Many people ask me what kinds of things I read.
The list could be long and varied, but sometimes the most meaningful reflections come from the simplest moments.
One Sunday morning, while cleaning out my inbox, I decided to open an article from Harvard Business Review titled Leadership That Gets Results. Rather than filing it away to read later, I paused and spent time with it.
As I read through the piece, I found myself reflecting on my own leadership.
What were my strengths?
Where could I improve?
And perhaps most importantly, how did I respond under pressure?
The more I thought about those questions, the more I realized something important.
Leadership shows up in everyday moments.
It shows up in the mother guiding her children, the caregiver supporting others, the professional trying to do meaningful work, and the person quietly deciding they want more from their life.
In each of those moments, we are influencing outcomes.
We are making decisions.
We are shaping the direction of our lives.
And if we want those outcomes to improve, the first place we have to look is inward.
Before we try to lead anything else, we have to learn how to lead ourselves.
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership
The Harvard Business Review article focused on the concept of emotional intelligence, a framework that has been discussed in leadership research for decades.
Emotional intelligence is often described through four core capabilities:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- Relationship management
At its core, emotional intelligence asks a simple question:
Do we understand ourselves well enough to lead effectively?
Self-awareness requires honesty.
Self-management requires discipline.
Social awareness requires empathy.
Relationship management requires communication and trust.
These capabilities influence how we interact with others and how we respond to the challenges that leadership inevitably brings.
Leadership Styles
The article also outlined six leadership styles often observed in organizations:
- Coercive
- Authoritative
- Affiliative
- Democratic
- Pacesetting
- Coaching
Each style has its place, and effective leaders often move between them depending on the situation.
But one insight stood out to me.
Leadership style alone does not determine effectiveness.
The emotional intelligence of the leader behind the style matters even more.
A leader who lacks self-awareness may misuse authority.
A leader who lacks empathy may damage trust.
A leader who cannot manage stress may create instability within a team.
In other words, leadership style is a tool.
Emotional intelligence determines how that tool is used.
Leadership Under Pressure
Pressure has a way of revealing our default behaviors.
Some leaders push harder.
Some withdraw.
Some over-control.
Others pause, reflect, and adjust.
The difference often comes down to emotional awareness.
When leaders recognize their emotional responses, they gain the ability to step back, assess the situation, and respond intentionally rather than reactively.
This is not always easy.
But it is essential.
Because leadership is not simply about guiding others.
It is also about understanding ourselves.
Expanding Our Leadership Repertoire
The article closes by encouraging leaders to expand their leadership styles.
That insight resonated with me, but it also reinforced something deeper.
Before we expand our leadership tools, we must first expand our awareness.
Awareness allows us to see patterns.
Patterns allow us to make changes.
And change allows us to grow.
Leadership, after all, is not a destination.
It is a continuous process of learning, reflection, and improvement.
The Mirror
That Sunday morning article turned into something I did not expect.
A mirror.
Not a mirror for judging leadership, but a mirror for understanding it.
Because the first-place leadership truly begins is not in the boardroom.
It begins in the mirror.
— Margaret Wood
Founder, LightKeeper TV
CEO, WOOD Federal Solutions, Inc.