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Blog with Linnea
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS THAT ACTUALLY WORK
Real Talk About the Challenges You're Facing
Every week, I share practical leadership insights for the real challenges you're dealing with, at work and in life. No fluff. No theory. Just honest, actionable wisdom from someone who's been there.
Whether you're a new supervisor navigating your first difficult conversation, a mid-level manager building your team, or a seasoned executive shaping culture, you'll find insights here that help you lead better.
Authentic Leadership: Why Being Your Real Self Makes You More Effective (Not Less)
And you know what happens? When politics enters the workplace, trust exits.
Because people can tell. They always can. No matter how polished the performance, people sense when their leader isn't being real. And once they sense it, everything that leader says gets filtered through that lens of skepticism.
That's why authenticity isn't just a nice to have quality in leadership. It's essential. Not because being real makes you likable, though it might. But because leading
linnearader
1 day ago7 min read
Trust and Honesty in Leadership: Why It's the Foundation That Holds Everything Together
I worked with a team once whose leader had a habit of taking credit for their work.
Not in obvious ways. It was subtle. In meetings with upper management, the leader would present ideas the team had developed without mentioning where they came from. When projects succeeded, the leader's name was front and center. When things went wrong, suddenly it was a team effort and everyone shared the blame.
The team noticed. Of course they noticed. And once they did, everything changed.
linnearader
6 days ago7 min read
The 10 Real Leadership Skills That Actually Matter (Not What They Teach in Business School)
A few years ago at a leadership conference, someone pulled me aside during a break. They needed to vent about their boss. What they described stayed with me because it wasn't just frustrating. It was a masterclass in how leadership falls apart when one fundamental skill is missing.
Their team had been dealing with project timeline issues. Instead of explaining the actual resource constraints they were facing, their leader told stakeholders the organization had implemented
linnearader
Feb 165 min read
Bringing It All Together: How Emotional Intelligence Transforms Leadership
If I had to point to the most significant overall change in my leadership, it would be this: capping my emotions. The faucet is off, or at least on a slow drip.
I can't react emotionally and build respect or relationships. I can be authentic without spewing my emotions all over the place.
That shift has changed everything. It's changed how people experience me. It's changed what I'm able to accomplish. It's changed the quality of my relationships and my effectiveness as a l
linnearader
Feb 118 min read
Relationship Management: The Emotional Intelligence Skill That Builds or Breaks Your Leadership
But that change required brutal honesty with myself. Reflecting on situations and really thinking about my role in the status of the relationship. Understanding what I'd done to cause the problems and then owning it.
Hindsight is said to be 20/20, and it certainly can be if you have your eyes open. You just have to be willing to open your eyes.
I had to look at relationships that weren't working and ask myself hard questions. What did I do to contribute to this? How did my
linnearader
Feb 98 min read
Self-Management: The Emotional Intelligence Skill That Changes Everything
It builds directly on self-awareness. You can't manage emotions you don't recognize. But awareness alone isn't enough. You also need the ability to do something productive with what you're feeling.
Self-management doesn't mean suppressing your emotions or pretending you don't feel things. It means feeling them without letting them control you. It means responding thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively.
linnearader
Feb 48 min read
Reading the Room: Why Social Awareness Matters More Than You Think
Social awareness is your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what's really going on in social situations. It's reading body language, noticing tone shifts, picking up on group dynamics, and understanding the unspoken undercurrents that affect every interaction.
It's not mind reading. It's observation. Attention. Tuning into the people around you instead of being so focused on yourself that you miss everything else.
linnearader
Feb 27 min read
Know Thyself: The Self-Awareness Foundation of Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness isn't just knowing you exist or being able to list your strengths and weaknesses on a resume. Honestly, it’s hardly any of that. It's the ability to understand how you're showing up in real time, how others are experiencing you, and how your internal state is affecting your external impact.
It's reading the room. It's catching yourself mid-sentence. It's recognizing when your approach isn't working and adjusting before you lose the room entirely.
linnearader
Jan 287 min read
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