Sometimes the hardest feedback is the truest. Before Christmas, an employee told me I’d stopped being an encouraging leader. They were right. Here’s what I’m doing about it—and why your team may need to hear encouraging words from you this week.

There’s an issue at work that is getting a lot of attention. But over time, things quiet down. That means the situation got resolved, right? Not necessarily. Just because things get quiet doesn’t mean they’re fixed. As a leader, it’s up to you to peek beneath the silence and solve the real problem.

Following up on my 2026 leadership themes, I want to share the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind them. This isn’t just about productivity; it’s a shift from managing a workload to embracing a calling of stewardship. It’s about bringing order to the mess — which leads me to ask: How are YOU creating clarity against the chaos this year?

Every year, I create a handful of “themes” that help guide my leadership practices for the next 12 months. Here’s the list that I created for 2026 — including a few updates to 2025 themes where I fell a little short. What does your list look like for 2026?

At baggage claim, a frustrated worker said, “THIS ISN’T MY F’ING JOB.” My response? “Well, it’s not mine either, but I’m going to do something about it.” That moment gave me a mantra for 2025: it is always my job. Some reflections on a year of hard lessons, lost opportunities, and why freedom means having nothing to hide.

After sharing how I fail, here’s the flip side: 30 daily practices that make me better at leading and living. None revolutionary, all transformational. From Bible reading to gratitude journals to hugging my kids — here’s leadership on my best days.

Most leadership content tells you what to do right. I’m sharing the 25 ways I most often fail as a leader — because real growth starts when we stop pretending we have it all figured out.