something I’ve noticed?” is, as Dr. Shelby Hill says, a gentle knock on the door of someone’s psyche instead of barging in. 3. Be precise and objective - Describe what you’ve observed, not your interpretation of it. Feedback should focus on behaviour, not character. 4. Explain the impact - Share how the behaviour affects others or the work. Clarity about consequences builds accountability without blame. 5. Stay curious and open - Avoid assumptions. Ask questions that invite dialogue and understanding, not defence. 6. Collaborate on next steps - Offer support, not ultimatums. Feedback should be a shared problem to solve instead of a burden to bear. 7. End with perspective - Reaffirm their strengths and remind them that one issue does not define their value. Compassionate feedback allows honesty and humanity to coexist. It ensures that when people walk away, they feel respected, even if the message was hard to hear. This is a framework we use often at APS Intelligence. You can book a tailored workshop for your people managers or leadership cohorts to explore this further.

One of the hardest tensions in leadership is this: How do you care for your people and still hold the line on performance? Too many leaders treat empathy and accountability like competing values. They're not. The real breakdown usually happens somewhere else: Assumption. Leaders assume employees understand the pressure they carry. The stakes. The expectations. The weight of decisions that affect the whole business. And employees often assume leaders cannot see their reality either. This gap creates friction. The answer is not less empathy. And it is not softer accountability. It is more honesty. Talk more. Listen more. And stop assuming your team can see what you see just because they work near it. The leaders who do this well make expectations clear, explain what is at stake, and create enough trust for people to hear hard truths without shutting down. Empathy without clarity creates confusion. Accountability without communication creates resentment. Performance requires both.

Most people are surprised when I share that in the early days of Google, nearly 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙀𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 on the Product Team had a master’s degree. This was by design. It was one of our drivers of growth. One of the things I see leaders get wrong in their critical growth window is treating support positions as low-level jobs. They are anything but that! When optimized correctly, your EAs, Senior EAs, Chief of Staff, and Executive Project Managers are not silent, reactive contributors – they are proactive, highly skilled, intellectual equals, sparring partners, and proxies. When hired and empowered correctly: -They are the ones who hold your executives accountable for deliverables. -They are the ones who can sit in a meeting and respond how you would respond. -They are the ones that are critical to translating your vision into trackable action items. -They are your eyes, ears, and heart connection to your team. -They are an extension of you and effective in a way you could never be for yourself. In fact, when I was Eric Schmidt’s Chief of Staff, he routinely tossed (quite literally) newspapers, magazines, and books to me while we traveled together. He was never looking for just a distillation or summary. He wanted me to read through them and see what correlations, insights, ideas, and recommendations he may not have gleaned at first glance. This intellectual partnership brought out the best in both of us and made each of us more effective at our jobs. Remember, your “support staff” can be the factor between a 2x C-Suite and a 10x C-Suite. Hire, train, and promote accordingly. #leadership #scale #culture #growth

Most people “network” only when they need something. Leaders, on the other hand, nurture networks long before they need them. Here’s how to build genuine, lasting connections 👇 🔠 Acronym: N.E.T.W.O.R.K. N – Notice before you approach Observe who’s in the room. Notice energy, conversations, and who’s connecting with whom. Awareness builds alignment. E – Engage with curiosity Ask thoughtful questions instead of rehearsed elevator pitches. Curiosity makes you memorable; self-promotion doesn’t. T – Tailor your tone Match your tone and pace to the listener. The best communicators adjust, not dominate. W – Warm introductions win If you’re new, find mutual connections. A warm referral opens doors faster than a cold message ever will. O – Offer before you ask Give first — a resource, advice, or simply appreciation. Reciprocity is the silent law of influence. R – Remember and reconnect Follow up after the event — a short message, a shared article, or a compliment. Relationships die in silence. K – Keep it authentic You can’t fake interest for long. People feel energy — be real, not rehearsed. 💡 Quick Tricks: ✅ 1. Arrive early — easier to talk before the crowd builds. ✅ 2. Carry a story, not a CV. ✅ 3. Smile with your eyes, not just your lips. ✅ 4. Remember one unique detail about each person. ✅ 5. Always exit conversations gracefully: “It was great speaking with you — I’d love to stay in touch.” Networking is not about collecting cards. It’s about collecting connections that turn into collaborations. #Networking #Leadership #ExecutivePresence #CommunicationSkills #SoftSkills #Influence #PersonalBranding #ImageCoachShivani

Great leaders don’t say yes to everything. They know when to say no. When I became a leader, I said yes to everything. I wanted to help, prove my worth, and keep everyone happy. Here’s the problem: saying yes to one thing means saying no to something better. People-pleasing leaves you anxious, overwhelmed, and burned out - and it doesn’t make you look like a leader. Here’s when to say “no” and when to say “yes”: 1/ New Project Requests ✅ Say yes if the project fits your strategy, resources are available, and there’s clear ROI. ❌ Say no if the scope is unclear, resources are tight, or it doesn’t align with priorities. Strategies to say no: ↳ Ask for a clear project brief or outline before committing. ↳ Suggest a pilot project to test feasibility. ↳ Say, “Let’s revisit this after we’ve finished current priorities.” 2/ Meeting Invitations ✅ Say yes if you’re a decision-maker, the agenda is clear, and it impacts your work. ❌ Say no if the topic can be handled by email, your input isn’t essential, or it conflicts with high-priority tasks. Strategies to say no: ↳ Ask for meeting notes or a summary instead of attending. ↳ Offer to email your input instead. ↳ Say, “Could this be combined with another meeting?” 3/ Opportunities or Partnerships ✅ Say yes if the opportunity aligns with your goals and offers mutual value. ❌ Say no if it distracts from your priorities or lacks clear benefits. Strategies to say no: ↳ Ask how the opportunity supports current objectives. ↳ Suggest revisiting the idea when resources are more available. ↳ Say, “This doesn’t fit our priorities now, but I’d be happy to revisit it later.” 4/ Additional Responsibilities ✅ Say yes if it fits your strengths, supports career growth, and your workload allows it. ❌ Say no if it over-extends your capacity, compromises existing commitments, or requires skills outside your expertise. Strategies to say no: ↳ Negotiate: “Which task can I deprioritise to take this on?” ↳ Clarify expectations: “What does success look like for this task?” ↳ Suggest delegating to someone better suited for the work. 5/ Urgent/Last-Minute Requests ✅ Say yes if it’s a genuine emergency, aligns with priorities, and you’re uniquely qualified to handle it. ❌ Say no if it’s caused by poor planning, is part of a recurring pattern, or risks current commitments. Strategies to say no: ↳ Say, “I’d love to help, but short notice may affect quality.” ↳ Propose alternative timelines or a backup solution. ↳ Set boundaries: “This risks my current commitments, so I’m unable to take it on.” Here’s the truth: Weak leaders fill their calendar. Strong leaders protect it. If saying no feels hard, remember: boundaries create space for what matters. ⤵️ Tell me in the comments: What’s one request you’ve said "no" to that helped protect your time and energy? ♻️ Share this with a leader who needs to reclaim their time. ➕ Follow me, Jen Blandos, for daily insights on leadership, productivity, and professional growth.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 One of the fundamental qualities that distinguish effective #leaders from others is their approach to #accountability. While some individuals may be quick to point fingers and shift blame when things go wrong, true leaders embrace accountability and inspire the same behavior in their teams. The Importance of Accountability in Leadership is not merely about taking responsibility for one’s actions; it is about owning the outcomes, whether they are successes or failures. Leaders who embody accountability demonstrate #integrity, build #trust, and foster a culture of ownership within their #organizations. By taking responsibility for their decisions and actions, they set a powerful example for their #teams. In contrast, leaders who resort to blaming others undermine trust and damage team morale. Blame-shifting not only deflects responsibility but also erodes the #confidence of team members, leading to a toxic work culture where people are afraid to take risks or innovate. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲? ✅ Building Trust and Credibility When leaders own up to their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions, they earn the trust and respect of their team members. Trust is the foundation of any successful organization, and it is built on transparency and honesty. ✅ Fostering a Culture of Learning and Innovation Leaders who embrace accountability encourage a growth mindset within their teams. They understand that mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process and that failure can lead to valuable insights and innovation. ✅ Empowering Teams Accountability is empowering. When leaders take responsibility for their actions and decisions, they empower their teams to do the same. ✅Driving Organizational Success Accountability is a key driver of organizational success. When leaders model accountability, they set a standard for performance and integrity that permeates the entire organization. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Leaders must demonstrate accountability in their actions and decisions. By being transparent about their mistakes and learning from them, they set a powerful example for their teams. They can… ✔️Create a Safe Environment ✔️Encourage open communication. ✔️Set Clear Expectations ✔️Provide Constructive Feedback ✔️Recognize and Reward Accountability . In short, in the realm of leadership, accountability is a cornerstone that underpins trust, integrity, and #performance. A leader's ability to inspire accountability in others is not merely a matter of issuing commands or setting expectations; it is fundamentally about leading by example. The truth is, you can't inspire accountability in others until you model it yourself. This principle holds true across industries, cultures, and contexts.