24 harsh truths all managers need to face
Round 2.
Hey team, happy Tuesday,
A few months ago I shared this list and honestly, the response blew me away. It became one of the most shared newsletters I’ve written. Since then, thousands of new managers have joined us here, so I thought it was time to bring it back.
So as a way of quick re-introduction… Hey, btw, I’m Heather, and I’ve spent the last 10 years managing teams, from the Harrods shop floor to Ops Director in corporate tech. I’m no leadership guru and will never claim to be. But I’m addicted to learning, and I know you are too, so I created this space to share my messy, real lessons of leadership in depth.
My hope is that these weekly emails bring clarity, growth and even joy to your work, and offer a quiet, precious realisation: ah, it’s not just me who feels this way.
If you’re here, you’re exactly where you should be. Because no matter what stage in your leadership journey, we’re all still In The Making.
I won’t do this big intro every time I’m just really glad you’re here. The more of us learning together, building a world where people can love the work they do, the better. And if you’ve been here a while, know I’m endlessly grateful.
Now, back to the point…
24 harsh truths all managers need to face
Over the last few years, I’ve worked with leadership teams across global corporates, scale-ups and founder-led businesses, delivering talks and workshops to managers under real pressure to perform. And across thousands of conversations, workshops and leadership rooms, the same patterns show up again and again.
Different industries. Different titles… But the exact same struggles.
The 24 truths I’m about to share aren’t here to flatter you. They might sting a little because they ask us to let go of comforting stories about ourselves. But these are the truths that sit underneath confident, respected leadership. So if you’re willing to read with openness rather than armour, we’re cooking.
I want you to actively engage with this, so if you strongly agree or disagree with any of the points, please comment below which number (or hit ‘reply’ to this email and let’s chat).
24 harsh truths all managers need to face, let’s go…
Giving tough feedback is hard. But managing the same underperformance for months is harder. Choose your hard.
People pleasing is costing you respect.
If your team won’t make decisions without you, it’s becuase you’ve trained them not to.
You cannot scale effort. You can only scale systems.
The greatest leaders ask more questions than they answer.
Leadership isn’t about being in the spotlight, it’s about shining the spotlight on others.
Conflict avoided always returns, usually louder.
Your intentions don’t matter, only your impact does.
If each individual’s success measures aren’t clear, accountability can’t exist.
Nothing will lose you great employees faster than them watching you tolerate a bad one.
If everything still relies on you, you’re not leading, you’re just depended on (and it feels good to feel needed).
If you wait to feel confident before you act, you’ll wait forever. Leadership requires courage first.
Delegation only works if you delegate the ‘why’, not just the ‘how’.
Being busy is not evidence of value.
If you’re constantly firefighting, you’ve trained yourself to be the rescuer. Stop fixing and start coaching.
Avoiding discomfort always costs more later.
Most performance issues are clarity issues in disguise.
If feedback has been bottled up until an appraisal and lands as a surprise, it’s a leadership failure.
Respect is built through consistency.
If you protect people from consequences, you steal their growth.
Leadership isn’t being needed, it’s about becoming unnecessary.
If you’re exhausted, look at what you refuse to let go of (cough, meetings, cough).
Being clear will upset some people. That’s the job.
If the team can function without you, that’s not failure, that’s leadership.
Which number do you agree with most? Or disagree?
Let’s chat…
Peace,
H x
P.S. If you’re ready to take this work beyond the newsletter, here are 3 ways we can do that:
1. Build a better culture with Custard
Our new AI-powered culture platform helping managers understand what’s really going on in their teams, spot issues early and get personalised leadership support. Join the waitlist here.
2. Become a better manager with Fresh Start 🚀
My 6-week leadership bootcamp for managers who want to build confidence, create accountability and lead a high-performing team (without becoming the bottleneck). We run 2 cohorts per year, next one in September. Join the next waitlist here.
3. Bring me into your business 🎤
If you’re looking to develop your managers or create a stronger leadership culture across your organisation, I deliver keynotes, workshops and leadership programmes for teams around the world. Find out more here.
Solid list.
As a business owner , I spent initial years being the person everyone came to for every decision at Genetech Solutions, and I thought that made me a good leader. It actually just meant nothing moved without me. Real leadership showed up once I started letting people make calls without checking in first, even when a few of those calls went differently than I would have made them.