From modeling leadership to being a leader: A personal journey

You’re in an online meeting and someone asks for input from the group. “There are no right or wrong answers,” they say. Silence. So you speak up. Only to hear: “Oh, well that’s not quite how we do it here.” And just like that, the room learns: speaking up is safe, but pointless. That’s the danger leaders miss. Because it’s not always fear that kills contribution or voice— 👉 it’s the feeling that their effort is wasted. High-performing teams don’t just need a safe space. 📍 They need a space where ideas move something forward. 📍 Where contribution has impact. Leaders—next time someone speaks up, ask yourself: Are you reinforcing their voice—or quietly teaching them it’s irrelevant? 🔑 Repost so more leaders see why silence isn’t about fear, but about wasted effort. ✨ Follow me @Sharm Siva for neuroscience-based insights on leadership, high performing teams and protecting your people’s genius minds at work. #LeadSmarter #ProtectYourGenus #Significance #HighPerformers #SpeakingUp

Especially when you are in a leadership position and need to speak up on behalf of your workers.

Empower your team by making them feel safe to lead and speak.

Recently, I received a message from a peer that truly resonated with me: "I want to recognize you for your outstanding leadership. You consistently demonstrate empathy, actively listen, and offer support whenever challenges arise... You challenge assumptions in a constructive way, prompting deeper thinking and helping refine perspectives... Your commitment to keeping our skills sharp and relevant is another testament to your dedication to the team’s development." Reading this, I felt both humbled and energized. It reminded me of what leadership should feel like — not a title, but a responsibility to serve, support, and grow alongside others. This aligns beautifully with a post shared by Markus Tillmann on the 8 Pillars of Servant Leadership. These principles aren’t just theoretical — they’re practical tools that shape how we lead, how we show up, and how we help others thrive. Leadership isn’t about being in charge. It’s about being in service — of the mission, the team, and the growth of everyone around us. To those who lead with empathy, challenge with care, and inspire through action: thank you. You make work meaningful. 💬 Feedback like this is what fuels the motivation to continue being a servant leader. It’s a powerful reminder that leadership is a shared journey — and recognition, even a few words, can make a lasting impact. 👉 So here’s my call to action: Don’t hesitate to share feedback with your leaders and managers. Your words might be the encouragement they need to keep leading with empathy, clarity, and purpose. Markus Tillmann Jasmin Guthmann Sana Remekie Knuth Waltenberg Andreas Knoor Daniel Müller Caroline Krauß Thoralf Rapsch Mohan Gopinath

Loudness is not Leadership - despite evidence to the contrary! We often confuse confidence for competence, Net effect: Over-confident people rise to leadership positions. Charismatic, talk well, give rousing speeches, and take the airtime in meetings with BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) comments. Then, they get promoted to leadership positions. Somehow, we’re still surprised they are poor leaders!. The best leaders I have worked with are ✔️ active listeners, ✔️ humble, ✔️ considerate, and ✔️ high emotional intelligence. I’m coaching Beatrice; when asked why she missed a leadership position, she was told to… 1️⃣ show more leadership gravitas and 2️⃣ improve your presence and visibility Here’s my inner turmoil: I don’t want to coach Beatrice to be more arrogant, inconsiderate, or dominant. It’s not her, and the world doesn’t need more of these overconfident leaders. Instead, in our coaching, we’ve worked on: ✔️ how her leadership style makes her better than your typical loud leader ✔️ reframe and build her confidence that her voice counts even if she’s not as articulate as some of her big-talking colleagues ✔️ recognise that her team, peers and seniors respect her for her EQ and consensus leadership style ✔️ improving her communication style to be crisp and concise Beatrice doesn’t have a problem that needs to be “fixed”. We’re building on where she is now, valuing what she is good at and developing true confidence that who she is is enough. If you’re looking to build on from where you are at (not be “fixed”) then let's have a chat.

If there’s one leadership trait that’s often overlooked, it’s - being approachable! Sounds clichéd, right? But the sheer number of times we talk about it shows how important it really is.   We often think leaders need to be decisive, strategic, visionary… and while all of that matters, none of it works if people hesitate to knock on your door (or ping you on Teams).   Being approachable isn’t necessarily about being everyone’s best friend - it’s about creating space where people feel safe to ask, share, challenge, or even admit mistakes without rehearsing their sentences 10 times.   The best leaders I’ve worked with weren’t just the smartest in the room - they made room for others to be smart too. And the good side? You don’t need to wear a “leader mask.” You can simply be yourself - and that authenticity is what people connect with most.   Approachability builds trust. Trust builds collaboration - And collaboration? That’s where the magic happens!

Feeling like you're either completely overwhelmed or completely checked out? Here's the thing about leadership - we swing between two extremes. Either we're frantically trying to control everything (spoiler alert: impossible) or we throw our hands up and say "whatever happens, happens." Let's face it, neither of those states help you project confidence. It doesn't feel good when you can't be on top of everything. And if you've been a high performer, just saying "I'm not going to worry about stuff I can't control" feels like you're giving up. Like an abdication of responsibility. So here's what highly effective leaders do differently: They stay fiercely connected to what's important to them without being attached to how things are going at any one time. Think of it this way - when you're on a ship at sea, they tell you to do two things to manage seasickness: - Stay in the center of the boat where it's rocking less - Keep your eyes on the horizon - Keeping your eye on the horizon helps you avoid focusing on all the individual ups and downs, which drives you crazy. Get clear on what your horizon is - what your North Star is - and keep focused on it. That's the single biggest thing you can do to project confidence when things are changing and there's too much to keep track of. The goal isn't to stop the waves. It's to ride them with clarity, adaptability, and resilience. What's your North Star right now? If this resonates with your leadership team, feel free to share it with your colleagues. Sometimes we all need a reminder to focus on what truly matters. Got leadership questions? DM me. Ready to explore your authentic leadership approach? Link in my bio.

The 5 Leadership Habits SA Execs Swear By (And None Involve More Meetings) “What’s the one thing that’s made you a more effective leader?” I’ve asked this question at the end of every Leading Awake executive roundtable. Some might expect answers like “learned to pivot synergies at scale”. But no – what I got instead was deeply human, and often refreshingly obvious. Their answers clustered into five themes, each of which says something profound about what high-performance leadership really takes. Turn out these are things that don’t require a Harvard MBA or a 400-slide strategy deck. Here are the 5 leadership foundations that bubbled up from 28 top SA execs: 1️⃣: Your first meeting of the day is with yourself. 2️⃣: Metrics may drive performance, but humanity sustains it. 3️⃣: Purpose isn’t wallpaper; it’s a compass. 4️⃣: Constraints and challenges don’t limit leaders – mindsets do. 5️⃣: Boldness is authenticity in action. Leaders didn’t point to strategies or systems, but to habits of presence, empathy, courage, and perspective. In a way, it echoes a deeper truth: leadership isn’t something you DO to others, it’s an expression of how you ARE with others. As one of my favourite teachers, Alan Watts might say: The art of living – and leading – is not about straining or forcing, but about aligning with the flow of things… So perhaps the real invitation is this: Stop thinking of leadership as a role to perform, and start seeing it as a way of BEING. Because when you do follow these 5 leadership foundations, leadership ceases to be a skillset. It becomes a presence.

What most people don't realise about leadership Skill isn't enough. You need to be a pretty good human, too. Seems obvious, but for a lot of people it's not. They'll go I'm such a good videographer so I should lead a team. But being a great leader it so much more than having a skill set. This is why we talk in our team so much about leading yourself first. If you want to be a leader but you're severely unhealthy, You're going out getting on the piss every weekend You overreact to silly things people do You aren't ready yet. Last Friday at 10X, the leadership team had a session with our People and Culture leader, Tamara. So the rest of the team and I talked about what leading yourself looks like. I asked them what the identity is that they want to grow into. Like "I want to be the type of person that does X". To grow into a new identity, there are actions you have to take. So I had them identify 3 behaviours that will help them become the type of person they want to be. Then find mentors or resources to help them develop in those areas. Because I want the junior guys to get away from thinking leadership is about skill sets. Their focus needs to be on becoming better people. Once they can lead themselves well, they will be ready to lead others, too.

I’ve been sharing lessons from my 30 years in leadership to help new and emerging leaders find their footing, here’s another tip from my journey. Leadership Tip: Defining Your Leadership Style Midway through my career, I started to question my leadership style. I had nearly a dozen years of experience, with half of that time in leadership roles. GE had provided me with incredible opportunities, leadership courses, mentors, even the chance to teach others. I thought I knew the kind of leader I wanted to be. Then something happened that made me second guess myself. I had a talented professional on my team who I hired myself. We were preparing proposals for senior leadership, and I thought it would be a great opportunity for them to present the analysis. The presentation went well, and my team member appreciated the exposure. Afterward, another respected leader asked why I hadn’t presented the material myself. That feedback stuck with me. The next time we had a proposal, I presented it. My team member was confused and disappointed. “That’s not like you,” they said. And they were right. My decision to change my approach created a rift between us that was never fully resolved. I eventually realized I should have trusted my instincts. Here’s what I learned: - You will question your leadership style at some point in your career. - It’s valuable to observe different styles, but eventually, you need to define your own. - Your team will quickly recognize when you’re not being authentic. So be genuine. Be consistent. Trust your leadership style. Because the moment you stop being yourself, your team will sense it.